KinoPipe
Start for free
All toolsinstagram reel video format API

Format a Video for Instagram Reels

Produce a Reels-ready 9:16 MP4: 1080×1920, H.264 High@4.1, capped bitrate, constant 30 fps. Run the preset directly on this page or call the same agent-ready endpoint from your product.

Run this tool View API recipe
LIVE TOOL
Run instagram reel
Drop a video, adjust the defaults if you need to, and download the result here.

or ·

Already have an account? Sign in

BEFORE / AFTER

See what the tool changes.

A real example: the after side is the unedited output of a KinoPipe job. Run the live form above to generate the same result from your own media.

BeforeLandscape source
16:9
AfterReels-ready MP4
Ready
1080×1920 · H.264 High@4.1 · 30 fps

Demo footage: public-domain timelapses (Bureau of Land Management, Oregon · NASA SVS). Processed by the same pipeline the API and MCP tools call.

Useful defaults, typed options.

The tool slug stays stable while your agent supplies named media inputs and a narrow set of documented options.

  • Reels delivery spec built in
  • Crop or blurred-pad framing
  • No re-encode surprises at upload
What this preset does
  1. 01Reframe to 9:16 at 1080×1920
  2. 02Crop to fill or pad over a blurred background
  3. 03Encode H.264 High@4.1 within platform limits
  4. 04Deliver a fast-start MP4
Stable endpointPOST /api/v1/tools/instagram-reel
Live API request
{
  "inputs": [{ "id": "main", "url": "https://example.com/video.mp4" }],
  "options": { "fit": "crop" }
}
Successful output example
{
  "result": {
    "output": {
      "filename": "instagram-reel-output.mp4",
      "contentType": "video/mp4",
      "byteSize": 437021,
      "downloadUrl": "https://cdn.kinopipe.com/…"
    }
  }
}

The command this runs

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "scale=1080:1920:force_original_aspect_ratio=increase,crop=1080:1920,setsar=1" -c:v libx264 -preset slow -crf 20 -profile:v high -level:v 4.1 -maxrate 6000k -bufsize 12000k -r 30 -g 60 -c:a aac -b:a 160k -movflags +faststart output.mp4
-profile:v high -level:v 4.1
The decoder profile every phone in circulation handles. Go above it and the platform re-encodes you, which costs a generation of quality you already paid for.
-maxrate 6000k -bufsize 12000k
A ceiling rather than a target. CRF still decides the quality; this only stops a busy scene from spiking past what the ingest accepts.
-r 30 -g 60
Constant 30 fps with a keyframe every two seconds. Variable frame rate is the most common reason audio drifts out of sync after an upload, and a short GOP is what lets the player scrub without stalling.
-preset slow -crf 20
Better than our default, deliberately. This file is about to be re-encoded by somebody else, so it is worth arriving in better shape than it needs to look.

One file works on all three

Reels, TikTok and Shorts all take 1080x1920 H.264 at 30 fps, and this page renders the same bytes as the other two. If you are publishing to more than one, render once and upload the same file rather than paying for three encodes.

What differs between the platforms is the length they allow and where their own interface covers the frame, and neither of those is an encoding setting. Trim with trim_video before you get here, and keep anything that must stay readable away from the bottom fifth.

What this will not do

It will not cut your clip to a platform length. The preset frames and encodes; it never shortens your content without being asked.

It will not follow the speaker when it crops. The 9:16 frame is a fixed centre cut, so a presenter who moves walks out of shot. smart_crop_video is the one that tracks.

It will not upload anything. You get a signed URL for a finished file, and posting it is yours to do.

Know the boundaries before you run.

Upload files up to 300 MB or use public HTTP(S) URLs.
A successful run consumes at least one credit.

About instagram reel

The output is pinned to 1080×1920, H.264 High profile level 4.1, a capped bitrate envelope and a constant 30 fps with a 2-second keyframe interval: the combination Instagram ingests without re-processing artifacts.

crop fills the vertical frame by trimming the sides; pad keeps the full image over a blurred background, the classic repurposed-landscape look.

Related media tools

Color Grading and LUT for Video

Apply a film look, a LUT of your own, or plain brightness and contrast, in one pass over the whole clip.

Explore

Frame Interpolation to a Higher Frame Rate

Raise a clip to a higher frame rate by synthesising the frames in between, rather than repeating the ones you have.

Explore

Get Video Metadata with an API

Read duration, dimensions, codecs and audio tracks from any media URL.

Explore