Glossary
What is auto reframe?
By the KeyMo team · Updated
Auto reframe is software that re-crops a wide video to a new aspect ratio, such as 9:16, and moves the crop to keep the subject in frame. A centre crop takes the middle of the picture and ignores who is speaking. Auto reframe follows a face or the action, so the person talking stays on screen.
Auto reframe versus a centre crop
Cutting a vertical clip from a wide video means discarding most of the width. About two thirds goes, as the aspect ratio page shows. The only question is which third to keep. A centre crop always keeps the middle. Auto reframe chooses the slice per moment.
| Centre crop | Auto reframe | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the crop sits | Fixed in the middle | Moves to follow the subject |
| Speaker off to one side | Cut off or half visible | Brought into frame |
| Work for you | None, but you accept the result | Little, but you should check the result |
| Risk | Missing the speaker | Jittery or late movement |
Example: two people at a table
Imagine a 16:9 interview with the host on the left and the guest on the right and a gap between them. A centre crop lands on the gap: the vertical frame shows the edge of each person's shoulder and a stretch of background. Auto reframe places the crop on the guest while they answer and moves to the host for the question. The viewer sees one face at a time, filling the frame.
Tools differ in how they decide where to go. Some follow every face, some follow whoever is speaking, some follow motion. Check the result on a clip with both speakers before you rely on it for a whole episode.
Mistakes
- Trusting the first pass. Scrub the clip at each speaker change to confirm the crop followed.
- Reframing a source with a lot of cross-talk, where the crop may jump between faces.
- Padding a wide video with black bars instead of cropping. YouTube advises not adding bars to the video file.
- Ignoring resolution. A narrow crop of a low-resolution source is scaled up; see 1080p.
Where KeyMo touches it
KeyMo does automatic face-tracking reframe to 9:16 on every clip. You do not draw keyframes. Open a clip in the chat editor and tell KeyMo what to change if the framing is wrong. For the related term, see face tracking.
Sources: YouTube Help: Video resolution & aspect ratios (checked 11 October 2026).