How to Make AI Video for TikTok and Reels
July 13, 2026 · 7 min read
Short-form vertical video eats an enormous amount of content. AI video generation makes it realistic to keep up — you can produce clips for TikTok, Reels, and Shorts without a camera or a shoot. Here's how to do it well.
Start with the format: 9:16, always
TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts are all vertical — 9:16 aspect ratio. Generate at 9:16 from the start. Cropping a 16:9 clip down to vertical throws away two-thirds of the frame and wrecks the composition. Set the aspect ratio before you generate, not after.
Structure: hook in the first second
Short-form viewers decide in about a second whether to keep watching. Your first clip has to earn the next one. When you generate, make the opening shot the most visually arresting one — movement, contrast, an unexpected image.
A reliable short-form structure:
- 0-1s — hook: the most striking shot.
- 1-15s — payoff: deliver on what the hook promised.
- End — a clear last frame; loopable is a bonus.
Prompt tips for vertical
- Compose for tall frames. Vertical subjects, foreground-to-background depth, and upward or downward camera moves use the 9:16 frame well.
- Keep motion central. The action should sit in the middle of the frame — that's where the viewer's thumb-zone and attention are.
- Generate short. 3-6 second clips are ideal building blocks; sequence several rather than generating one long clip.
A fast weekly workflow
- Pick 3-5 ideas for the week.
- Generate 9:16 clips for each — a few variations, pick the best.
- Drop them into CapCut or your editor; add captions, music, and a hook overlay.
- Add subtitles — most short-form is watched on mute. (Our Subtitler can burn them in.)
- Export and schedule.
Going multi-market
If a clip performs, don't stop at one language. Run the finished video through a video translator to ship it to other language markets — the same winning content, several times the reach.
Try it
Our Video Generator generates 9:16 clips directly — pick the ratio, write your prompt, generate. Pair it with the Subtitler and Translator for a full short-form pipeline on one credit balance.