Really useful video, thanks! I'm a freelance video editor and when uploading my 4k showreel IG destroyed my footage even with High Quality Upload checked! However, since exporting in 1080p and changing the target bit rate to 16000 it made a HUGE difference!
Worth noting that Reels have to be < 1 minute. For regular video posts, the ideal dimensions are 1080x1350 (4:5). Otherwise Instagram will either crop or add bars to your video.
Yeah I done even know if this is true everywhere yet but they did just make an announcement that they are combining reels and videos into one thing. So I assume that will mean that reels will have no time limit anymore.
I think you are taking a great approach with your channel Dunna. On this account I'm only subbed to photography channels and only 10% of them are interesting/worth watching. Your video content has really started to stand out with more engaging and real life usage tips and tutorials. Would like to see a proper video where you shoot, go home and do some basic editing, export, upload, etc. Also really liked your 70-200 GM II lens review I checked out lately. I've ordered that lens and waiting for it to arrive. Keep up the good work my friend!
Thank you so much for the kind words and for sharing your thoughts!! I need some more projects to shoot so I can go start to finish with them in tutorials!
@@dunnadidithey! 2:01 was wondering, does adding audio to the reel in Instagram count as “editing” that wrecks the quality? Or just things like cutting/splicing clips?
Thanks Dunna! That's very helpful! I didn't know about the high quality setting. That being said, I wish Instagram will some day implement screen rotation and give some love back to normal landscape video formats. We really do not like vertical video in our line of work as videographers and most of our clients don't like it either.
Totally agree. All this vertical stuff is very limiting and unnatural. Some folk are rotating their 16:9 content by 90 degrees so you have to rotate your phone to watch it. AFAIK it's the only workaround at the moment.
I've been thinking of this... I'm almost certain that IG does transcode videos to whatever format - always. So giving 1080 or 4k shouldn't be that big of a difference, or maybe 4k would even be better since IG compressors would have more data to work with?
Great tips, just want to add one observation I made: The framerate seems to be more important than the size. Instagram will downsize your 4k 30fps without any problems and it'll look really crips. However, I've noticed a decrease in quality when uploading 1080p with 24 or 60 fps. it should be fine with 30fps, but imo the by Instagram compressed 4k looks better, don't ask me why. (this is just my observation from posting 1 reel everyday for the last month, it might not be accurate to your experience.)
THISS ^^ exporting above 1080p and at 30 fps is what finally gave my videos a crisp upload (+ allowing the video to play fully on the insta app at least once before hitting "next" to upload it) The reel mainly consisted of my photography however, so I've yet to try it with a video recorded at 60 fps
I’d like to add that Instagram operates at 30 frames per second so it’s best to use that frame rate for your videos as well so it doesn’t have to covert.
Dunna, I've been following you since you had just a few thousand followers and I really like your content. IDK why YT doesn't make your videos pop on my feed when they come out even tho I have the alert selected. Anyway, wanted to say that it is very inspirational to watch you grow like you have and you definitely deserve it brother! Congrats
im having trouble uploading hdr videos that i edit in final cut to apps like tiktok, instagram, and capcut. the apps completely destroy the quality and just not sure if there's a way around this. maybe it's best if i turn hdr off on my camera? i just have so much hdr footage already that i want to use so i need to figure something out.
Huge help! I have been wondering what the deal is for a while. I will need to try scaling down in Davinci prior as I have been letting IG do that part. Love this! 🙌🏻🙌🏻
Tip #3 is definitely a double edged sword depending on the type of content, but I have a feeling this is exactly what's happening to mine. Using text is extremely important in terms of algorithm, having your content find the right audience, they say it over and over whether it's captions or just title text. So I guess that's my trade off :/
@@jaceambition7701 Mine's pretty good since my source video is already filmed at 4K. If your source video started out as 1080 and you tried to export at 2K/4K then I would think the export would be pixelated. Hope that helps!
This is definitely a good video. I still have issue where I upload and instagram decreases the quality. When its on my phone or computer its really clear you can see everything. I still need to figure out whats causing the quality to decrease.
Hi, great video! I have a question. How do I use Instagram trending sounds which means I need to upload on the Instagram built in editor, and still keep the great quality you get when you upload straight from my computer?
I followed every piece of advice in your video - but Instagram still downsizes my 1080x1920 to a 720p Video every time. No matter what I try. Could it be a new Instagram update?
Hello. Which app should I use on my iPhone to compress and have the same export settings? Or it has to be a program in the computer? If so, which one? Thank you ❤
Adding something to this video. I downloaded an app called mediainfo on Android , basically it tells everything about a given file, the bitrate,fps,resolution and even which software was used to edit. So I did an experiment ,I downloaded different videos from instagram and compared them I deduced that for Pal countries where 25,50,100 fps is used and for others 24,30,60 . Instagram reduces every video to have 30fps or 25fps(for pal) . 1080p, Max bitrate I saw was -4750 kb/s So it depends on video elements , I uploaded a video with 91mb/s bitrate and it got reduced to 4650 kb/s So it's all about shooting in 4k if possible ,rendering it in 25fps or 30fps,1080 and do not edit in the app. Hope it helps
Native frame rate for Instagram is 30fps so exporting at the same should give you better quality. What I don't know is if exporting at 30fps versus 29.97fps which is the actual frame rate actually makes a difference. If it does, I can't tell.
Love your video! Question though. I have 3 IG accounts and only 1 is letting my check the high quality high uploads. The other 2 accounts don't even show that as an option in my settings. Do u know how to fix this?
Oh god i’ve been trying for a very long time to get high quality reels! I am shooting with my iphone ( still a beginner to have a camera) ! I shoot in 4K 30fps and then I edit the video with inshot app and export the video in 4K 30fps! And I get really bad quality! I will try exporting the video with a lower quality and I hope that would work another thing is that I edit the text directly on IG but will also stop that and hope my video quality improves! Are there any more tips though? And thanks a lot for the useful info!!❤
I tried via desktop on my macbook, but it is very buggy. Especially choosing a cover for the video never works. So I upload to my iPhone and then to Insta.
I have heard I think almost a year ago that its not directly about the bitrate but the file size? So it depends on the length of your clip but it should be like less than 10MB or so thats why you would experiment from 2-4000kb/s until you hit it. Can someone one confirm? Thats why I was confused why 16000kbits are suggested here
@@VnDuzen I have quicky researched it and found it in the context with photos at least you shouldn't upload higher than 10mb question is if it applies to video too couldn't find something
Hey Dunna, great video! So if you export to 1080p, does it matter if you have the project/sequence in 1080p or 4K? Additionally, would you recommend exporting to 1080p for TikTok and RU-vid Shorts as well? Thanks man!
It actually does matter. If you record something in 4K and reduce it to 1080, you will have more image quality because you will have more pixels to process than the originally recorded 1080 footage.
Thanks. Also insta seems to want minimum 30fps video - it even states it in the help section on their website. I found out when I uploaded some 24fps GoPro footage that looked choppy in Instagram
My drone videos that I post vertically in reels or my stories have always been pretty good quality. The last few days, I've done everything the same as I always have and the quality has gone to crap. I have tried following and trying many different export settings. Essentially, I upload to REEL and it still looks beautiful. As soon as I hit "next" or "add", the next screen shows the video being 480p at best! I tried it on my Fiancé's phone. Did instagram have a new update or something? I did download new IOS on my iPhone the other day. This is maddening. Any tips are welcomed. Thank you.
This is great advice, but unless you are using anything else than an iPhone, how do you manage to save the MP4 files in a way that you can actually upload them via your phone. Apparently this is also a thing? And uploading a story or a reel via web browser hasn't seemed to work out for me at least.
@@dunnadidit I think I messed up my phrasing in my comment. I tried to save an MP4 file from Files to my camera roll in order to post it on IG, but my iPhone doesn't give me the option to do so, unless it is a MOV file. Now I don't know if you use an iPhone too to post your IG reels and stories, but I'd like to know how one can upload an MP4 file directly to IG.
Interesting! I’ve never had that issue when I send files to my phone they just stay the same format that they were when I created them. That being said, an mov file with similar settings should work too.
Can you make a video about instagram stories? I can’t find one single video about this that help with improving the quality. I tried many thing but nothing seems to works
man I hope this works because ig literally puts a blur filter on my reels! I mean I’m not even using video just photos.. any tips for external apps to create reels so this doesn’t happen?! 🙏🏼
Guys I tried a trick that I found somewhere in the comments section and it worked for me.. The color grading of my cooking videos was getting screwed after I uploaded it on Instagram (30 fps and 1080). After selecting the video and clicking next, I scrolled down to the Advanced Settings and turned off Upload at Highest Quality and then Uploaded my video, and this time my video was uploaded without any screw up.
