YouTube will test built-in tool to convert horizontal videos into Shorts

Abner Li | Aug 1 2023 - 9:36 am PT

YouTube today announced a number of new Shorts features, but the most promising one for Creators is a recomposition tool to convert regular videos into vertical content.

YouTube will start testing the new recomposition tools over the “next few weeks.” After choosing a horizontal video, you can “adjust the layout, zoom, and crop of the video segment.” One interesting option will be a split screen effect to “preserve key parts of your long-form content.”

There are a number of third-party tools that offer the same capability, with Google hoping to “help you more easily transform your horizontal videos into Shorts.” It will have the benefit of offering an end-to-end experience, especially if it’s on mobile,

In the nearer term, Creators can use the new Collab tool (under Remix) that offers a side-by-side format where your Short appears alongside another vertical or regular video. This is rolling starting today on iOS and coming later to Android.

Creators can choose from multiple layout options to easily join in with a split screen format. Just hit “Remix” then “Collab” to remix an eligible Short or YouTube video.

A Q&A sticker will let you “ask your audience questions and get responses right in your comments,” while end users recently gained the ability to save Shorts to YouTube playlists.

YouTube is also testing a “mobile-first vertical live experience” that gets surfaced in the Shorts feed:

Viewers in the test will see previews of vertical live videos mixed into the Shorts feed. As someone taps into the experience, they’ll be placed in a scrollable feed of other live videos.