The smartphone makes it  easy to shoot video vertically (portrait mode) rather than horizontally (landscape mode).

But is easy “good”?  Until recently, just about every video expert has recommended shooting horizontally. Proponents of this wide orientation present many reasons. These range from “it’s natural” (our eyes being laid out side by side)–to “it’s traditional”  (there’s never been a single great movie shot vertically).

Those who shoot vertical video have been labeled ignorant, careless, and amateurish.

The bias of this magazine is obvious: All the videos that we’ve chosen to exhibit were shot wide with the exception of one comedy—“Tell Me About Yourself”— that used the vertical orientation to make fun of the main character filmmaking skills.

Case closed? Not necessarily. The Los Angeles Times recently published a fascinating article—“Snapchat drives trend toward vertical videos”—that suggests verticality may have a place in moviemaking. Even if you’re in the camp that finds the vertical orientation abhorrent, you owe it to yourself to read what the opposition is saying. These aren’t mindless know-nothings, but rather serious players in the mobile moviemaking world. The people at Snapchat, for example,  have their reasons for supporting “tall” videos.

A big part of the pro-vertical push comes from the world of  advertising. Few of us would like to see commercial makers dictate video aesthetics. That said, we know that Mad Men aren’t necessarily mad, or even wrong.

We think you’ll find this controversial article worth your reading. And as you read it, take note of the orientation of the illustrations. Oops.