Is the future of video vertical?

I'll admit it: I've been a dinosaur when it comes to vertical video. I've clung to the fact that our natural field of vision is more landscape than portrait, and that TVs and monitors are nearly all horizontal.

But mobile has changed a lot of things. And if you want your message to reach people, you need to adapt to the channel they're using. (Of course, you'll want to keep tabs on your specific audience; if they're mostly viewing your content on desktop monitors or from their La-Z-Boys on 60-inch 4K living room TVs, then hey: YMMV.) It isn't just that a viewer may not want to rotate their screen; some platforms — notably Instagram's new IGTV — just plain don't support horizontal video.

It's not that landscape video is dead — not even close. But bringing vertical into your mix makes more and more sense.

That's especially true for leadership communicators; often, you're shooting a single person speaking to camera and framing them tightly. And there's a reason they call it "portrait" mode. Even though our natural field of vision is horizontal, our natural field of attention when we're listening to someone is probably more square or vertical.

So fellow dinosaurs, get used to rotating your camera — or maybe to not rotating your smartphone. You may need to shop around for software that can handle this brave new vertical world (get with the program, iMovie!), but if the metrics I'm seeing are any indication, your reward may well be more engagement with a bigger audience.