Make a video vertical
Turn a 16:9 landscape video into a 9:16 vertical cut of 1080 by 1920, with the frame following the subject as it moves instead of slicing off faces, products or subtitles. Pay per use, no subscription.
This task is not available right now, so it cannot be purchased. Nothing is charged for it.
How it works & APIA horizontal video shot for a landscape screen doesn't just shrink into a vertical feed, it needs to be reframed so the subject stays in the shot.
Why a vertical cut needs reframing
A horizontal video shot for a landscape screen does not simply shrink into a vertical feed. Cutting the same narrow strip from the middle of every frame often removes exactly what matters: the face of the person speaking, a product on a table, the subtitles running along the bottom. This tool takes a 16:9 source and produces a 9:16 version at 1080 by 1920, tracking where the relevant content sits as the clip plays. When a subject walks across the frame, the crop moves with them, so they do not slip out of view halfway through, and the vertical version still tells the story on its own.
When it helps and what to keep in mind
It suits anyone who publishes the same footage in landscape and vertical form. A company can turn webinar recordings into vertical highlight clips without re-editing each one by hand; a podcast studio can cut full episodes into clips centred on whichever guest is speaking; an online store can adapt existing product demos for social ads without a new shoot. Start from a 16:9 landscape source, because the result is always the 9:16 vertical shape. The finished file is kept at its download link for 24 hours, so collect it promptly.
What you can do with it
Repurposing webinar recordings
A company takes its 16:9 webinar recordings and automatically produces vertical highlight clips for Reels and Shorts without re-editing each one by hand.
Podcast video clips
A podcast studio converts full-length landscape video episodes into vertical clips centered on whichever guest is speaking, ready for short-form posting.
E-commerce product videos
An online store reframes existing landscape product demo videos into vertical format for use in shoppable social ads without reshooting.
FAQ
Does the crop keep the subject in frame automatically?
Yes, the reframe tracks where the relevant content sits over time instead of applying one fixed crop, so a moving subject stays inside the vertical frame.
What output ratio does it produce?
It outputs a standard 9:16 vertical file suitable for Reels, Shorts, TikTok and other vertical-first feeds.
What if the reframe job fails?
It's retried automatically up to three times, and if it still fails you're never charged and receive a clear error explaining why.
Why not just crop the sides off my widescreen video?
A fixed crop usually removes exactly what matters: the speaker's face, the product on the table or the subtitles along the bottom. This reframe follows where the important content sits over time and moves the crop with it.
How long can I download the vertical version?
The job runs in the background, and once it is done the finished vertical file waits at a download link for 24 hours. Save it within that window so you do not have to run the reframe again.
Related tools
For developers — API access
Everything on this page is available programmatically. This section is for teams who want to wire it into their own systems; everyone else can just use the tool above.
API endpoint
One authenticated POST creates the task; the result comes back by webhook or a signed link. This capability is currently available through the API, not as an interactive Web tool.
Call it from your stack
curl -X POST https://api.kit.forhosting.com/video/social-crop \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $KIT_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"video":"https://example.com/clip.mp4"}'const res = await fetch("https://api.kit.forhosting.com/video/social-crop", {
method: "POST",
headers: {
"Authorization": `Bearer ${process.env.KIT_KEY}`,
"Content-Type": "application/json"
},
body: JSON.stringify({
"video": "https://example.com/clip.mp4"
})
});
const { task_id } = await res.json();import os, requests
res = requests.post(
"https://api.kit.forhosting.com/video/social-crop",
headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['KIT_KEY']}"},
json={
"video": "https://example.com/clip.mp4"
},
)
task_id = res.json()["task_id"]<?php
$res = file_get_contents("https://api.kit.forhosting.com/video/social-crop", false, stream_context_create([
"http" => [
"method" => "POST",
"header" => "Authorization: Bearer " . getenv("KIT_KEY") . "\r\nContent-Type: application/json",
"content" => '{"video":"https://example.com/clip.mp4"}',
],
]));
$task = json_decode($res, true);body := bytes.NewBufferString(`{"video":"https://example.com/clip.mp4"}`)
req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST", "https://api.kit.forhosting.com/video/social-crop", body)
req.Header.Set("Authorization", "Bearer "+os.Getenv("KIT_KEY"))
req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
res, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)Example request
{
"video": "https://example.com/clip.mp4"
}Example response
{
"task_id": "tsk_a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4e5f6",
"type": "video.social_crop",
"status": "queued",
"_links": {
"result": "/tasks/tsk_…/result"
}
}The API is asynchronous: the call returns a task_id immediately and the result arrives by webhook. Polling is capped at 1 req/s per task.
Pricing
Published price — no tokens, no invented credits. A failed task is never charged.
Limits
max_mb | 500 |
max_minutes | 60 |
max_megapixels | 3.9 |
Errors
| HTTP | Code | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
401 | unauthorized | Missing or invalid API key. |
402 | insufficient_balance | Your balance doesn't cover the task price. |
404 | unknown_type | That task type doesn't exist. |
429 | rate_limited | Too many requests. Use the webhook instead of polling. |
Technical notes
This endpoint takes a 16:9 source and outputs a 9:16 version cropped to keep the action centered, ready for the platforms that only speak vertical.
Why cropping a video is harder than it sounds
Naively cropping the sides off a widescreen video usually cuts off exactly the thing that matters: a speaker's face, a product on a table, subtitles running along the bottom. The convert video to vertical api endpoint is built for teams that repurpose the same footage across a landscape platform and a vertical one and need the vertical cut to still make sense on its own, not just be a narrower strip of the original frame with half the story missing.
How the crop decision is made
POST /video/social-crop takes your 16:9 source and reframes it to 9:16 by tracking where the relevant content sits in the frame over time, rather than applying a single fixed crop window to the whole clip; the output shifts the crop as needed so a subject who moves across the frame doesn't end up outside it halfway through, the way a fixed crop window would leave them.
What the task returns
The job runs asynchronously: submit the source, receive a task_id immediately, and get the finished vertical file back via a signed webhook call when it's ready, or through a signed link valid for 24 hours if you'd rather fetch it on your own schedule instead of listening for a callback.
A short history of the format problem
Vertical video became the default consumption format only once short-form feeds like Reels, Shorts and TikTok trained audiences to hold a phone upright while watching, which left a decade of landscape-shot footage, from webinars to product demos, in the wrong shape for the platforms driving the most views; automated reframing is the practical answer to a library that was never filmed with 9:16 in mind.
How it plugs into a publishing workflow
Because it's a single async call, it fits naturally at the end of a content pipeline: render or receive the landscape master, call this endpoint, and hand the returned vertical file straight to whatever scheduler or upload script posts it to social platforms, no manual reframing in an editor required for every single clip that needs to go out.
Integration use cases
Batch conversion for a content archive
A media team runs its entire back catalog of landscape videos through the endpoint overnight to build a vertical-ready library for future campaigns.
Technical questions
How do I convert a video to vertical format using the API?
Send a POST request to /video/social-crop with your 16:9 source; you get a task_id immediately and the 9:16 result later via webhook or signed link.
Is there a free trial for the vertical crop endpoint?
There's no free tier — free tiers get abused and slow everyone down. Access runs on a prepaid ForHosting KIT balance: top up from $10.00 (it never expires) and each request is charged at its published price, so a call with no balance returns HTTP 402. No subscription, no tokens, no invented credits, and a failed task is never charged.
How is the vertical crop billed?
It costs $0.077 per request plus $0.0045 per minute of video processed, published as a straightforward base plus per-unit rate.
Can I run this on a whole batch of videos at once?
Yes, since each call is an independent async task billed on success, you can script it across a full library of clips in parallel.
Is the social crop endpoint working right now?
It's in final deployment and not yet accepting jobs; it will be available very soon at the same endpoint and pricing listed here.