A Quick Look at Vertical Music Videos' Past and Future

Abstract

Nowadays we find more and more videos, especially music videos, that were released on a vertical or portrait format. These format certainly were uncommon
ten to fifteen years ago, but nowadays videos that use vertical format can be found anywhere, from amateur youtube videos to professionally made music videos.
Certainly, the development of mobile phone technology plays a significant part in how the format came to be but does the mobile phone itself creates the advent of the vertical format? This paper attempts to explain how the vertical format became a format that slowly became popular. From looking at various vertical format videos from the past, examining the technological advances and other contexts that may also influence the format's formation, and also the way people captures moving images; the author attempts to provide an insight on how the vertical format videos became a common thing nowadays. Based on several literature reviews, the author also compares the vertical format and the horizontal format in hopes to provide insight on how these formats differ. The author also tries to predict how the future ofthe vertical format may influence cinematography on other media in the long run. The paper concludes by pointing out several ideas on how to respond to the vertical format itself.

Keywords: Vertical Videos, Music Video, Aspect Ratio, Cinematography