Vertical shooting: creating professional videos for networks

On this platform, Mario García Pérez, video strategist in Cosmic (agency specializing in the creation of short videos for TikTok, Instagram and YouTube), reviews the technological and conceptual keys of vertical videos, a trend that is experiencing a golden era marked by the voracious consumption of short-term content.

The evolution that has led us to vertical videos I have lived it in a very curious way. I came from training on cinema in a specialized school where we were educated exclusively horizontally. I remember having teachers who, although at that time vertical video was beginning to become popular with the first mobile phones, they always scandalized at the idea of being shot like this. In the end, time has brought us to it.

If you think about it, it has been a logical evolution. The cinema format was born horizontally, because that is how our eyes are positioned. It was a natural technical development. Now, the medium in which we consume the most audiovisual content is mobile, and obviously the change had to adapt to its most common viewing format.

From these devices, we consume content super fast. The concept is no longer to sit down and decide to watch a movie, taking into account that it may have a slow start and “nothing” happens during the first 20 minutes: it is to go on TikTok and see you in just 10 minutes 80 videos doing a scroll very fast. This has led consumers, but also the industry, to produce videos that engage from the second one; If it hasn't caught your attention in two seconds, you're already using your finger as a trigger.

Rolling, always, vertically

The content always has to hook you, but the visual part is still just as important. The more beautiful, elaborate and better quality have a video, you'd better do it. It may seem contradictory, taking into account that the content is consumed from the mobile phone, but without this look, and TikTok can pull back.

In our case, we usually always record vertically in 4K format. We always carefully prepare the shot, leave room for framing and, when it comes to cropear, we export the videos in 1080p. If it were recorded horizontally and cropping was necessary, much of the resolution would be lost. If you have to capture the movement of a person, it may be favorable to shoot horizontally, but 99% of the time we do it vertically.

We usually always record vertically in 4K format. We always carefully prepare the plano, we leave room for framing and, when it comes to cropear, we export the videos in 1080p.

As I mentioned before, another very important aspect is the framing, and more specifically the safe area: parts of the screen where you cannot put key elements of the content. It is necessary to imagine dividing the screen into three thirds, knowing that you cannot put any element at the bottom because the copy of the video or the user's name. Of these upper two thirds that remain, we must be careful with the right part, which is also more limited, because in TikTok the part of the like, save video or share.

Therefore, if, for example, I am producing an advertisement for a bag, we must take into account that about 40% of the space should be used with simpler elements, leaving the prominence of the product or content in the remaining 60%.

Filming with semi-professional cameras or mobile phones

In our day to day life, although there are exceptions, for both studio and outdoor productions I use two cameras: one Sony A7S III and the latest model iPhone. They both give you a good answer, they handle a good Frame rate and they can record in the 4K resolution that we are looking for.

Although on paper it may seem unprofessional, many times it is better to use the mobile (always with conditions of favorable shoot)

In the case that we use the Sony A7S III, we often combine it with different systems gimbal to offer lighter movement. However, although on paper it may seem unprofessional, it is often better to use your cell phone directly (always with favorable filming conditions such as a controlled and illuminated environment with professional equipment). Quick transition videos are common on TikTok, and no matter how much you have a stabilizer and spectacular agility with your hands, on the iPhone it looks much more native and, in the end, natural.

Another very important aspect is the audio, which if not recorded correctly can pull the viewer back. We use professional capture equipment to capture this issue, and especially to work with format videos. ASMR, which work in a spectacular way.

Post-production of vertical videos

Regarding post-production, we edit the videos with software such as Adobe Premiere o Final Cut. TikTok is the network to which we are most dedicated, and therefore, sometimes, we use CapCut (TikTok) to do some specific things like voice-over natives of this social network, for example. Once we complete the piece, we carry out a color treatment to achieve maximum quality. Until now we had used the plugins integrated into these tools, but we have started doing research with DaVinci: We are always tinkering with things to improve.

There are no established formats that ensure maximum quality in dissemination in these media. We are talking about networks in which millions of videos are uploaded a day and that have a spectacular amount of traffic and volume. Although we have tried it, We have not been able to upload cinema quality video, because it is very common for the application architecture to end up failing. In our case, we export in a Full HD and, if we normally record at 60 or 50 fps (depending on whether the video comes from an iPhone or a camera), we export to 25 o 30 fps. It is the optimal way of working: people are used to cinema at 24 fps, and the result is good.

A vertical future

As in all audiovisual media, evolution is always aimed at achieving a higher quality in both professional and amateur environments. I remember that, when I started, the strange thing was who had access to a Canon 600D and recorded with the lens that came with it. Now, everyone has access to these technologies.

The quality of the vertical formats has continued to evolve over the years and, in the face of this continuous improvement, professional media have to look for a plus at a technical or post-production level

The quality of vertical formats has continued to evolve over the years and, in the face of this continuous improvement, professional media have to look for a plus at a technical or post-production level, as well as being always attentive every trend that appears. Only then can we stand out from the millions of videos that we have at our fingertips and that can be created by amateurs or by AI tools such as Sora from Open AI, which can also help us professionals with the search for a video of stock or avoiding the need to record a footage concrete.

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