Landscape to Vertical Video in Descript

How to change the orientation and layout of a multi-track composition in Descript to create vertical videos with two speakers, perfect for social media clips. Many people ask about this, and it’s a straightforward process.
First, I have a horizontal interview composition with two tracks-myself, Cristi, and my guest, Chris. We’ll transform this landscape layout into a vertical format.
I start by selecting the portion of the interview you want to convert. You can do this by highlighting the text in Descript. Once selected, create a new composition from this segment. You can use the “Duplicate to New Composition” button, right-click and select the option, or use the shortcut Command Shift C (Control Shift C on Windows).
Switch to Vertical: After creating the new composition, switch its orientation from landscape to portrait. Go to the top menu where it says landscape, square, portrait, and select portrait. This will automatically adjust the videos to fit the vertical layout.
Adjust Video Placement: To ensure the videos fit perfectly, grab each video and position them on the screen. Place one video at the top and the other at the bottom. Resize them as needed to fill the vertical space. Use the snap-to-middle line for precise placement.
Crop and Center: Double-click on each video to enter crop mode. Adjust the position of the videos to center the speakers if needed. Descript might have minor bugs that cause videos to jump around, but double-clicking allows you to crop and reposition accurately.
This method maintains the original horizontal layout for the full episode, while your new vertical composition is ideal for social media sharing. Each composition remains independent, so changes in one won’t affect the other.
I hope this tutorial helps you create engaging vertical videos from your interviews. If you found this video useful, please like, subscribe to my channel, and leave any questions in the comments.
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[@Graphicious]

Learn Descript with me! One-on-one coaching, courses, minicourses: mediamakers.club

[@ChrisMenardTraining]

That was a great video. I really liked how you also pointed out that there was a small bug but you kept on going. I can definitely use this cool feature.

[@Graphicious]

Awesome, thank you! That bug has been there for ages, it has something to do with Descript assessing the geometry of the video crop box the first time you activate it (first time you go into crop mode). The second time, it doesn't do it.

[@issacsweb]

Awesome video!

[@Graphicious]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@cleaningprocesseswithjerry7274]

Thanks! Jerry Bauer here

[@Graphicious]

Hey Jerry, how's it going?