The explore feed on your profile is probably filled with cinematic Instagram reels that receive a lot of recognition.
Cinematic Instagram reels are one of the most loved, liked, and shareable kinds of content on the platform.
So, what makes a video cinematic, to begin with?
A cinematic video is one that makes the viewer feel a certain way, and gives off a ‘movie vibe’.
Like it’s not a random video shot by a person, but a thoughtfully composed scene, a moment frozen in time.
The final video looks cinematic due to a variety of things- the lighting, the color grading, a quote (if you add it over your reel), the location, the audio you use, etc.
I’ve received so many DMs from people asking me for tips on how to create cinematic Instagram reels after my cinematic reels started getting a good number of views.
Some even reached the 100k mark in a couple of days. Here are some of the cinematic Instagram reels I’ve shared on my profile @garimashares,
An elderly couple strolling in Chandni Chowk on a sunny January day
A split-screen edit of bokeh videos I shot right outside my house
People walking by on a cold & misty evening in Sunder Nursery
A bunch of boys playing cricket on the footpath
Also Read: How To Create Reels Like A Pro Using Templates On Instagram: 3-Step Guide
Table Of Contents
What made these cinematic Instagram reels go viral?
An elderly couple strolling in Chandni Chowk on a sunny January day
Love is a thing that many people relate to, or long for. It targets a huge audience, irrespective of their age.
Also, the quote which I wrote over the reel amplifies the meaning & the theme of the whole reel – a forever kind of thing.
Music is a very important factor in making a viral-worthy cinematic Instagram reel.
Nothing strikes a chord with the Indian audience more than nostalgic, good-old Hindi songs. We are all collectively missing the quality music of the older eras.
A split-screen edit of bokeh videos I shot right outside my house
A crisp video shot on a high-resolution camera has more chance of going viral. Although, it still isn’t absolutely guaranteed since I’ve seen plenty of reels of barely a sky getting a million views.
So, we can only try out best :’). The reels I’ve linked above were all shot on Sony A7III with an 85mm f/1.8 lens. My newest lens, which I absolutely love! The depth it has is the secret to creating cinematic reels.
People walking by on a cold & misty evening in Sunder Nursery
Videos shot in the evening and during the night look aesthetic when they’re shot tastefully. Night videos are trickier to shoot because of the obvious reason – lack of natural light.
Videos tend to come out grainy 7 out-of-focus. Pay a little extra attention while shooting videos like this one. The color grading adds an oomph factor to this cinematic Instagram reel.
If you edit on your phone, try the Koloro app (Android/iOS) for grading. If you edit on your desktop, try Da Vinci Resolve.
A bunch of boys playing cricket on the footpath
Hitting that nostalgic nerve with the millennials. Even when we have tied ourselves to our phones by choice, all of us miss the times when playing meant stepping out in the sun and getting dirt off us.
Anyone who has ever played cricket in their childhood, when they see this video, most probably will share it with the friends they used to play with. Or tag them in the comments.
This increased the organic reach & engagement rate of this video.
5 Things you need to make a cinematic Instagram reel
Find the perfect music
Take your sweet time to find the perfect music/audio for your reel video. Your priority no#1 should be that the audio matches the theme of your video and your priority no#2 should be that the audio itself is trending at the moment.
Just because audio is trending doesn’t mean that any kind of video will work on it.
Your video should have at least 1 out of these 3 things
Use this reel’s template-
Cuts on beats, smooth slo-mo shots, or an aesthetic text.
For your reel to have cuts on beats, you don’t necessarily need to edit on a third-party app. You can edit such a video on Instagram itself.
And if you’re not an expert in recognizing beats and making quick cuts, use these templates to create cinematic Instagram reels in a jiffy.
In one of my reels in which I added a doodle over the reel (only possible for iPhone users, unfortunately), the majority of the comments are questions about the text.
So an aesthetic text can actually get you more views.
Also Read: How To Add Doodles On Reels: EASY HACK For iPhone Users
Shoot in slow motion
When the video is in slow motion, it automatically becomes more pleasing to look at.
If you’re shooting a slow-motion video on your camera, it will be more stable too. Your aim should to be capture any kind of movement in the frame.
Because if you’re pointing your video at a landscape view where barely anything is moving, the slow-motion effect won’t show up.
Colour grade your video
Colour grading your video can make it look more aesthetic. Add a hint of yellows to the highlights and greens/blues to the shadows to create a cinematic look.
You can do this on video editing apps like Inshot and VN. Koloro is also a great app to grade your videos.
But the best way is always to colour-grade them on your desktop using professional editing software like Da Vinci Resolve.
I have created 3 cinematic LUTs for DaVinci Resolve. I use them on my own reels and have been getting an amazing response on them.
Cinematic LUTs for videos (Set of 3) | Compatible with DaVinci Resolve
Colour-grade videos in a single click!
Install the free version of DaVinci Resolve and start using these LUTs on your videos to give them a cinematic look without compromising their quality
Find a relatable text/poem/quote
It should go with the audio you are using and the video you are posting too.
Don’t make the text size too big or too small. It should be easily readable without occupying too much space on the screen.
White-coloured text works best in most cases. A yellow one looks ‘film-like’.
