Optimising Clips for TikTok, Reels and YouTube Shorts
Framing, length, the opening seconds and the Studio settings that decide whether a vertical clip holds attention.
Set Up the Vertical Frame
Short-form feeds are vertical. Keep the aspect ratio on 9:16 (open on every plan) and export at 1080p if your plan includes it, which gives a 1080 x 1920 file: the right setup for TikTok, Reels and Shorts alike.
Check the Safe Zone
Every app draws its own buttons and caption over your video: a column of icons down the right and the caption along the bottom. Video > Platform preview draws them over your recording area (TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and more) without ever recording them. Keep the ball, the score and your title inside the green safe zone.
Key tips
- Platform preview is included with Creator and up.
Fill the Frame
The most common mistake is an arena that fills a third of a vertical frame. Raise Arena size in Basics > Common (or Arena frame fill in Physics) until the action fills the width, and make the ball big enough to read on a phone.
Key tips
- Look at the preview at phone size. Anything you squint at in the Studio is invisible in a feed.
The Opening Seconds
Viewers decide almost immediately, and the export always starts at the first frame of the run. Make sure something is happening from frame one: a ball already moving fast, a melody that starts on its hook, rings already turning. Press Restart and watch the first two seconds exactly as a viewer will.
Length and Ending
Short clips usually work best between about 15 and 45 seconds, and the ending matters more than the length. A clip that resolves (the ball escapes, the arena collapses, the song lands its last note) holds better than one that just stops. Pick 15s, 30s or 59s in the top bar, then press the seed generator: it finds a run whose ending lands just before your clip ends.
Key tips
- 59 seconds keeps a clip under the one-minute mark that many apps treat specially.
Contrast and Text
Feeds are watched on small, bright screens, so contrast beats subtlety. A bright ball and trail on a dark background is the most reliable pairing; keep the palette to two or three colours. Add a short title in Arts > Titles, branding & counters that tells the viewer what they are watching ("Can it escape 30 rings?"), and keep it inside the safe zone.