How to make a TikTok video

Step by step

1. Start in 9:16Create a 1080×1920 project, or drop a landscape clip and switch it with the resize tool. Drag the picture so the subject fills the tall frame.
2. Put the hook firstFind the strongest second of your footage and move it to the start. Trim the slow lead-in with the trim tool; nobody waits for an intro on TikTok.
3. Cut the pausesRun remove silence to take out breaths and gaps, or split and delete by hand. Faster cuts keep people watching.
4. Add captionsMost people watch with the sound off at first. Type subtitles for free, or generate AI captions on a paid plan, and keep them above the bottom quarter.
5. Add music and textDrop a track from the stock library and lower it under your voice. Add a title in the top third, clear of the account name.
6. ExportExport MP4 at 1080×1920. Upload from your phone or computer and add the TikTok caption and hashtags in the app.

The right size and length

TikTok is a vertical app, so a video should be 9:16 at 1080×1920 pixels. Anything else gets black bars or a crop that may cut off faces and text. If you filmed horizontally, do not stretch it: switch the project to 9:16 and reframe, or put the wide clip in the middle with a blurred or coloured background behind it.

Length is a trade-off. Short clips of 7–15 seconds get replayed, which the algorithm likes; 30–60 seconds suits tutorials and stories if every second earns its place. Decide what the video is for, then cut to the shortest version that still delivers it. The sizes cheat sheet has the numbers for every platform if you plan to post the same video elsewhere.

Hook in the first second

People decide to swipe within a second. Start on movement, a face talking, a result or a question, never on a logo or a slow fade in. Three patterns work consistently: show the end result first, then how you got there; ask the question the video answers; or start mid-sentence with the most surprising line.

Reinforce the hook with a short on-screen title in the top third of the frame, three to six words, big and high-contrast. Text at the top is read even when the sound is off. Then deliver quickly: the second cut should land by the third second. Use the speed changer to speed up the boring middle of a process shot rather than cutting it entirely.

Safe zones: where TikTok draws over your video

The TikTok app lays its own interface on top of your video, and anything underneath it is hidden or hard to read.

• Bottom ~20%: your caption, username and the music label sit here. Keep captions and calls to action above it.
• Right edge: the like, comment, share and follow buttons run down the right side. Keep faces and text away from it.
• Top strip: the Following / For You tabs and the search icon cover the top edge. Start titles a little lower.
• Centre is safe: the middle 60% of the frame is where the eye goes and nothing covers it.

Captions, sound and export

Captions are not optional on TikTok: a large share of views start muted. Keep them to one or two short lines, bold, with an outline or box so they read over any footage. Word-by-word highlights add energy to talking-head clips. For music, use the library track at 10–20% under speech, or louder for a montage. Export MP4 at 1080×1920; on the free plan the export is 1080p with a small CutLuma badge, which paid plans remove. If you have a longer recording, the shorts tool finds the highlight moments and cuts them to 9:16 for you.

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