The facecam split for Shorts and Reels
The facecam split is a 1080×1920 vertical frame with your camera on top and your gameplay below. TCG Machine builds it for you from your recording, with 35% camera (672 pixels) and 65% gameplay (1,248 pixels), and you can slide the gameplay left or right to catch the best part of the highlight.
A Short is tall and your stream is wide. Drop one into the other and you get a thin strip of gameplay between two black bars. The split fixes that. You're on top, the game is underneath, and nothing in the frame is wasted.
How TCG Machine builds it
TCG Machine reads where your webcam sits in your recording and works out where your gameplay is. Then it builds the vertical frame. It works from the raw file, so it doesn't matter which streaming software made it.
You can slide the gameplay section left and right. That matters because the gameplay area keeps a bit under half of the screen's width, so you choose the part the clip is about.
What the crop costs the picture
A 1920×1080 recording is wide, so fitting it into the lower part of a tall frame means keeping a slice and scaling it up. These are our own calculations from the layout sizes, so test with your own footage.
- Facecam split. The gameplay area is 1080×1248. That keeps 48.7% of the screen's width and scales the picture up about 1.16 times, which is a small stretch.
- A full 9:16 crop of gameplay. If you cropped the whole frame to 9:16 instead, the slice would keep 31.6% of the width and scale it up about 1.78 times, so it looks softer. That's why the split is kinder to the picture.
The full working is in the guide on recording horizontal or vertical.
No camera? Use the other layout
You don't need a facecam. The no camera layout shows full gameplay on a blurred background, so nothing gets cropped out, and you skip the heavy crop above. Both layouts export in 9:16 vertical, ready for Shorts and Reels.
Want to build it yourself in OBS?
You can. The guide on putting your face on top and gameplay below walks through it in six steps, with a vertical canvas or a plugin. If your camera is going on top, sort your lighting and background first.
TCG Machine is in free beta now. See how it works, check what it costs, or join the beta to get a key and the download.
Frequently asked questions
What is the facecam split?
A 1080×1920 vertical frame with your camera on top and your gameplay below. TCG Machine uses 35% of the height for the camera and 65% for gameplay.
How big is each part of the split?
On a 1920 pixel tall frame, the camera takes 672 pixels and the gameplay takes 1,248 pixels.
Can I move the gameplay left or right?
Yes. In TCG Machine you can slide the gameplay section left and right, so you can catch the best part of the highlight.
How does TCG Machine find my webcam?
It reads where your webcam sits in your recording, then works out where your gameplay is, and builds the vertical frame from there.
Do I need a facecam to use TCG Machine?
No. The no camera layout shows full gameplay on a blurred background, so nothing gets cropped out.
Does the facecam split lower the picture quality?
A little. The gameplay slice is scaled up to fill the frame. In the split it's scaled up about 1.16 times, which is gentle. These are our own calculations, so test with your own footage.
What format does the split export in?
9:16 vertical, ready for Shorts and Reels.
Will I lose part of the game screen?
Yes. The split keeps a bit under half of the screen's width, so slide the gameplay to the part the clip is about.
Can I build the facecam split in OBS myself?
Yes. Make a 1080×1920 frame with a vertical canvas or a plugin, put the camera on top, and crop the gameplay to fill the space below. Our guide has the steps.
Does it work with any recording software?
Yes. It works from the raw MKV or MP4 file, so it doesn't matter which software made it.
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.