How to make video ads
in every version and size
Why one ad is never enough
Ads are tested. The same product, filmed once, can sell well with one first line and badly with another. And each platform shows ads in its own shape: a vertical story, a square in the feed, a wide video before a YouTube video. So one shoot usually has to become several versions, each in several sizes.
How video ads are usually made
An editor cuts a first version. Then they copy the project for each new opening, reframe each copy for every size, and place the captions and the logo again each time. Three openings in three sizes is nine exports. And when the offer changes, all nine have to be opened again.
Making ads in Montage
Send the footage and say what you sell: “Make three versions with a different first line, in 9:16, 1:1 and 16:9.” Montage cuts the versions, reframes each one so the person and the product stay in the shot, and adds captions in your brand's colors from your style. You get every file, ready to upload.
Change one version, or all of them
Each version is a video of its own. Ask for any change: “Put the price on screen at the end of every version.” Each request makes a new version, so the one that performed stays as it was.
Captions, logo and the last frame
Most ads are watched without sound, so the captions carry the message. Save your fonts, colors and logo once as a style and every version uses them. Ask for the offer on screen and the logo on the last frame, so people know who is selling and what to do next.
What a good opening looks like
The first seconds decide whether someone keeps watching. A question the viewer already asks themselves, the product in use, a result shown before the explanation. Film two or three openings, and let the test tell you which one works. Montage keeps the rest of the ad the same, so only the opening changes from one version to the next.
The sizes each platform uses
Vertical 9:16 fills the screen in stories, Reels, TikTok and Shorts. 4:5 and square 1:1 take more room in a feed than a wide video does. Wide 16:9 plays before and inside YouTube videos. You do not need to remember any of this: say where the ad will run, and ask for the sizes it needs.
Tips for ads that are easy to test
- Film several openings on the day of the shoot.
- Show the product in the first seconds.
- Make the versions differ in one thing only, so you know what worked.
- Keep the captions big and short.
- Keep the music low under the voice.
- Keep stories and reels under 30 seconds.