Black Forest Studios RE:FORMAT labs
Existing content. New format.
Your catalogue was finished for a screen hardly anyone holds any more. We recut it for vertical: dramaturgy, edit, sound, colour and language versions, all under one roof in Germany.
Why it works
The title is finished. The audience moved on.
Everything expensive about a film has already happened: cast, shoot, rights, risk. What is missing is a version for the format people watch today. That version needs no production. It needs an edit.
A second master, not a second shoot
The same material, restructured into short vertical episodes with their own hooks and cliffhangers.
One film becomes a season
A 90-minute feature gives around 40 vertical episodes, each built to make you watch the next.
Your rights stay yours
We are your post-production house. No rights, no shares, no stake.
Anatomy of a recut
What actually happens to the picture.
Vertical is not a crop. Every shot gets a decision: what the frame follows, where the eye goes, what falls out of the picture, and where the story cuts.
Source · 16:9
Vertical · 9:16
Framing, shot by shot.
The vertical frame follows the action and is keyframed per shot, not nailed to the centre. Two-shots that cannot hold both faces are split or recut.
Titles, type and inserts are rebuilt.
Anything that is only legible in the wide frame is moved or replaced. Nothing important sits outside the delivered picture.
Sound and colour carry over.
The recut inherits the mix and the look of the original. We conform, we do not reinvent.
Dramaturgy
From one film to a season.
The cut is the smaller half. The real work is structure: finding the episode breaks a vertical audience follows, and giving every episode a reason to keep watching.
Example: a 90-minute film becomes around 40 vertical episodes.
Episodes run 45 to 95 seconds. A hook lands roughly every 15 seconds, and each episode ends on a question the next one answers. That is the rhythm a vertical audience is trained on.
What comes out
Not every title yields the same season.
How much usable vertical material a title gives depends on how it was shot and written. We measure it per title before we offer anything, which is why every project starts with an EVALUATE.
Share of the source running time that arrives as finished vertical episodes.
How it works
Three steps, in this order.
We read the title first.
Rights check and yield forecast per title: what your music and cast contracts cover for vertical, and how many finished episodes the material realistically gives.
We recut it.
Dramaturgy, edit, framing, sound, colour and QC. Every episode in both formats, to your spec, from our own post-production.
We take it into your markets.
Subtitles and AI dubbing in the languages you need, timed, mixed and checked by our team, not dumped out of a tool.
We price per title and offer discounts on title batches. Ask us!
What you get
Delivered ready to publish.
Episode masters
Every episode in 9:16 and 16:9, in your codec and container, checked against your delivery spec.
Subtitle files
Per language, timed to the recut, as sidecar files or burned in on request.
Artwork frames
Vertical thumbnails and title art from the recut, ready for platform ingest.
Episode map
One document showing which source timecode became which episode. Your rights department can trace it.
Our commitments
Clear limits, no small print.
Your rights stay your rights.
We are your post-production house. No rights, no shares, no stake.
Non-exclusive throughout.
No territory tied up, no window blocked, no first look.
Masters go to you.
Complete episode masters, both formats, your spec, your storage.
One partner, one invoice.
Edit, sound, colour, localisation and QC under one roof in Germany.
Questions
The short answers.
What is RE:FORMAT?
RE:FORMAT is the Black Forest Studios service that recuts existing films and series into vertical episodes. We restructure the story, edit, frame, mix and grade it, and master every episode in 9:16 and 16:9. Rights and masters stay with the owner.
How much does a recut cost?
It starts with an EVALUATE for €500 net per title: a rights check and a yield forecast, credited against the recut. TITLE (the recut) and GLOBAL (subtitles and AI dubbing) are quoted per title and per language. We offer discounts on title batches.
How many episodes does a feature film give?
A 90-minute film gives around 40 vertical episodes. The share of the source running time that arrives as finished episodes is 60 to 70 percent for dialogue-driven drama, 50 to 60 percent for series and daily, and 35 to 45 percent for wide-angle action and ensemble.
How long does a recut take?
Roughly five weeks for a full season, depending on the title and its length. We confirm the schedule in the quote, after the EVALUATE.
Who keeps the rights?
You do. We are your post-production house: no rights, no shares, no stake, and no exclusivity. Complete episode masters in both formats go to you.
Which formats and languages do you deliver?
Every episode comes as 9:16 vertical and 16:9 horizontal master. Subtitles and AI dubbing are available in the languages you need, timed and checked by our team.
How do we start?
Send us one title. We start with an EVALUATE, so you know the rights position and the likely yield before you commit to a recut.
Updated October 2026
Start with one title
Send us your title.
Begin with a single title and an EVALUATE. You know the yield and the rights position before you commit to a recut.
Sebastian Weiland, Managing Director · sw@blackforest-studios.com · +49 172 7324931