What is it with all these super narrow cell phone videos?

Im sure everyone has seen these types of videos on the news or youtube, the ones where it looks like a super narrow and tall format, that is horrible to watch. What format is this, as my cell phone takes normal 4x3 video, and dont those using this format, realize how horrible it is to watch?

 

It's an iphone thing...the people aren't using the video app properly and it's displaying in 3:2.

 

This seriously has become one of my biggest pet peeves. This SUCKS! So many people do it and post their crappy videos to FB and YouTube. Worst part is when there's news value (what with all the 'MoJos' out there) and these moronic vertical videos appear on TV broadcasts and websites.

I don't understand the intense desire of amateurs to shoot vertically. Don't they realize that it ONLY looks good on their phone?? If you email, text or upload that video it's going to be totally screwed up. They have to realize this at some point, right? I really wish smartphone makers would simply eliminate this feature.

dan c

 

Don't all smartphones and tablets do this though? I believe so.

dan c

 

Could be...I've only seen it on iphones but thats because most of the people I know have them...

 

It makes the video all but unwatchable to me. I keep seeing these on my news and I just tune out and dont even look at them.

What really sucks, is how "The news" will even broadcast this crap, and then dress it up with both sides showing a huge out of focus area that is actually the skinny part in the middle. The whole thing looks like crap and is pixellated to hell, and is one foot wide and 3 foot high. Dont they have standards anymore?

 

It happens if you hold the phone straight up and down instead of turning it to it's side when shooting.

As for why they use this format. If it's the only footage available what choice do they have.

 

It's all part of the gradual dumbing down of society. However it is something that I'm sure could be fixed quite easily.

 

I wonder if platforms like YouTube and Facebook will eventually respond by programming the window to automatically adjust for this asinine misuse of video. Ugh. Obviously this trend isn't going to stop though.

Again, I really wish hardware designers would simply eliminate the auto-adjust feature on video. It would instantly stop this stupidity.

dan c

 

It's called 'Vertical Video Syndrome'. And this is a very, very funny PSA about VVS.

!

Say no to George Lucus! Say no to VVS!

dan c

 

I recently reviewed Hitchcock, the recent biopic, on Blu-ray and there is an actual behind the scenes featurette shot in this format. I was stunned they included it, because it's a hard format to watch for more than a couple of minutes.

 

"Standards" is an obsolete concept in the 21st century. It's all about how many million apps there are and how quick it can go directly to Facebook.

 

Yep, this is yet another sign of the ongoing stupification of mankind. People want to hold the phone vertically when they shoot because that's the way they hold it when they take a call.

 

Given that people want to hold the phone vertically, why doesn't Apple configure it to make the video turn out correctly when shot that way?

 

Because like many cameras, you can deliberately choose to shoot vertically when you have a vertical subject to frame, or horizontally when you have a wide shot to frame. In other words, the camera presumes you have the intelligence to know the difference.

 

What's that old saying? Nobody ever got rich overestimating people's intelligence....

 

Why are you saying Apple? As far as I know this is the way every single cell phone on the market works.

 

Professional photojournalists, wedding photographers, videographers, camera operators, etc. are losing their jobs daily because of endless free 'MoJo' video and snapshots. The effing LEAST they can do before giving their stupid 'exclusive' craptastic video away to CNN or ABC is HOLD THE GODDAMN PHONE CORRECTLY!!!!

I seriously get SO pissed about this. It's silly because there are more important things going on in the world...but still.

dan c

 

Exactly.

dan c

 

Hahahah. Yes, thus is all but amazing to me. Maybe LG needs to come out with a vertical widescreen TV for these numb nuts.

 

Dummies like me who don't read the manual. Fortunately a little bit of experimenting revealed that the best phone position for videos and still pictures differ.

 

Uh, no, not true. Some older cell phones (especially back in the vertical clamshell-flip days; but not even all of those), when held vertically, still shot their video the right way.

 

Bad design is eternal.

 

You really bumped this thread to post this. Like you dug through the forums to be this pedantic?

 

What's up with all the crazy first posts on this board lately?