When a landscape or off-center shot gets placed into a 9:16 vertical export, ReelWorkshop crops to fill the frame rather than letterboxing by default. That crop is applied evenly based on the frame, not on where a face or subject happens to be, so anything positioned toward the edges of the original shot is what gets lost.
Most likely cause: the subject wasn't centered when filming
Wide landscape shots often put the subject off to one side deliberately, using the extra width for background or context. That composition works in 16:9 but loses the subject entirely once the sides are cropped away for a 9:16 export.
Second cause: mismatched framing across clips in the same sequence
If some clips were filmed vertically with the subject centered and others were filmed landscape and then cropped, the framing will look inconsistent from one cut to the next, even if no individual clip looks wrong on its own.
How to fix it
- Preview every landscape-sourced clip before finalizing
Use the live preview to check exactly what the crop keeps and loses for each clip, rather than assuming it will look fine.
- Re-film centered when you can
For anything you can reshoot, hold the camera vertically and keep the subject in the middle third of the frame so a 9:16 crop has margin to work with.
- Cut around bad crops instead of keeping them
If a clip crops out the subject and you don't have a replacement, it's often better to remove it and lean on other clips than to keep a shot where the point of the clip is missing.
- Trim to the portion where framing works
Sometimes only part of a clip has a bad crop; use trim to keep just the seconds where the subject stays in frame.
ReelWorkshop doesn't include subject tracking or auto-reframe, so it can't follow a moving subject and keep it centered automatically. Framing decisions have to happen at filming time or through trim/clip selection, not through an automated crop tool.
Using the quality score alongside framing checks
The automatic quality score can help you sort candidate clips, but it isn't evaluating whether the crop keeps the subject in frame — it's a general advisory signal. Don't rely on a high score as proof that the vertical crop will look right; check the preview directly.
Preventing it next time
- Film vertically by default for anything destined for a vertical compilation, so the shot is already framed for the export shape.
- Keep subjects roughly centered rather than using the rule-of-thirds framing common in landscape video, since a vertical crop removes more of the sides.
- If you must shoot landscape, leave extra headroom around the subject so there's margin for the crop.
- Review clips in the inspector and preview together before committing to an edit plan, not just after export.
When cropping isn't the real issue
If the subject is centered and in frame but still looks stretched or distorted, that's an aspect ratio or orientation mismatch rather than a crop problem — see the wrong orientation page.