Vertical video is not a landscape edit turned sideways. What changes when the platform, not the viewer, decides who sees your work.
On social platforms the first three seconds are not an introduction. They are an audition in front of an algorithm that decides how many people ever see the rest.
Shoot for vertical from the start
Cropping a landscape edit to 9:16 throws away the sides of every frame, which is exactly where a wide shot puts its information. If a video is destined for reels, it gets framed vertically on set — or shot with enough headroom that both crops work.
Assume the sound is off
A large share of viewers watch muted. Anything essential that exists only in the audio does not exist. Burned-in subtitles, on-screen text and visual storytelling are not accessibility extras here; they are the primary channel.
One shoot, many cuts
The economics only work if a single production day yields a month of content. We plan coverage accordingly: a hero cut for the website, vertical cuts for social, stills pulled from the footage, loops for stories.
Hook, payoff, then the brand
The pattern that works is consistent: open on the most visually arresting frame you have, deliver the promised payoff quickly, and place the brand where someone who already stayed will see it. Leading with a logo is the fastest way to lose the audition.
- video
- reels
- social media
- content strategy
