Vertical Video

(Sigh)

You know it. You see it daily, but when it comes time to create content...you hate it. All the limitations. The pain in your neck because you no longer move your head side to side.

Thats ok. We feel your pain. We hate it too. Or, at least we used to.

So what is vertical (portrait) video anyway? Its the thorn in the side of every cinematographer. The soul crushing ‘no-room-to-fit-anything’ into the frame wasteland of Tik Tok, Reels, and other popular social media platforms. But, like many things that Scorsese and Tarantino dismiss as ‘not art’, vertical video is immensely popular and you could argue that the younger generation is consuming far more vertical video than traditional 16:9 wide format. Here, we’ll give you a good look at the enemy below:

(We created these, so its not all bad)

Well, what can we do about it? This is a classic ‘if you can’t beat em, join em’ scenario.

To be honest, its a new and exciting challenge to tell stories in less space, and use the framing to direct the eyes to specific visuals and information. Could you just simply turn your phone sideways and we wouldn’t have to rewrite the production rules? Sure…but what fun would that be? (Extreme sarcasm detected).

The secret? Don’t just shoot wide and try to force it into vertical, or vice versa. Create content with orientation in mind, and use it to tell a deeper story. Get more intimate with an interview. Reveal things with a tilt where you used to employ a pan. Keep having fun and enjoying the process because that will affect the end result more than what width you are working with.

Sure, it’s limited. But sometimes limitations create opportunity. At OOAK, we are all about looking at what’s in front of us and finding the story. We don’t force you into a template or make your video look like everyone else. We make you stand out in a sea of same-ness.