How To Film & Edit Video For Instagram and IGTV

It can be a bit daunting when all of a sudden people are watching videos vertically! 

I mean, can’t they just turn their phones sideways…? No… this isn’t YouTube.

But fear not because we’re going to look at ways you can make video into a pretty portrait in this week’s episode of GIANT Wednesday.

Hi, I’m Danny from Sleeping Giant Media and I’m here today to talk to you about optimising your video for the wonderful world of IGTV.

If you like what I have to say in today’s video then make sure to subscribe to our channel where we release digital marketing skills-based videos every week!

Nowadays, video comes in a whole host of formats. Most typically landscape (16:9) or portrait (6:19).

An evolution from back in the day where it was just a landscape or square… like every old episode of Family Guy… 

And when it came to filming, you’d have had your phone batted out your hand if you were trying to film anything vertically.

Fortunately, that’s all changed in recent years thanks to Snapchat and Instagram.

Cue the invention and seemingly defining point for portrait video as our future… IGTV.

IGTV, if you weren’t already sure, is Instagram TV. So aptly named because it hosts much longer forms of video than the likes of Instagram Stories or in-feed posts.

With space for videos up to ten minutes in duration, it’s the perfect place to post the content you’ve put your blood, sweat and tears into.

And… you know, saves that annoying infinite tapping on an Instagram Story… 

Despite Instagram recently allowing for landscape video to be hosted on IGTV, it’s safe to say that vertical is much better designed for that platform.

Well, the question remains… how can you make video for IGTV that’s high quality, optimised and as equally as awesome as your landscape stuff?

Here are a few tips on how you can do just that. Let’s start with your footage! Here are some options for you.

Option 1: Shoot in PortraIt

This may seem like an obvious one, but if you want to create a vertical video, simply shoot it straight on your phone.

Any more than a couple of minutes of handheld footage will look dodgy, so consider using a tripod or gimbal to steady your shot.

Option 2: Shoot in Landscape, and Crop Portrait

This is where you shoot your video in landscape, or you use an existing video, and crop the video into a portrait orientation.

Something to bear in mind though – you’ll lose about two thirds of your video, so make sure there’s nothing (or no-one) that are going to be rudely cropped out of your shot and the video still works this way.

IGTV will automatically crop a landscape video, so you don’t have to worry about doing this in another app, but it’ll only crop the centre of the video, so make sure everything you need is in the middle if you do it this way.

Option 3: Add a Frame

Your third option is keeping your video landscape and adding a picture frame around your image.

You can do this through computer programmes such as iMovie or Premiere Pro. Or you can download apps like Premiere Rush or Inshot.

You can make a full-frame like one of these… or you can look to add elements around your video like this.

Then it’s just a case of placing your video into the area you’ve left for it within the frame and scaling it accordingly!

Voila!

As I’ve already mentioned, there are plenty of free and paid-for platforms you can use to spice up your video.

Use desktop programmes such as iMovie or Adobe Premiere Pro to add things like title cards, subtitles and effects.

Or you can give the same thing a go straight on your mobile using apps like iMovie, Inshot (both of which are free) or Premiere Rush.

Here’s a super quick example of editing a portrait video in iMovie and adding a few simple additions. 

Finally, don’t forget to add a thumbnail. Oh, who’s that good looking chap?

When the time comes to add your IGTV video, go on the home screen and click in the top right… oh.. Where’s it gone?

Simply click on the middle button as if you were uploading a video to your feed and select your video – you’ll be given the option to add it to your IGTV channel – don’t forget to optimise by adding a relevant title, description and hashtags for maximum reach. 

So that was some advice on making sure you optimise existing videos for IGTV, and hopefully, you’re now considering the importance of shooting in portrait if you want to please those who hate turning their phones on their side.

If you have any more advice, or if you think we’ve missed anything…  or maybe just want to hit us with a ‘yasss queen’ – make sure you leave a comment and let us know!

Here’s today’s Giant CheatSheet on this topic – click the link in the description to download it, or just take a screenshot if you’re on mobile!

As always, make sure you subscribe to our channel for more great content every week.

Thanks for watching, and we’ll see you next time for another GIANT Wednesday.