Instagram Video Maker & Editor

Create Instagram videos, reels and stories with Descript’s Instagram video maker. Whether you’re creating faceless videos or marketing materials for Instagram, Descript is your one-stop-shop with time-saving templates and a unique workflow that makes it easy to produce a large volume of Instagram videos to fill your content calendar.

Upgrade your video quality with Descript

High-quality content is what stands out on Instagram and other social platforms (a good haircut helps too). Descript’s free video editing app is ideal for creating quick, sharp, scroll-stopping clips. Descript lets you edit your video just like a doc — and add captions, animations, and waveforms in a few clicks. It makes creating online Instagram videos for your reels, IGTV, or stories easy — and no more messing around with complicated timelines.

Download the app →

How to make Instagram videos, reels, or stories

Step 1

Upload content or start recording

Create a new project in Descript where you can start recording from scratch or upload your existing videos, images, and audio. You can also find stock media like music and GIFs in our built-in media library. Change the aspect ratio and video settings to square (1:1), portrait (9:16), or something custom, based on whether you’re creating videos for stories, reels, or your feed.

Step 2

Edit your Instagram video

Use the transcript-based editor to make edits to your video. Highlight text and hit backspace to delete it, paste in media to add it as a layer over specific moments, or use the Actions menu to add AI voiceovers, captions, shapes, waveforms, animations, and more. Arrange these elements to your liking in the canvas, then save it as a template if you want to reuse the video layout and design in the future.

Step 3

Publish your videos to Instagram

When your video is ready, click Publish to download your video as an MP4 you can upload directly to Instagram or your social media scheduling app. If you want to create variations for other Instagram video types, you can highlight all or part of your video and right click to duplicate it to a new composition where you can customize it while preserving the original.

Upgrade your video quality with Descript

High-quality content is what stands out on Instagram and other social platforms (a good haircut helps too). Descript’s free video editing app is ideal for creating quick, sharp, scroll-stopping clips. Descript lets you edit your video just like a doc — and add captions, animations, and waveforms in a few clicks. It makes creating online Instagram videos for your reels, IGTV, or stories easy — and no more messing around with complicated timelines.

Download the app →

Edit like a pro with Descript

Layer audio

Descript lets you easily layer and mix audio like sound effects, voice-over, and other non-audio media. You can easily layer multiple video clips, presets, images, and fun stuff like stickers and GIFs.

Add titles and captions

Descript’s Fancy Captions feature makes it one-click simple to overlay text on your video, for accessibility or for fun. As many as 60% of Instagram users watch videos without sound — so make sure they know what you’re saying with titles, subtitles, and captions.

Smooth transitions

If your video is a slide show or splices multiple clips, you can create a hierarchy between section breaks by adding crossfades between cuts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why should I use Descript for Instagram?

Descript is a powerful editing tool that’s simple enough for beginners who want to produce high-quality videos who don’t require the effects, or the complexity, in Adobe Premiere Rush. Everything you need to make a professional-quality video is here. However, you can also easily export your timeline to Adobe Premiere Pro or Apple Final Cut if you need to include green-screen, color correction, or other effects.

What are the Instagram video sizes?

When you’re optimizing video content for your Instagram feed, you can set your videos to three possible aspect ratios:

  • 1:1 – Square (1080 x 1080)
  • 1.91:1 – Landscape (1080 x 607)
  • 4:5 – Portrait (1080 x 1350)

Instagram stories, reels, and IGTV use a 9:16 aspect ratio of 1080 x 1920 (though Instagram reels appear in 4:5 on the home screen).

Hot tip: Since TikTok uses the same aspect ratio as Instagram’s reels, you can export your video directly from your Mac or Windows desktop or mobile to use on both social media platforms.

Can I resize a video for Instagram with Descript’s free version?

You can. Descript's free version lets you create, edit, and export videos, and comes with three free hours of video transcription.

With a $12/month subscription to the Creator package, you receive 10 hours of transcription and watermark-free exporting. With the $24/month Pro package, you’ll get the same features with 30 hours of video transcription. Contact us, and we’ll negotiate pricing for the Enterprise package, including a dedicated account representative, onboarding, and training.

What is a video embed code?

The video embed code connects a video to a page and determines how it appears in the inline frame (iframe). If you know your way around CSS, Javascript, or HTML5, you can resize the video or add elements like autoplay.

Download the app for free

Create a podcast, a video, and all your social assets using Descript. It’s as easy as editing a doc.
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Instagram Video Editor

Instagram Video Editor

Create Instagram videos, reels and stories with Descript’s Instagram video maker. Whether you’re creating faceless videos or marketing materials for Instagram, Descript is your one-stop-shop with time-saving templates and a unique workflow that makes it easy to produce a large volume of Instagram videos to fill your content calendar.

Get started →
How to make Instagram videos, reels, or stories
  • 3
    Create a new project
    Drag your file into the box above, or click Select file and import it from your computer or wherever it lives.
Step 1
Upload content or start recording

Create a new project in Descript where you can start recording from scratch or upload your existing videos, images, and audio. You can also find stock media like music and GIFs in our built-in media library. Change the aspect ratio and video settings to square (1:1), portrait (9:16), or something custom, based on whether you’re creating videos for stories, reels, or your feed.

Step 2
Edit your Instagram video

Use the transcript-based editor to make edits to your video. Highlight text and hit backspace to delete it, paste in media to add it as a layer over specific moments, or use the Actions menu to add AI voiceovers, captions, shapes, waveforms, animations, and more. Arrange these elements to your liking in the canvas, then save it as a template if you want to reuse the video layout and design in the future.

Step 3
Publish your videos to Instagram

When your video is ready, click Publish to download your video as an MP4 you can upload directly to Instagram or your social media scheduling app. If you want to create variations for other Instagram video types, you can highlight all or part of your video and right click to duplicate it to a new composition where you can customize it while preserving the original.

Make engaging Instagram videos in bulk
Easily create IG videos for reels, posts, and stories

Descript streamlines every part of content creation for Instagram. Inside the editor are all the tools for easy trimming, merging, and enhancing videos. Create multiple compositions to cover all formats, from 9:16 portrait videos for reels and stories, and 1:1 square videos for main feed posts—then export them together at once.

Perfect for podcasts, tutorials, promo videos, and more

Quickly create bite-sized videos from long-form videos or fresh social media content from scratch, like relatable meme videos and eye-catching promotional assets. Our versatile text-based editor with built-in recording is especially good for creating educational content, engaging Q&A sessions, and “day in the life” vlogs.

Create time-saving templates

Attract more engagement on your Instagram videos with branded templates that combine animated captions, background music, transitions, visual and sound effects, and GIFs to capture and keep the attention of social media viewers.

Questions? We have answers
How do I get more engagement with my Instagram videos?

Instagram users respond to fast-paced, accessible videos that can be consumed with the sound off. When creating your video, make sure to use Descript’s automatic captions to capture attention, quick cuts and transitions to stop people from scrolling past, and sound effects and background music where it makes sense.

What's the best video maker for Instagram?

Descript is the best Instagram video maker for creating a high volume of great Instagram video content on desktop. Everything you need is accessible from the Descript editor, including stock footage, music, and GIFs. There’s no need to scour different stock media websites. Get all the royalty-free assets you need in Descript.

How can I use AI to make Instagram videos?

You can use AI to handle tedious tasks such as transcribing content and adding captions in a matter of seconds. Text-based editing can eliminate the process of cutting, merging, and refining footage in a timeline to keep it fast-paced for social media. You can also use AI to add realistic voiceovers to make any Instagram video seem more professional and appealing.

What makes a good Instagram video?

A good Instagram video should engage the viewer instantly. It should have a clear focus or message, high-quality visuals, and a pace that keeps viewers interested. Add cuts and transitions, ensure the video has good lighting and clear audio, and use creative storytelling techniques to boost appeal.

What types of Instagram videos can I create?

Instagram users enjoy a wide range of content, from educational tutorials to behind-the-scenes footage. Descript can help you create nearly any kind of video, including product demos, vlogs, announcements, and collaborations with influencers. Check out these Instagram video ideas for inspiration.

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Descript is the only tool you need to write, record, transcribe, edit, collaborate, and share your videos and podcasts.
What is the point of this tool?
Descript is the only tool you need to write, record, transcribe, edit, collaborate, and share your videos and podcasts.
More than an Instagram video maker
Descript is an AI-powered audio and video editing tool that lets you edit videos for Instagram and other social media websites like a doc.
  • Video editing
    Descript speeds up video editing with a text-based editor that's ideal for content creators and marketers.
  • Social media clips
    Quickly create social media clips for Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, and more in any size or format.
  • Templates
    Create and save your templates to maintain a consistent style across all your Instagram videos.
  • Stock media library
    Add stock footage, background music, sound effects, and GIFs from right inside Descript.