Should My Video Be Vertical or Horizontal?

Vertical or horizontal? Put another way, should you record so that the video image is portrait (up and down) or landscape (lengthwise)? Two years ago, I would have said horizontal. Definitely. Always. Today, however, vertical video is taking the social world by storm, made popular by the fact that 60% of videos are watched on phones, and 94% of us use our phones vertically (source). Major brands are regularly posting vertical content, and even film festivals have shown vertical videos. So what does that mean for your video? Which direction should it be?

#ProTip: Vertical or horizontal video? Depends on where it will be posted.

When you plan out your video, you should always consider where you will ultimately post it (and make sure you're posting natively). Your platform will determine the video orientation. If it's going to your website, YouTube, LinkedIn or Twitter, the video should definitely be horizontal - some of these platforms won't even upload vertical video. Videos destined for your Facebook and Instagram profile/newsfeed can be either horizontal or vertical. Videos for Facebook or Instagram Stories, as well as TikTok and Snapchat should be vertical. If you plan to post your video on more than one channel, horizontal is probably the way to go. And if you are working with a video studio (like us!) we can reformat your video to be compatible both vertically and horizontally. With a little planning, you can take advantage of the latest video trend that has literally turned our world sideways.

Katie Rutter is the executive producer of Thing in a Pot Productions. She has received multiple awards for her videos and the overall quality of her work, including being honored as Video Producer of the Year in 2018 by the Catholic Press Association. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive our video ProTips in your inbox every month!