There are some ways to give your footage more life when shooting and editing vertical videos. Justin Odisho shows us how in this video, focussing on IGTV and Instagram Stories.
I love 16:9. It's what I was raised on, what the greats used in their films and it's the ratio that, according to me, best suits an overall viewing experience, with our two eyes being next to each other and all. But the medium of content viewing has changed, and so has its ratios. If you're making social video, you might consider a 9:16 ratio, and by doing so, can give you some good ways you could use it to your advantage, to create some pro level videos to share.
I recently made a short concept video for Instagram, and took the ratio of the screen into consideration. It's said that the portrait ration photos and video get a lot more engagement due to it filling more of the mobile device screen.
How I did it
I didn't use the zoom-in or panning effect explained by Odisho, but they are good tips. I shot the video in 16:9, created a composition and edited this one clip. I applied warp stabilization, nested it, and added some speed-ramping in Premiere Pro. I then created another sequence — the main sequence — to import the first sequence, copy and rotate it, and create the reflection-effect as seen above.
What I learned
- I could've applied a slight blur to where the two clips join so the water was more seamless.
- In the next video I will pay a lot more attention to sound. I should've gone closer to record the sound of the actual train, and not traffic, but time was not on my side.
Conclusion
Short conceptual clips are a great way to showcase your skill-level, and it doesn't take that much time to do. I imagine a visual idea, and then see how I could make it. It gives me more consistency with producing short videos, and it's quite fun to challenge yourself at least once a week.