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Stop the madness of portrait videos by clicking

Julien

Julien

macrumors G4
Original poster
Jun 30, 2007
11,875
5,454
Atlanta
We need to get Apple to implement landscape only video recording. It is utterly ridiculous at all the portrait videos that we are forced to watch with the sides blurred or black bars (extreme pillarbox) on TV, Youtube and all sites. Have you ever seen anyone with a video camera turn it on it's side to record? How about anyone have a TV turned on it's side to watch?

It would be super easy for Apple to implement landscape recording regardless how you hold your iPhone. Also once Apple does it Google will follow.

Click on the link for Apple iPhone Feedback and voice your concern.
 
It would be nice, but portrait recording also serves its purpose. For instance, if your filming a person, it would be easier to do portrait since you get more vertical space versus horizontal.
 
Talk to Google- have them automatically reject any video that's uploaded if recorded in portrait mode.

Ain't nobody got time for that.
 
iamMacPerson said:
It would be nice, but portrait recording also serves its purpose. For instance, if your filming a person, it would be easier to do portrait since you get more vertical space versus horizontal.
Click to expand...

...and how do you watch it? On a TV or any monitor then you don't gain any vertical space. You actually lose horizontal space and vertical resolution on a TV with 1920 downscaled to 1080. You just need to frame your video correctly to get the person.

Portrait video recording has never been used up until phone recording (people or anything else). It is simply incorrect.
 
iamMacPerson said:
It would be nice, but portrait recording also serves its purpose. For instance, if your filming a person, it would be easier to do portrait since you get more vertical space versus horizontal.
Click to expand...

This is exactly why the OP is correct, people just don't get what they are doing to their image. Unless you view it on a portrait orientated screen, the resulting image will be smaller than if the device were held in the proper orientation for video - landscape.

FaceTime calls between ios devices is the only instance where I can think this is a desirable use case.

Recording should just not be allowed in portriat orientation.
 
Julien said:
...and how do you watch it? On a TV or any monitor then you don't gain any vertical space. You actually lose horizontal space and vertical resolution on a TV with 1920 downscaled to 1080. You just need to frame your video correctly to get the person.

Portrait video recording has never been used up until phone recording (people or anything else). It is simply incorrect.
Click to expand...

You're going to need to get over this hangup. Is it ideal? No, it isn't. Do you get to dictate whether people do it or not? No, you don't.
 
powerstrokin said:
Talk to Google- have them automatically reject any video that's uploaded if recorded in portrait mode.

Ain't nobody got time for that.
Click to expand...

I think Youtube original rejected them but just got overwhelmed by the sheer quantity.

Funny how when HDTV was first introduced people cried foul over letterboxing of SD but now obliviously watch this incorrectly recorded pillarbox material.
 
thirdeyeopen666 said:
You're going to need to get over this hangup. Is it ideal? No, it isn't. Do you get to dictate whether people do it or not? No, you don't.
Click to expand...
But can the industry address this incorrect usage that they sort of created themselves or at least supported? Perhaps, which makes it worthy of discussion.
 
Here's a public service announcement that addresses the problem

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Julien said:
We need to get Apple to implement landscape only video recording. It is utterly ridiculous at all the portrait videos that we are forced to watch with the sides blurred or black bars (extreme pillarbox) on TV, Youtube and all sites. Have you ever seen anyone with a video camera turn it on it's side to record? How about anyone have a TV turned on it's side to watch?

It would be super easy for Apple to implement landscape recording regardless how you hold your iPhone. Also once Apple does it Google will follow.

Click on the link for Apple iPhone Feedback and voice your concern.
Click to expand...

I used to be on your side but with so many people viewing videos on their phones now, there are instances where portrait videos make sense (sending someone a snapchat video, for example).

It's a shame though when people record life events in portrait. You lose so much. But there's little we can do to correct that. Sadly.
 
joejoejoe said:
I used to be on your side but with so many people viewing videos on their phones now, there are instances where portrait videos make sense (sending someone a snapchat video, for example).

It's a shame though when people record life events in portrait. You lose so much. But there's little we can do to correct that. Sadly.
Click to expand...
There's plenty that can be done about it. It's as simple as putting a message on the screen when you switch to video and not allowing video to be started unless the phone is in landscape.

I really don't understand what's so hard to understand about this. It's EASILY fixable. Who cares if the idiots that continue to shoot in portrait are inconvenienced? It's about teaching morons to use their equipment correctly.
 
KentuckyHouse said:
There's plenty that can be done about it. It's as simple as putting a message on the screen when you switch to video and not allowing video to be started unless the phone is in landscape.

I really don't understand what's so hard to understand about this. It's EASILY fixable. Who cares if the idiots that continue to shoot in portrait are inconvenienced? It's about teaching morons to use their equipment correctly.
Click to expand...

oof someone's angry.

wouldn't call people who don't know any better morons. And a message you have to dismiss that forces you to shoot a certain way--that'll piss a lot of people off.

shame. we just have to live with it.
 
One cool way to implement this would be to crop the image to landscape when you try to film in portrait mode. It would actually be useful as a "digital zoom" when you want to get a closer shot of something farther away (at lower resolution of course).
 
joejoejoe said:
oof someone's angry.

wouldn't call people who don't know any better morons. And a message you have to dismiss that forces you to shoot a certain way--that'll piss a lot of people off.

shame. we just have to live with it.
Click to expand...
That's the point. They have to train these people to do it right. By putting a message/popup in the video app and not allowing recording to start until you're in landscape, eventually...maybe...these people will get a clue.

Nothing is worse than opening a video only to find it's been shot in portrait. It ruins the experience. And I wonder how many priceless moments have been ruined because of operator error?
 
<sigh> - this again.

So the portrait mode video I took of my daughter in her small bedroom (with my back against the wall wedged in a corner) playing with the game Careful shouldn't have been shot or allowed on YouTube. Gimme a break.

For reference, a pic of the game is below. In landscape mode the video would have been my kid from knees to neck framed on both sides by the soul-sucking crap-pile that is the mess of toys in her room.

Here's a thought since they are in short supply here... Apple has enough restrictions, don't invent more.

careful.png
 
PNutts said:
<sigh> - this again.

So the portrait mode video I took of my daughter in her small bedroom (with my back against the wall wedged in a corner) playing with the game Careful shouldn't have been shot or allowed on YouTube. Gimme a break.
Click to expand...

That's an exceptional case. But it does highlight the mere fact that some exceptions do exist.

So perhaps it's a middle ground. Detect when folks are shooting vertical and remind them that the video will not look its best on a standard wide screen. Let them decide if they want to roll it or not
 
PNutts said:
<sigh> - this again.

So the portrait mode video I took of my daughter in her small bedroom (with my back against the wall wedged in a corner) playing with the game Careful shouldn't have been shot or allowed on YouTube. Gimme a break.

For reference, a pic of the game is below. In landscape mode the video would have been my kid from knees to neck framed on both sides by the soul-sucking crap-pile that is the mess of toys in her room.

Here's a thought since they are in short supply here... Apple has enough restrictions, don't invent more.

View attachment 477517
Click to expand...
And how would that work if you had any normal camera (rather than a camera phone)?

----------
KentuckyHouse said:
There's plenty that can be done about it. It's as simple as putting a message on the screen when you switch to video and not allowing video to be started unless the phone is in landscape.

I really don't understand what's so hard to understand about this. It's EASILY fixable. Who cares if the idiots that continue to shoot in portrait are inconvenienced? It's about teaching morons to use their equipment correctly.
Click to expand...
I think YouTube's Capture app already has a requirement like that where it will tell you to hold the phone horizontally before it can start recording. There's also an app called "Horizon" I believe that will automatically record in horizontal mode no matter how you hold the phone.
 
C DM said:
And how would that work if you had any normal camera (rather than a camera phone)?
Click to expand...


That is an irrelevant question... When you want to record something impromptu, you are not going to go hunting around for a normal camera... you use what you have at hand to capture the moment....

Just imagine this... if you want to video a person standing up (say walking towards you) and you don't want to show any background at all OR as little as possible and you only have landscape option to video this person... You would have to zoom in so much (to keep the background to a minimum) that you would be either cutting off their head or lower body....

As long as exceptions exist to shooting video's in landscape mode, this debate will carry on until hell freezes over....
 
Sometimes when I'm in public and see something crazy I'll secretly record it. This is easily done by starting the video and holding the phone to your ear like you are on the phone. Down side is it's vertical.

I think a message telling you it would be better in landscape would be find but I wouldn't want portrait restricted.
 
cynics said:
Sometimes when I'm in public and see something crazy I'll secretly record it. This is easily done by starting the video and holding the phone to your ear like you are on the phone. Down side is it's vertical.

I think a message telling you it would be better in landscape would be find but I wouldn't want portrait restricted.
Click to expand...

Odd, sounds like someone needs Google glass.:D

I'm not asking for recording to be restricted to HOLDING your iPhone landscape. Have the iPhone record correctly (landscape) even when held vertically. This makes perfect sense since it's easier (one hand) and more natural to hold your phone vertically. There were even small pocket camcorders made this way.

Click on the link for Apple iPhone Feedback and ask Apple to make horizontal (correct) video recording even when holding the iPhone vertically the default.
 
Last edited:
Julien said:
Odd, sounds like someone needs Google glass.:D

I'm not asking for recording to be restricted to HOLDING your iPhone landscape. Have the iPhone record correctly (landscape) even when held vertically. This makes perfect sense since it's easier and more natural to vertically. There were even small pocket camcorders made this way.
Click to expand...

Well the bashers and trolls actually have a gala time saying Apple doesn't offer choice.. Here where they actually do they get bashed again...

Personally I think both options should be there... I record a lot of videos of my nieces and nephews rehearsing their parts and other stuff and use them to help them improve on their mistakes... These are viewed on the phone itself or on the iPad... Landscape makes no sense... And there are many other exceptions... Taking away the choice because a few cocky people like KentuckyHouse are too full of themselves doesn't make sense...

You have to remember not everybody is filming a professional video... And 99% are casual users... Do you expect everyone on the road to drive precisely like Michael Schumacher...? No... Same here...

Don't like a video don't watch it... It is not the correct method... But who gives a **** as long as your purpose is fulfilled...
 
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