Vertical Dramas: The New Craze and Its Added Challenges to Filmmakers

Think of them as bite‑sized narrative series, tailor‑made for watching on your smartphone in portrait mode. Typically running anywhere from 1 to around 6 minutes per episode, these stories are designed for commuters and coffee breaks —perfect content that fits the rhythms of modern life with fragmented viewing, snack-size narratives.

Originating in China under the name duanju (also known as micro‑dramas), the format has spread rapidly across Asia and the globe. Platforms like ReelShort and DramaBox now dominate the field. As of October 2024, DramaBox had over 90 million registered users and 30 million monthly active users. Japan has embraced vertical dramas too, particularly through 'smash.'- a mobile streaming app offering original vertical content; dramas, animations, and music, all optimised for smartphone usage, and now ranks among leading vertical video platforms in Japan alongside the Chinese made DramaBox.

With over 70% of viewers watching vertically on smartphones and 94% of viewers naturally holding phones upright, the format simply aligns with how people consume today’s content.

Filmmakers can’t just shoot horizontally and crop later—the 9:16 format requires scenes to be staged and composed vertically. Traditional wide shots, two-person dialogue scenes, or landscapes become tricky. For instance, staging two characters side‑by‑side often results in awkward framing unless creatively re‑imagined or compensated with split‑screen visuals. Some choose to shoot in ultra‑high resolution (4K/6K/8K) to crop for both vertical and horizontal outputs - possible due to the small-screen nature of the output. This significantly increases the tasks in post‑production and editing, however does balance with some time saved during filming with shot composition.

This has coincided with some of the smaller cameras on the market - such as the Sony A7S iii and Sony FX3, Fujifilm GFX 100 and Canon R5c - now producing the tools to meet the technical demands whilst being in bodies small and lightweight enough to rotate for vertical filming. This would have been a huge challenge with the classic drama tools such as the Arri Alexa Mini or Mini LF - although some Vertical Drama productions do still go down this route with the image quality high enough to offset the challenges of rotating such a big unit to portrait view.

Technical requirements now include Portrait plates for cameras, to turn them from 16:9 to 9:16 - and also for monitoring. Here at Kit Cabin we are developing our stock of tools to assist filmmakers should the format grow here. We have found these tools useful already anyway, due to the increased desire for 9:16 for social media content. Check out our Portrait plates for both cameras and monitors in the 'Content Creators' section of our site.

The shift to 9:16 requires filmmakers to rethink everything: staging, composition, lighting, and editing must all adapt to the portrait frame. As vertical storytelling continues to scale worldwide, it’s reshaping not just how we watch, but how we create narrative itself. Platforms like Netflix, BBC and Hollywood studios are now experimenting with vertical feeds and production pipelines, so we expect this form of content creation and consumption to continue to grow further.