Reframe guide

Reframe takes a landscape video and gives you a portrait one that follows one person: the one you mark. A virtual camera moves across the original video and crops the part where they are, so there are no black bars and nothing made up: the frame never leaves the video.

Everything happens in your browser: the video is never uploaded to a server. A person detector (downloaded the first time only) finds people at every moment and Reframe sticks with the one you marked, by what they're wearing, where they are and their size, even when someone crosses in front.

It works in five steps: Open the video, Pick the person, Framing & camera, Extras and Process. Next and Back move you between them, and in the bar at the top you can tap any step you've already been through.

The first time you come in from a browser you don't need an account: the visit is free until you close the tab. To process the video you do need to sign in with your UTOPIC account (creating one is free and you get 1 month of Pro).

1. Choose the video

   On step 1, tap Choose a video or drop the file onto the dashed area. A landscape MP4 or MOV works, iPhone videos included. Ideally under 3 minutes: the longer it is, the longer the analysis takes.

2. Wait for the bar

   Reframe reads the video, saves a copy in your browser, downloads the detector (first time only) and gets the preview ready. While the bar is moving you can't go on, so nothing breaks halfway. When it's done, it takes you straight to step 2.

The copy is there in case your phone reloads the page halfway (it happens when it runs out of memory): when you come back, Reframe picks up the video and your settings on the step you were on. Another video, on the last step, clears everything so you start from scratch.

On step 2 you tell Reframe who to follow. The video has its own timeline, nice and big so it's easy on a phone.

1. Find a good moment

   Drag the timeline, hit play or use the one-frame-back and one-frame-forward arrows. A tap on the video pauses or plays it. Pick a moment where the person is fully visible with nobody in front.

2. Draw the box

   With the video paused, drag your finger or mouse over the person to draw a box around them. Reframe looks for them in that frame and snaps the box to their outline. When it finds them, it says «Person identified. We'll follow them forwards and backwards.»

   

3. If you get it wrong

   Remove deletes the box. You can also draw another one on top: until you've checked the tracking, the new one replaces the old one.

The box stays on screen. When you move away from the frame where you drew it, it turns dashed and fainter: it isn't wrong, it just belongs to another moment.

If the person looks small in the frame, Reframe suggests a zoom you'll find already set on step 3. It's only a starting point: you can change it.

Don't want to mark anyone? Continue without marking (we'll follow whoever fills the frame most) takes you to step 3 and the camera follows whoever takes up the most space in the video.

Before processing you can see who the camera will follow through the whole video. It's the step that saves the most mistakes, especially in busy classes or when someone crosses in front.

1. Check it

   With the person identified, press Preview the tracking. Reframe goes through the whole video looking for them, with a bar that shows how far it's got. On a computer a short video takes under a minute; on a phone, longer.

2. Watch the green box

   When it's done, a green box appears over the video: it's the person the camera will follow at that moment. Scrub through the timeline or hit play and make sure the box doesn't jump to someone else.

   

3. Fix it where it slips

   If at some point the box marks someone else, stop there and draw a box over the right person. That's a correction: the track is recalculated instantly, forced to go through that point, and «Correction added at» appears below with the time.

4. Review your corrections

   They show up in a row, Corrections, each with its time. The × on each one removes it and the track is recalculated.

   

Where there's no green box, Reframe can't see the person with confidence and the camera holds still, waiting for them. A correction works even if the detector sees nobody at that point (a small person, in the dark or covered): Reframe uses your box as it is.

The analysis is kept until you close the page: corrections are instant and processing doesn't analyse again.

On step 3 you decide what the final video will look like. The preview shows a frame with a yellow box: that's what will be in the video. It's a guide, because the camera will move to follow the person.

1. Format

   Reels / Stories 9:16 (1080 × 1920) is the Free one. With Pro you also get Portrait post 4:5, Square 1:1, Landscape 1.91:1 and Custom, where you type the width and height in pixels. On Free, the Pro ones show a lock and take you to the plans.

2. Zoom

   From ×1 to ×2.5. More zoom makes the person bigger and shows less of the stage. The camera never leaves the video, and the more you zoom in, the less sharp it gets: with a small original, don't overdo it.

3. Position

   Move the person up or down inside the frame: up leaves room at the feet; down, above the head. By default they're centred. There's only room to move them when zoomed in.

4. Look at other moments

   Under the preview there's another timeline: drag it to see the framing on any frame. If you've checked the tracking, the box centres on the person at that moment.

On the same step 3, under Camera, you choose how the virtual camera moves, from 1 to 5:

1 and 2, snappy: follows every move. 3, balanced (the default): follows well without shaking. 4 and 5, smooth: the camera moves slowly and calmly.

With Pro, on step 3 you can turn on Creative zoom: the zoom moves by itself, with the music. It pushes in to the maximum right on a big hit, stays up there for a moment and eases back to the minimum.

1. Switch on Creative zoom. The normal zoom slider turns into two.

2. Set the Minimum zoom and the Maximum zoom: the zoom moves by itself between those two values and never goes past the maximum you set.

3. In the preview you'll see two boxes: the yellow one is the minimum zoom (the widest it will get) and the dashed blue one, the maximum.

It makes one, two or three trips over the whole video depending on its length (one if it's under 10 s, two up to 24 s and three from there on), and between trips it rests at the minimum. If the video has no audio or no clear hits, it spreads them across the video. Same video, same settings: same result every time.

Step 4 has two extras, both Pro. On Free they show a lock and take you to the plans.

1. Motion blur

   Motion blur leaves a soft trail when the camera moves. When you turn it on, you choose the strength from 1 to 5: 1 and 2, subtle (takes away the phone-video look without being noticeable); 3, natural (like a film camera with a 180° shutter); 4 and 5, strong (fast pans leave a trail).

2. No end card

   On Free, a 1.5 s card with the UTOPIC logo goes at the end of the video; since it's at the end, it trims off in one tap in any editor. With Pro, No end card comes switched on: switch it off if you want the card.

1. Check the summary

   Step 5 sums up the format, the zoom and position, the camera and the extras. If you're signed in, it also shows how many videos you've used this month under Conversions this month. If your video has more resolution than the format (a 4K one, for example), you'll also see Quality: with Pro you can pick Original, the crop at its native size, up to 4K.

2. Process

   Press Process video. You'll see each phase with its percentage: «Loading the detector…», «Following the dancer» and «Building the portrait video». On some iPhones you'll also see «Passing the audio», which takes as long as the video.

3. Watch it and download it

   When it says «Done», the video appears below, with sound, so you can watch it before saving. Download MP4 saves it with the original's name plus «-reframe» at the end.

   

4. Not happy with it?

   Go back to any step, change what you like and press Reprocess with these settings. Reprocessing the same video doesn't use up another of your monthly videos.

While it processes you can switch tabs, but it'll be slower: browsers throttle what they can't see. On a phone, Reframe tries to keep the screen on; even so, if the video is long, keep it in view.

Reframe works on your phone, in an up-to-date Chrome or Safari. The step bar goes into two rows and the timeline spans the full width under the video. You draw the box by dragging your finger.

A phone has less memory than a computer: long or 4K videos take longer, and if the system closes the page, Reframe picks up where you were when you come back.

If you'll use it often, the Install button on the app page adds it to your home screen with its own icon.

What each plan gives you in Reframe.

The Pro price, monthly or yearly, is on the plans page. See the plans →