How to make a saree reel that shows the drape

What saree reels that worked do

We measured the 28 saree reels in our library — real reels, picked because they performed. They run 20 seconds in the middle, longer than the 15 of fashion reels overall, in 11 shots of about 1.8 seconds each. 33% of their shots show the saree down to the hem; the rest frame her closer. A saree has more to show than a dress, and the reels take the time to show it.

The shots a saree reel needs

• The whole drape, head to hem, at least once — the only shot that shows the saree as one piece.
• The pleats in motion: a walk, a turn, a twirl.
• The pallu, over the shoulder and falling as she turns.
• The border and the weave, close enough to read.
• The blouse, if you sell it.

Pick a template that already has them. Every template's page lists its shots one by one — how each is framed and what happens in it — under About this template.

The photo that works best

Lay the saree out — on a bed, a table or the floor — so its whole length shows, with the border and the pallu both visible, and photograph it straight on in even light, without flash. That reads better than a saree on a hanger, because the border and the pallu design are what the video has to carry across the drape. Add a second photo of the pallu or the blouse if they are the point of the piece. A saree already on a model works too.

Add the blouse only if you sell it: leave it out and the video keeps the blouse it was filmed with. If the reel turns her away from the camera, the upload card asks for a photo of the back as well.

Choose the occasion

The saree templates are shelved by occasion as well as by garment — wedding, bridal, sangeet, mehendi, haldi, reception, festive and casual — each with the sarees filmed for it. Pick the shelf your collection is for, and the setting and the pace already match.

Make it

1. Open a saree template and add your photos.
2. Pick a model from the library — the same one across a collection keeps your feed consistent — or keep the one the reel was filmed with.
3. Keep the background as filmed, or move it: a wedding lawn, a palace courtyard, anywhere you type.
4. Choose 720p or 1080p and make it. About ten minutes later you have a vertical, silent MP4 of your saree through every shot.