Vertical video specifications
- Aspect ratio: 9:16 is standard; 4:5 and 1:1 are also used in feeds
- Resolution: 1080 × 1920 pixels for Full HD; 720 × 1280 as a lower rung
- Frame rate: 24, 25 or 30 frames per second for drama; 60 for sport and gaming
- Safe areas: keep faces, text and subtitles clear of the top and bottom edges, where app controls sit
Why vertical matters
People hold phones upright most of the time. A horizontal video played that way occupies about a third of the screen; a vertical one fills it. Short-form apps made full-screen vertical viewing the default, and audiences now expect it for anything they watch casually on a phone.
What a streaming service needs
- A player that shows vertical video full screen and swipes between items
- Encoding ladders built for portrait dimensions, not a landscape ladder rotated
- Vertical artwork and thumbnails
- Catalog support for both orientations, so a service can carry films and vertical series together
- Sensible presentation on televisions and desktops, where vertical video is pillarboxed
Shooting for vertical
Vertical framing favors people over places: close-ups, one or two characters, movement toward and away from the camera. Cropping a horizontal master rarely works well, because the composition was made for a wide frame. Content intended for phones is best shot vertically from the start.
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