Premiere Pro how-to
How to make a vertical 9:16 video in Premiere Pro
Short answer
Select your sequence in the Project panel and choose Sequence > Auto Reframe Sequence, pick 9:16 (or type 1080 × 1920), and Premiere creates a duplicate vertical sequence in which every clip follows the action. For full control, create a new sequence with a 1080 × 1920 frame size and position each clip with Motion > Position and Scale.
Checked against: Adobe Premiere (formerly Premiere Pro), 2026 releases, Windows and Mac.
Method 1: Auto Reframe (fastest)
Start Auto Reframe
Select the sequence in the Project panel and choose Sequence > Auto Reframe Sequence.
SequenceAuto Reframe Sequence
Choose 9:16
Select the Target Aspect Ratio preset, or a custom ratio. You can also type a custom Resolution, for example 1080 × 1920.
Pick a motion preset
Slower Motion for talking heads (few keyframes), Default for most footage, Faster Motion for sports and fast action (many keyframes).
Nest if you have speed changes
Turn on Clip Nesting if the edit has complex motion keyframes or speed and duration changes you want to keep. Nested clips don't keep soft transitions properly.
Find the new sequence
Premiere saves the duplicate in the Auto Reframe Sequences folder at the root of the Project panel. Check fast moments and adjust keyframes where the subject drifts.
Method 2: Manual vertical sequence
Create a 1080 × 1920 sequence
Make a new sequence and set Frame Size to 1080 horizontal by 1920 vertical, at your footage's frame rate.
Frame each clip
Select a clip, open Effect Controls > Motion, and adjust Position and Scale so the subject sits inside the vertical frame.
Effect ControlsMotionPosition / Scale
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Frame sizes for each platform
| Where | Ratio | Frame size |
|---|---|---|
| TikTok, Reels, Shorts | 9:16 | 1080 × 1920 |
| Instagram feed portrait | 4:5 | 1080 × 1350 |
| Square | 1:1 | 1080 × 1080 |
| YouTube, landscape | 16:9 | 1920 × 1080 |
If it doesn't work
| What you see | Fix |
|---|---|
| Subject drifts out of frame | Re-run with Faster Motion, or edit the Auto Reframe keyframes on that clip. |
| Speed ramps lost after reframing | Run Auto Reframe again with Clip Nesting turned on. |
| Transitions look wrong in the reframed copy | Nesting removes the handle media transitions need; re-add those transitions in the vertical sequence. |
| Text sits under the platform buttons | Keep titles out of the bottom third and the right edge; check a safe-zone overlay before export. |
Questions people ask
How do I change a 16:9 video to 9:16 in Premiere Pro?
Use Sequence > Auto Reframe Sequence and choose 9:16. Premiere makes a vertical duplicate and keeps your original sequence.
Does Auto Reframe change my original edit?
No. Premiere creates a duplicate sequence in the Auto Reframe Sequences folder.
What frame size is a vertical video?
1080 × 1920 pixels for TikTok, Reels and Shorts.
More Premiere Pro guides
Sources and how we checked
- Adobe Help: Add Auto Reframe effect to sequences (checked 2026-10-05; Adobe blocks automated readers; text read from the Internet Archive copy of 17 Sep 2026)
- Adobe Help: Apply Motion effect (checked 2026-10-05; Adobe blocks automated readers; text read from the Internet Archive copy of 23 Sep 2026)
Reviewed October 5, 2026 by the Koldflux team. Each step is compared with Premiere Pro's own documentation (linked above) and with the top search results for this task; where they disagree, the maker's documentation wins. Steps without a source link follow the menu names that several current guides agree on.