Whether your music video should be vertical or horizontal depends on where people will watch it. Short clips on Shorts, Reels and TikTok are watched on phones held upright, so they should be vertical. The main video on a YouTube channel is often watched on a bigger screen, so it is usually horizontal. Most artists need both, and the good news is you can often get both from one shoot.
Where vertical works
Vertical video fills a phone screen. In a feed where people swipe quickly, that matters: a vertical clip takes the whole screen, a horizontal one sits in a thin strip in the middle and looks like it was meant for somewhere else.
Vertical is the right choice for:
- Short clips of your song: the chorus, a hook or a verse, usually between fifteen seconds and a minute, made for Shorts, Reels or TikTok
- Performance snippets: you singing in a room, on a rooftop, in a car, close to the camera
- Behind-the-scenes and making-of moments: the studio, the rehearsal, the shoot day
- Lyric snippets: one or two lines on screen as the song plays
- Story-style teasers before a release
The first seconds matter most. Start with the strongest image or the first line of the hook, not a slow intro.
Where horizontal still wins
A lot of people watch music videos on laptops and on televisions, including YouTube on a smart TV. A horizontal frame fits those screens, and many directors compose for it: wide landscapes, two people in one shot, a band on a stage. If your video depends on space and scenery, a vertical crop will lose half of what you built.
The main release video on your YouTube channel is usually horizontal. It's also what you'd play at a screening or on a screen at a gig. If you submit a music video as a video release in the CULT portal, check the video requirements shown there for the format and size.
So the rule isn't that vertical is better. It is that each format has its own job: horizontal for the full, finished video, vertical for the short pieces that lead people to it.
Shooting both at once
You don't have to film everything twice. There are a few practical ways to get both formats from one day of shooting.
- Shoot horizontal and keep the centre safe. Film in the highest resolution your camera offers and put the important action in the middle of the frame. A tall crop from the centre then still has enough pixels for a vertical video. Always check that the crop looks intentional, not like a leftover.
- Use two cameras. Put a second camera or a phone, upright, next to the main one for performance takes. You get a real vertical angle without a second performance.
- Do a short vertical pass. After finishing the main shots, take ten minutes to film the chorus again, upright, closer to the camera. This is often the best material for short clips because the framing is made for the format.
- Plan separate vertical-only clips. Teasers and behind-the-scenes moments don't need to match the main video at all. Film them on a phone.
Framing a vertical shot
Vertical composition is different, and a few habits help:
- Go closer. Faces, hands, instruments and details work better than distant shots. A wide landscape becomes a tiny strip in a tall frame.
- Keep the subject in the middle third, top to bottom. Apps cover parts of the screen with captions, buttons and the name of the account. Keep faces and key text away from the very top, the very bottom and the right edge.
- Use height. Tall frames suit vertical movement: someone climbing stairs, a camera tilting from the floor up to the singer, a tall instrument.
- Light the face. Phone screens are small, and a face you can't see clearly is a face people scroll past.
- Protect the sound. Phone speakers are weak and many people watch without headphones, so record clean audio and keep the mix clear. Add captions for those who watch muted.
Size and format
For vertical video, the usual frame is 9:16, most often 1080 by 1920 pixels. Platforms change their length limits and technical rules from time to time, so check the current requirements before you export. Keep one master file of each version in the best quality you have, and make smaller copies for uploading.
Think of the two formats as a team. The vertical clips carry the song to people who didn't know it, and the horizontal video is where those who liked it can see the whole story.