There is so much vertical video in the world today. It’s used on every social media platform and in so many different ways. It’s essential to produce the highest quality content to stand out and be seen. In this video, we are going to show you how to get the highest quality vertical video.
Getting started
Start your project thinking about how it will look best in a vertical frame. Put your most compelling content up front of your video to keep viewers from scrolling past. Choosing a dynamic shot with either great camera movement or fantastic color. Make sure to get great coverage. The more shot options you have during the editing process, the more dynamic the cut. Lastly, think about how you are going to capture the story. Regardless of what you plan to show, a compelling story is key to keeping an audience engaged.
Crop or native?
There are two ways to get to vertical video, either by cropping out a 9×16 image out of the center of your 16×9 video or shooting the video vertically natively.
When filming in 16×9 and cropping to 9×16, you lose a lot of resolution. In 16×9, you have to film in 4K just to crop to 9×16 HD frame.
Keep in mind that cropping makes getting the best composition more difficult, unless you monitor and shoot with 9×16 guides. A cheap way to get a 9×16 center-cut crop is to tape it off on your monitor.
Native shooting
Mounting the camera vertically, you can film in 4K, keep the detail and have room to re-frame. This is a major reason to mount the camera on its side.
Mounting a camera on its side is the easiest way to shoot native vertical video. If your camera has a mount for this, just mount the camera to a camera plate and you’re ready to go.
Like with the Canon EOS C70, where it has a dedicated grip-side ¼-20” tripod mount.
Try to make smaller and more controlled movements. Be as stable as you can, try a wider angle, as they are easier to keep steady.
Good composition is good composition, regardless of aspect ratio. Using leading lines and the rule of thirds helps create a compelling scene.
Make sure you monitor your shot properly, like with the on-screen display of the C70, which can be oriented 90 or 270 degrees.
The edit
The first step when editing is importing your footage. You’ll need to rotate your video. But that’s not necessary with the C70 that captures orientation metadata, written when shooting in MP4—the files are correctly oriented (9×16) when imported into your editor.
Here’s a tip for those shooting 16×9 and cropping—you can track your subject and keep them in the center of your frame, rather than have them move out of the viewing area. Also, take advantage of negative space for non-verbal communication, like to swipe up.
Last up is the export. Currently, all social media vertical video is 1080 by 1920, so the ability to downscale from a greater resolution for final output gives the best image.
Bringing it all together
Now that you have watched this video, you are ready to make the highest quality vertical video.
Learn more about the Canon EOS C70.
