Create Facebook Style Videos in Premiere Pro CC (2018)

Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok favor square and vertical video formats. When someone is scrolling through their feed on a phone, a square video takes up more screen real estate than a traditional 16:9 widescreen video. That means more attention on your content.

The classic social media video format is a square frame with the video scaled down in the center and text above and below it. You see this everywhere on Facebook and Instagram. Today we are going to go over how to create this style of video in Premiere Pro CC.

How to Create a Square Social Media Video

Setting Up the Square Sequence

1. Import your footage into Premiere Pro and drag it onto the timeline. This will create a default 1920x1080 sequence.
2. Go to Sequence > Sequence Settings.
3. Change the Frame Size to 1080 x 1080. This creates a perfect square composition.
4. Click OK. Your footage will now appear centered in the square frame with black bars above and below.

Scaling and Positioning the Video

5. Click on your footage in the timeline. In Effect Controls, go to Motion > Scale.
6. Scale the footage down until it fits comfortably in the center of the square frame with room for text above and below. A scale of about 57% usually works well for 1080p footage.
7. Adjust the Position if needed to center the video vertically, leaving roughly equal space at the top and bottom.

Adding Text

8. Switch to the Graphics workspace using the workspace tabs at the top of Premiere Pro.
9. Select the Type Tool (T) and click on the Program Monitor above the video to create a text box.
10. Type your headline or hook text. This is the text that grabs attention while someone is scrolling. Keep it short and impactful.
11. Style the text using the Essential Graphics panel. Bold, clean fonts work best at small sizes on mobile screens.
12. To add text below the video, duplicate the text layer by selecting it and pressing Ctrl+C then Ctrl+V. Drag the copy below the video and change the content to a subtitle, call to action, or description.

Exporting

13. Go to File > Export > Media (or press Ctrl+M).
14. Export as you normally would. The output will be a 1080x1080 square video ready for social media upload.

Tips

• Use a bold background color instead of black. Create a color matte (File > New > Color Matte) in your brand color and place it on the bottom track. This makes the video stand out more in feeds.
• Keep text large and readable. People watch social media videos on their phones. Small text gets lost. Aim for text that is readable even on a small screen.
• Add captions. Most social media videos autoplay with the sound off. Adding captions makes sure your message gets across even without audio.
• Vertical video (9:16) works too. For Instagram Stories, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts, change the sequence settings to 1080 x 1920 instead of 1080 x 1080.
• Design for the first 3 seconds. That is how long you have to grab someone’s attention before they scroll past. Put your most compelling moment or text right at the beginning.

That is how you create social media style videos in Premiere Pro. A few sequence setting changes and some text overlays turn any standard video into something optimized for social feeds.