Vertical Versus Horizontal Film Projects and when to decide which format to use

This is the biggest mistake I see brands make when filming content.

Alright—let’s clear something up, because this is really one of the biggest misunderstandings in content creation today. Vertical video and horizontal video are not interchangeable. As social media evolves, the difference between these two formats is getting significantly bigger and how you capture your video matters more than most people realize.

So here’s the simple truth: Horizontal video can, in fact, be cropped into vertical. Like this. (show example) However, vertical video cannot be turned into horizontal. Watch what happens (show example)Now to be clear, It’s IMPOSSIBLE to capture both native Vertical and native horizontal at the same time.

This might be obvious but the next points are critical to understand. Let’s start with understanding horizontal video—your classic wide frame.When filming with tripods or gimbals, we have our camera placed like this to film horizontal. This is what allows the camera sensor to capture in the standard wide format that you are use to seeing when watching Youtube videos, movies, broadcast, website videos, ect.

When we film horizontally, we’re capturing more information to fill the entire shot. Meaning More width. More environment. AND…giving more flexibility. The flexibility means, we can in fact, take that same video typically used for Youtube, broadcast, website videos, ect. and intelligently crop it into vertical format for Instagram Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Stories…All from one capture. That’s why horizontal is often considered multi-purpose safe.

But here’s where people get it wrong when choosing HOW to film the next video project. Just because horizontal can be cropped into vertical…doesn’t mean it always should be. Because cropping is a really BIG compromise. You're losing resolution due to the crop and as editors, we are re-framing after the video has been captured losing a lot of detail on the top and bottom of the screen because of the need to zoom in to fill the entire vertical screen. You can see just how much of the shot you loose from this example.

So now et’s talk about vertical video, filmed natively. To film a vertical video natively when using tripods or gimbals, we actually turn the camera on it’s side. This matters especially when using a gimbal as it needs to be re-balanced to handle the different weight setup. This shows why it’s impossible to film vertically and horizontally at the exact same time.When vertical is captured intentionally, it’s designed exactly for the social media platforms like reels, youtube shorts, tiktok, linkedin, ect.

Heres why this matters. The Framing is perfect for the full vertical screen. No detail loss from cropping in. Everything is planned specifically for the vertical frame giving a better overall video experience on the social platforms. When filming vertically, we plan for different movements that are better for the vertical format versus the horizontal format. That’s how vertical content often feels more personal and more engaging when done specifically for those platforms.

So... the big question…which one is better? Neither. They serve different purposes.

But here’s the strategy to consider when looking at both of these formats. If you need maximum flexibility for all platforms across the board then you must film horizontal with intentional composition so it can crop for the best possible outcome for both horizontal and vertical video deliverables knowing that some detail will be lost for the vertical video. We often compensate with filming farther away or with a wider lens to reduce this data loss. Again this is the compromise when delivering both horizontal and vertical video.

Now, If your primary goal is performance on social then the best bet is to film the whole project vertically, with zero compromise, to give the absolute best possible video experience specifically designed for socials and the full vertical screen.

The mistake and often times missed expectations comes from treating vertical video like an afterthought. It’s imperative to know the exact purpose and placement of your video and where you believe it will get the MOST attention.

If in fact social media is where your primary audience lives and where you get the most ROI, then capturing or producing vertical video should not just be an after thought, it ought to be the primary plan and filmed vertically from the start for the best possible performance.

When you film your video projects with intention, your content works to the highest possible performance without compromises. This is what makes the the difference between capturing video…and designing your content strategy. Post any questions below, we’ll keep the conversation going.