Vertical Storytelling: The New Cinematic Language?

How the 9:16 frame went from throwaway format to storytelling frontier.

If you told me 20 years ago that filmmakers would start framing for vertical, I would’ve assumed we’d collectively lost the plot…

That the industry as we know it has hit rock bottom.

Now, it’s not just happening - it’s evolving into an entirely new cinematic language.

And honestly? I’m here for it.

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For years, my friend Scott Brown has been championing the idea of narrative vertical storytelling.

Not “vertical ads” or “Reels” but actual character-driven, story-structured, serialized filmmaking shot for 9:16.

And after talking about it forever, he’s finally doing it.

Watching him bring this format to life has been wild - not because the technology is new, but because the perspective is.

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🧠 Vertical Isn’t Just a Crop - It’s a New Canvas.

Traditional filmmaking has always favored the wide frame - landscapes, scope, and symmetry. The horizontal frame is designed to contain worlds.

But the vertical frame is different.

It turns every shot into a portrait.

It collapses distance.

It forces intimacy.

You can’t hide in a wide when the viewer is holding the frame in their hand.

There’s no grandeur - only closeness.

It’s uncomfortable for traditional filmmakers at first, but it’s also liberating. You stop thinking about geography and start thinking about presence.

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🎬 The Challenge (and the Opportunity)

Yes - vertical storytelling takes getting used to.

The framing feels awkward at first. Blocking feels constrained. Even editing changes - your cuts are tighter, your rhythm different, your eye line trickier.

But here’s the thing: That friction breeds invention.

When branded narrative content started emerging - the stuff that sits between marketing and mini-series - most creators were still treating it like TV spots.

But the brands that are winning right now are embracing story-first, mobile-first vertical series.

Think:

• Episodic arcs told through Reels.

• Serialized branded dramas on TikTok.

• Emotional storytelling with vertical pacing and performance in mind.

Vertical just fits.

It’s where story meets attention.

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📱 The New Screen, the New Grammar

Like most elder filmmakers, I once swore I’d never film for a phone. And I was pretty vocal about it at one point in my life.

Now, I’ve stopped shaking my fist at the sky, and I’ve come to terms with the fact that that’s where most people experience story on a daily basis.

And I eventually realized, you can roll your eyes - or you can roll your camera.

Because here’s the truth: the platforms aren’t killing cinema, exactly - they’re mutating it.

Every generation invents its own visual grammar, and this one’s writing in 9:16.

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Final Frame

I’ll admit - it still feels weird.

The first time I watched a vertical narrative film, I kept trying to rotate my brain 90 degrees.

But over time, I’ve come to appreciate how personal it feels. And, more so, respect the craft that goes into making it feel right.

So yeah, I’m all for it.

Just don’t expect me to rotate my TV anytime soon.

Cheers,

Alex