A smart phone is meant to be held upright for most purposes: making calls, (sometimes for) clicking pictures, and so on. But when was the last time you saw a video on your phone, apart from some social media platforms, in portrait (vertical) mode?
In recent years, the concept of vertical video has gone from being a mere advertising tool to becoming an important part of mainstream media. This makes sense, since smartphone users hold their phones vertically more than 90% of the time, as multiple studies have reported.
Vertical videos come in different sizes, but the most common examples come in the 9:16 aspect ratio. While the traditional format of watching videos on phones has been horizontal—an aspect ratio of 16:9—a vertical video is taller rather than wider, hence the reversed aspect ratio.
The vertical-video format is well suited for most bezel-less devices. And since these videos take up the entire screen, the viewing experience becomes more engaging and immersive.
If you search the words “vertical video" on YouTube, you will find everyone from American pop rock band Imagine Dragons to singer and songwriter Halsey presenting their content in the portrait-video format. One of the earliest examples of a vertical video was demonstrated by Canadian music performer and producer Harrison in 2015. The music video of his 2015 song How Can It Be? was created and optimized specifically for mobile viewing. It was uploaded on the video platform Vimeo and even carried a disclaimer that viewers should watch it on their mobile phones to fully enjoy the video.
In April, Indian music-streaming app Gaana announced an exclusive new feature that enables users to watch vertical-format videos. “Gaana Videos is a vertical-video format that accompanies new and popular music and is handcrafted by artists exclusively for our users. It delivers a far more immersive and personal video-led musical experience.... Since its launch in April, Gaana Videos has significantly increased user engagement on our platform," says Prashan Agarwal, CEO, Gaana, on email.
A key turning point for the vertical-video format was the advent of Snapchat. Therese Moriarty, a New York-based video and emerging tech consultant, writes on the blogging website Medium in 2017 that before Snapchat, vertical video was a “maligned format". “At the time, vertical video was the hallmark of a digital dolt," writes Moriarty. While Snapchat was launched in 2011 in the 9:16 aspect ratio, the app introduced video support the following year.
YouTube, the most widely used outlet for video consumption, added support for full-screen playback of vertical videos on mobile in 2015. By 2018, users were able to play vertical videos on YouTube on desktops too—this was done through aspect-ratio changes to the YouTube player. In 2018, Instagram, too, introduced IGTV, which allows creators to shoot high-quality, 4K videos in the vertical format.
The most recent example is video-streaming service Netflix, which introduced video previews of new shows in the vertical format. According to a recent article on the news website Variety, Netflix is also testing a new feed, called Extras, for its mobile app “that aggregates trailers, photos and alerts for upcoming shows in an Instagram-like fashion".
In India, the over-the-top (OTT) video-streaming market is set to touch $5 billion (around ₹34,800 crore) by 2023, according to a 2018 Boston Consulting Group report. And, given that more and more Indian users are expected to access the internet through mobile devices in the years to come, a huge chunk of the video-watching traffic in the country is bound to go through mobile devices.
Tips to shoot a vertical video
Avoid fast, horizontal, side-to-side movements: Since the field of view in a 9:16 frame is narrow, any quick horizontal pans would make it difficult to understand what’s being captured. Slow pans and 360-degree rotations work.
Use grids: Most smartphone cameras give you the option of using grids in your viewfinder, which will help you place the subject of your video right at the centre.
Add graphics and text: You can use animations, GIFs and other graphics in spaces that are away from your main subject.
DIFFERENT ASPECT RATIOS ON MOBILE SCREENS
Horizontal: 16:9
Square: 1:1
Vertical: 4:5, 2:3, 9:16
