How to reframe a sermon for Reels and Shorts
Your sermon was recorded in landscape (16:9). Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts expect vertical (9:16). If you just crop the middle, the speaker drifts in and out of frame every time they move. If you manually keyframe the crop, it takes longer than the sermon itself.
SnipSnip solves this with face-tracking reframe: it detects the speaker's face and automatically positions the vertical crop to follow them — even if they walk across the stage. One click, no keyframing.
Open SnipSnip and try it free →
Step 1 — Load your sermon
Open SnipSnip and paste the YouTube URL of your church's sermon, or upload the video file from your computer.
Step 2 — Trim to the moment you want
Set start and end timestamps for the segment you want to clip. Want multiple moments merged into one? Add more segments — they are joined into a single clip automatically.
Step 3 — Switch to Make Vertical
Click the Make Vertical tab above the player and select 9:16. A translucent crop guide appears over the video showing the vertical frame.
Face-tracking is on by default. It follows the speaker's face and keeps them centered in the crop throughout the clip. If you prefer a fixed crop position — for example, when the camera is static and the speaker stays at the podium — you can turn tracking off and drag the crop guide to exactly where you want it.
Step 4 — Generate and download
Hit Generate. SnipSnip renders the clip in 9:16 with the speaker centered. Download and post to Reels, TikTok, Shorts, or all three.
When face-tracking helps most
- Moving speakers — pastors who walk, gesture, or step away from the podium
- Wide-angle cameras — when the speaker is small in a wide shot, the crop zooms into the right spot
- Multi-segment clips — each segment might have the speaker in a different position; tracking adjusts per-segment
When a fixed crop is fine
- Static podium shots — the speaker stays in one spot for the whole clip
- Already-tight framing — the camera is zoomed in enough that the speaker fills the centre
In these cases, turn off face-tracking and drag the crop guide to the right position. It stays fixed for the whole clip.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I convert landscape to vertical without cropping the speaker?
- Use Make Vertical with face-tracking on. It detects the speaker's face and keeps the vertical crop centered on them automatically.
- What aspect ratio for Reels, Shorts, and TikTok?
- 9:16 — the standard vertical format for all three platforms. That is what SnipSnip outputs.
- Can I reframe and add captions at the same time?
- Yes. Turn on both Make Vertical and Captions. The text is positioned within the 9:16 frame automatically.
- Does face-tracking work with multiple speakers?
- It follows the most prominent face in the frame. For a solo sermon this works well. For panel discussions with multiple speakers side by side, a fixed crop may be better.