Vertical Video Production

Over half of online video is now watched on a mobile device, so optimising your video for mobile delivery is key to success.

More specifically, the viewing of mobile video via social media platforms has exploded in recent years and social video produces 12 times more likes and shares than text and image only content. For almost all of us, it is clearly now essential to think about social video for mobile when devising a video campaign

The aspect ratio of a video determines what shape the player is presented in. For example, a video with an aspect ratio of 1:1 will be presented as a square, whereas a video with an aspect ratio of 16:9 will be presented as a landscape oriented rectangle.

Embraced by big brands, social media platforms and viewers alike, vertical video is now extremely popular, presenting as a vertical rectangle. Typically, vertical video comes with a portrait aspect ratio of 9:16 or 4:5.

Obviously, one of the main reasons for the rise of vertical video, is that users naturally hold their mobile phones vertically when using them and without turning and expanding the screen a 16:9 (landscape) video is not going to fill the screen as fully as a vertical one and therefore have less visual impact. There is also a growing body of evidence that in many scenarios vertical video achieves a higher level of engagement with audiences.

In practice, there is a compelling case for creating your video in a variety of aspect ratios. A landscape rectangle is still hugely popular on YouTube and for website embeds, whereas as 1:1 (square) and 4:5 (vertical rectangle) are well received on Instagram and Facebook.

A longer vertical rectangle with an aspect ratio of 9:16 is the format of choice for Instagram and Facebook Stories, where the video fills the entire screen for the greatest visual impact, with an overlaid ‘Swipe Up’ link to drive users to further content.