Vertical videos are now crucial for social media.
In fact, engagement is 4 times better on Facebook for vertical videos.
And there's a 90% higher completion rate for people watching vertical videos rather than horizontal (Yans Media).
Why?
Because people are on their phones when consuming social media.
And on your phone widescreen videos look tiny.
Let's take a look:
Big difference, right?
So should I just film vertical?
Not really.
If you're filming on your phone for Instagram Stories, then yes. But if you're making videos for Facebook or Instagram Feeds, then you should film horizontal. Only afterwards do you make the vertical version for social media. This means that you also get to keep a widescreen version for your website or YouTube.
So how do you make the vertical version?
Finish your normal horizontal video in your editing program.
Duplicate the project timeline (in Adobe Premiere Pro, right-click on your timeline file)
For the new duplicated version, change the frame size to the 4:5 dimension. This is 1728 x 2160 for HD footage or 864 x 1080 for 4K footage.
Adjust any shots that might need repositioning (as only the middle of the frame will be showing).
That's it! It's an extra step to remember, but it's absolutely worth it for social media content. You can see from the above example why people engage more with vertical video. And the statistics back this up.
In our video editing course & videography workshops we teach you this exact workflow ready for you to make your own social media videos. The course is delivered 1-1 at your workplace and entirely personalised to your video goals. Find out more for Brisbane or Sydney.