I’m going to show you how to convert a regular horizontal video from YouTube to a vertical shorts video using a free online video editor.
This means you don’t have to create a shorts video from scratch but convert any landscape video on YouTube to the vertical format.
You can then repurpose any of these vertical videos for TikTok, Instagram Stories, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Stories.
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- Select the YouTube video you wish to convert to a shorts video
– Login to YouTube dashboard,
– Click on Content,
– Select the landscape video you wish to convert. - Download the video.
– Hover over the three dots that says Options,
– Click Download. - Import your video into the free online video editor.
– Go to kapwing.com and sign up for a free account.
– If I click on Pricing, you can see on the free account, you have no watermarks, 250 megabytes file upload limit, export videos up to seven minutes long, publish up to three hours of video per month, edit and store content up to two days old and access all the tools.
I already have an account, so I’m just going to sign in. Click Continue with Google, click on Tools, click on Studio, click Get Started, click Start with a blank canvas. For a shorts video, you need 9 by 16 which is the vertical format. Select 9 by 16. Now, we have the vertical format. - Upload your video.
– Click on Upload. I can upload the video from my computer. Drag the file to the canvas or I could also take the YouTube URL just put it in here and it will fetch the video.
– I’ve already downloaded the video to my computer so I’m just going to drag and drop it onto the canvas. Here’s my video file, so I’m just going to drag it, and you can see I now have the horizontal YouTube video on my canvas and I need to make it into a shorts video. At the top, I can add text, images, view the timeline, add more scenes, add audio, add subtitles, other elements, and record. I can also trim, adjust and crop, add rounded corners, I can rotate it. You can flip it horizontally, flip it vertically. - Rescale your video to the vertical format.
All you have to do is just move the handles and just make adjustments like that so your video fits on the vertical format. Then you can just play your video to see which clips you want to keep for your shorts video.
For a shorts video, I might add a new intro, then just select the clip from one of my regular horizontal videos.
6. Trim your video
If you want to trim the beginning, middle, and/or multiple sections on your video to make it a shorts video, you can use the trim tool.
Here’s how to trim the beginning section of your video.
All you have to do is play your video and click on the play button.
Here’s where I want the clip to start, so I’m going to trim out this first part of the video. I’m going to click Split. I’m going to highlight the intro and click Delete, then move the clip to the start of the video. I can play the video again. I can see that it’s not quite covering the whole short area, so I’m going to move this up a little bit so it’s covering everything.
Now, I’m just going to go through my video and trim out the sections that I don’t need, and keep the sections that I want for my shorts video.
Undo changes or redo the changes
If you ever want to undo the changes or redo the changes, on a Mac, just use Command + Z, redo is Command + Shift + Z or Command + Y. On PC, undo is Control + Z, redo is Control + Y. It comes in really handy for fast editing. For the purposes of this demonstration, I’m going to finish trimming the video.
Here’s how to add more scenes…
All I have to do to add a scene like add an image or add a clip, I just click on the plus sign, then click Upload and I’ll drop a video clip in here from YouTube or from my computer, or I can drop an image in here. I can also choose an image from the library that Kapwing provides. I can also adjust my video if I want to improve the quality. Just click Adjust so I can adjust the opacity, I can adjust the brightness, I can adjust the contrast, I can adjust the saturation and I can also blur the publish.
7. Export your video.
– Click Export Video. It says. “Your watermark-free content is being exported”.
– Now, I’m just going to wait for my video to be processed and then I can upload it to YouTube as a shorts video. – Okay. It looks like my video is done. I’m going to mute the sound and play the video.
– I can download it, I can edit it again, I can make a copy and copy the link, embed it, and share it on social media sites if I wish.
8. Download the video
Click Download, and here’s my shorts video. If I click on the video– “Have you ever watched a YouTube video but didn’t understand the content because it was on a different language than your own? In this video, I’m going to–“
If I want to, I can edit the video, I can add more scenes like add a different intro, add an outro, et cetera.
What if I want to make a shorts video from scratch?
Just go to Video Maker in Kapwing, click Get Started. I can upload a video or image file or drag and drop an image or video file or I can add a video URL here from YouTube and import a video. In this case, just select the blank screen, choose 9 by 16.
This is scene one. I can add an image here so I just click Edit. Then I’m going to add my first scene, so I just select the image. Go for image search. Let’s select horse, click go. I’m going to select this horse and drag the handles to fit it inside my vertical short area.
Like so. I’ve got my first scene and then I want to add a scene, so just click Add Scene, select another image. I’m going to do cow this time. Select the cow image, drag the handles so it fits into the vertical format. I’ve got three seconds of the horse and I got three seconds of the cow. I play the video. I got the horse and three seconds later, I’ve got the cow.
I’m just going to export the video. A lot of processing, I just want to remind you that if you want to remove the watermark from your video, you definitely have to sign up for a free account. Here’s my shorts video. If I play it, I’ve got the horse, and three seconds later, I’ve got the cow.
Click here to watch how to make a slideshow using music and pitches with the free online video editor.
Here are four tips for uploading your shorts videos to YouTube using your computer or laptop.
- Keep it under 60 seconds in length.
Only shorts videos created with the short camera on the YouTube app must be 50 seconds or less. Watch this 60-second shorts video to learn how to make a shorts video on your phone that has the short feature. - Add the #shorts in the title or description.
This will help your videos to be discovered on the short shelf when viewers are browsing YouTube videos on the YouTube app. - Add a custom thumbnail so your shorts video stands out on browse, search, and suggested traffic sources.
- Add a strong hook in the first few seconds of your shorts video to grab the attention of your viewers.
If you want to know the steps for how to upload a shorts video from your PC, watch this video
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