How to put your face on top and gameplay below in a vertical clip
Build a 9:16 frame at 1080×1920, put your camera in the top section, and crop your gameplay to fill the space below it. In OBS you can do that with a vertical canvas, or with a free plugin that adds a second one.
Here's the problem. Your stream is wide. A Short or a Reel is tall. Drop a wide recording into a tall frame and you get a thin strip of gameplay between two black bars, and your face is nowhere to be seen. The split fixes that. You're on top, the game is underneath, and nothing in the frame is wasted.
Pick your route first
There are two ways to get a vertical frame in OBS, and they behave differently.
- Change the canvas. Your whole OBS becomes vertical, so you stream or record in one orientation at a time. It's simple, but your normal landscape setup is gone while you do it.
- Add a second canvas with a plugin. Aitum Vertical is a free plugin that adds a separate vertical canvas, so your main canvas stays 1920×1080 and the vertical one is 1080×1920. Your normal setup stays as it is.
If you stream landscape most days, take the plugin route.
Build it in six steps
- Set up the vertical frame. For the canvas route, open Settings, then Video, set both Base (Canvas) Resolution and Output (Scaled) Resolution to 1080×1920, and click Apply. For the plugin route, install Aitum Vertical, restart OBS, and set its vertical canvas to 1080×1920. Check the plugin's own page for its current steps.
- Add your two sources. Put your Game Capture and your Video Capture Device (your camera) into the vertical scene.
- Put the camera on top. Click the camera, then Edit, Transform, Edit Transform (Ctrl+E) and set its size. A 16:9 camera at 1080 pixels wide is about 608 pixels tall, which leaves about 1,312 pixels underneath for gameplay. If you'd rather copy the split TCG Machine uses, that's 35% of the height for the camera and 65% for gameplay, which is 672 and 1,248 pixels on a 1920 pixel tall frame.
- Crop the gameplay to fill the space below. Hold Alt and drag the edges of the game source to crop it, so it fills the lower area without stretching. Stretching makes everything look squashed.
- Keep what matters away from the edges. The Reels interface sits over your frame, with the caption near the bottom and the buttons down the right side. One 2026 size guide, citing Meta, puts the bottom zone at about 35% of the frame, and Instagram's profile grid now crops to 3:4. Keep your face a little below the top edge and the action clear of the bottom third.
- Record 30 seconds and watch it on your phone. Check that your face isn't tiny and that you can follow the gameplay without squinting.
What the crop costs you
A 1920×1080 game screen is wide. Cropping it to fit the space under your camera keeps a bit under half of its width. That's the trade.
So pick the part of the screen your viewer needs to follow, and crop to that. Anything outside the crop is gone from the clip, so don't crop away the thing the clip is about.
Still not right? Try these
- Black bars on the sides or top? The output has to be exactly 1080×1920. One OBS guide warns that TikTok may add black bars if it isn't.
- Your face looks small? Make the camera larger and crop its edges, rather than shrinking the gameplay.
- Wide game losing too much? Switch to a smaller game window under your camera instead of a hard crop. That keeps more of the screen but makes it smaller.
- No camera on this stream? Use full gameplay on a blurred background instead, so nothing gets cropped out.
What's in it for your clips
Building a vertical scene in OBS works, but it's one more thing to set up and keep tidy. And you still have to find the moment worth posting.
The facecam split is built into TCG Machine. It reads where your webcam sits in your recording, then works out where your gameplay is. Then it builds the vertical frame for you, with 35% camera on top and 65% gameplay below. It works from the raw recording file, so it doesn't matter which streaming or recording software made it. You can slide the gameplay section left and right, so you catch the best part of the highlight.
No camera? There's a second layout with full gameplay on a blurred background, so nothing gets cropped out. Both export in 9:16 vertical, ready for Shorts and Reels. It watches your MKV and MP4 recordings, finds your highlights, and you review, change what you want, and approve before anything goes out.
You focus on the creative part, we bring it to life. It's in free beta now, so see how it works, check what it costs, or join the beta to get a key and the download.
Next up: if your face is going on top, fix your lighting and sort your background first.
Frequently asked questions
How do I put my face on top and gameplay on the bottom?
Make a 9:16 frame at 1080×1920, put your camera at the top, and crop your gameplay to fill the space below. In OBS you can do that with a vertical canvas or a plugin that adds one.
What size should a vertical clip be?
1080×1920, which is 9:16. That's the recommended upload size for Reels, and the OBS guide uses the same size for TikTok. Shorts are vertical videos too.
Can OBS record vertical video?
Yes. Set the canvas to 1080×1920 in Settings, then Video, or add a second vertical canvas with a plugin like Aitum Vertical.
What is Aitum Vertical?
It's a free OBS plugin that adds a separate canvas for vertical content, and lets you link your normal and vertical scenes so they stay in sync.
Do I need a plugin to make vertical video in OBS?
No. You can change the canvas to 1080×1920 in Settings instead. The catch is that your whole OBS goes vertical, so you can only stream or record in one orientation at a time.
How tall should the camera be in a vertical split?
About 608 pixels if it's 16:9 and fills the 1080 pixel width. That leaves about 1,312 pixels underneath for gameplay.
How do I crop a source in OBS?
Hold Alt and drag the edges of the source in the preview. You can also set exact numbers in Edit Transform, which you open with Ctrl+E.
Why does my gameplay look squashed?
It's been stretched to fit the space. Crop the source instead of resizing it from the corners, so the picture keeps its shape.
Why are there black bars on my vertical video?
The output probably isn't exactly 1080×1920. Check Base and Output resolution in OBS, and the vertical canvas size if you're using a plugin.
Will I lose part of the game screen?
Yes. Cropping a wide game screen into the space under your camera keeps a bit under half of its width, so choose the part viewers need to follow.
What if my game is too wide for a vertical crop?
Use a smaller game window under your camera instead of a hard crop. You keep more of the screen, but it's smaller.
Where should I put the camera, top or bottom?
On top, if you want the split style. Your face sits where people look first, and the gameplay sits underneath it.
Where should I keep important things in a Reel?
A little below the top edge and clear of the bottom third. The caption sits near the bottom, the buttons run down the right side, and Instagram's profile grid now crops to 3:4.
Do I need a facecam for vertical clips?
No. Full gameplay on a blurred background works without a camera, and nothing gets cropped out.
Can I make the split after I've recorded?
Yes, if you use a tool that does it for you. TCG Machine's facecam split puts your camera on top and gameplay below, and exports in 9:16.
Does TCG Machine make the facecam split for me?
Yes. It reads where your webcam sits in the recording, works out where your gameplay is, and builds the vertical frame for you. It doesn't matter which streaming or recording software made the file.
What ratio does the TCG Machine facecam split use?
35% of the frame for your camera on top, and 65% for gameplay below.
Can I move the gameplay left or right in the split?
Yes. In TCG Machine you can slide the gameplay section left and right, so you can catch the best part of the highlight.
What if I don't use a camera?
TCG Machine has a no camera layout that shows full gameplay on a blurred background, so nothing gets cropped out.
Is TCG Machine out yet?
Yes, as a free beta, and it's open now: join the beta, confirm your email, and you'll get a key and the download link while places last.