Vertical or widescreen: making the Burning Bridges video fit TikTok

The short answer

For TikTok, Reels and Shorts, use vertical 9:16. It fills the phone screen with no black bars and no cropping. Use widescreen 16:9 for YouTube, X or a TV. On NowStarring you pick the format before the render, so every shot is framed for it from the start.

The two formats

• 9:16 vertical: taller than wide. Made for TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and Stories.
• 16:9 widescreen: wider than tall. Made for YouTube, X, a laptop or a TV.

The original music video is widescreen, so many AI tools for this trend copy that framing and hand you a 16:9 file. That’s fine for YouTube, and awkward everywhere the trend actually lives.

What happens if you post 16:9 on TikTok

TikTok and Reels accept a widescreen video, but it plays as a strip across the middle of the screen with black bars above and below. Your face ends up small, and the cheer at the end loses its punch.

The usual fix is to crop it to 9:16. A vertical crop of a widescreen frame keeps only about 32% of its width. Everything near the edges goes: the people cheering beside you, the end of the long table, sometimes the cup in your hand or the finger guns at the lens.

Cropping also costs sharpness. You’re stretching a small slice of the picture to fill the whole screen, so a 720p widescreen clip looks softer once it’s cropped.

Why vertical from the start looks better

When the video is made vertical, every shot is composed for a tall screen: you in the middle, chandeliers above, the crowd around you. Nothing has to be cut away afterwards.

• The opening finger guns stay in frame, with the cup in your other hand.
• The close-up keeps your face and the palm pushed up to the lens in frame together.
• The close-up of you mouthing the words sits in the middle of the screen.
• The final laugh keeps the cheering crew and their raised cups in view.

Leave room for the app, too. TikTok and Reels put the caption, sound name and buttons over the bottom and right of the screen, so put any on-screen text near the upper middle.

Which to pick

• TikTok, Reels, Shorts or Stories: 9:16 vertical.
• A YouTube video, a post on X, or a slideshow on a TV at a party: 16:9 wide.
• Both: make two renders. Each format uses its own 45 credits, or 90 each at HD. See the packs.

Whichever you choose, the clip comes with the song. On TikTok or Reels you can also add the official sound when you post: the sound guide shows how. Watch the vertical one on the videos page, or upload your photo and pick 9:16.

Questions

What shape should a Burning Bridges video be for TikTok?

Vertical 9:16, the same shape as a phone screen. It fills the screen on TikTok, Reels and Shorts with no black bars.

Can I turn a widescreen Burning Bridges video into vertical?

You can crop it in an editor such as CapCut, but you keep only about a third of the width, so the crowd and parts of you can be cut off. Making it vertical from the start avoids that.

Does NowStarring make vertical videos?

Yes. You choose 16:9 wide or 9:16 vertical before each render. Wide is the default, so pick 9:16 for TikTok.

Can I get both formats from one render?

No. Each format is a separate render. Making both uses 90 credits at Standard, or 180 at HD.