Even though a mock Vertical Video Syndrome PSA first appeared in 2012, it seems as if portrait mode video is making a big splash.

According to Snapchat (as quoted in Long Considered an Eyesore, Vertical Video Is Now Being Embraced by Mobile Marketers on Entrepreneur),

“Vertical video ads are nine times more likely to be viewed to completion than their horizontal counterparts.”

There’s even a platform dedicated exclusively to vertical videos. Vervid plans to become the Youtube for “thoughtful content” shot in upright mode on iPhones. They write on Medium:

“We hold our phones vertically 90% of the time. Thanks to Snapchat and now Meerkat and Periscope, this behavior is becoming even more normalized as more and more content is being shot natively in portrait mode. So rather than having to constantly switch between how we naturally hold our phones (vertically) to the way most media has traditionally been formatted (horizontally), users are now able to enjoy content the way they’ve secretly always wanted to — upright, up close and personal.”

My take: even though purists might decry this state of affairs, I think it’s only a natural evolution. Consider that over 50% of Youtube views now come from mobile. Those mobile viewers will gladly watch in portrait orientation, saving themselves the time to rotate their phones horizontally. And though almost all movies are shot using horizontal aspect ratios, Xavier Dolan went 1:1 for Mommy!