Portrait, Landscape or Square: Picking the Right Shape
The shape decides where your video looks right. Choose it before you write, not after.
Pick portrait 9:16 if the video will be watched on a phone in a feed — TikTok, Reels, Shorts. Pick landscape 16:9 if it lives on a website, in a presentation, in an email or on YouTube proper. Pick square 1:1 if it has to work in several feeds without being remade. The shape is one of four choices you make before rendering, and it changes how much room there is for drawings and words on screen.
Free to write and rewrite. Credits are only used when you generate.
The short answer
There is no single best format — there is only where the video will be watched. Phone feeds are vertical, so a portrait film fills the screen and a landscape one sits in a small letterbox that people scroll past. Websites, slides and YouTube are horizontal, so a portrait film there wastes two thirds of the space. Square is the compromise when one film has to do both jobs.
The decision, in one table
Find where the video will actually be watched, and the shape follows.
| Shape | Where it plays well | What it does to the drawing |
|---|---|---|
| Portrait 9:16 | TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, stories, phone-first landing pages | Tall and narrow: fewer things on screen at once, larger text, one idea per scene |
| Landscape 16:9 | Your website, YouTube, slide decks, email, trade-show screens, internal training | Wide: room for a diagram to build up across the frame, more detail per scene |
| Square 1:1 | Mixed feeds — Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn in one upload | Even: safe in most feeds, but never fills a phone screen the way portrait does |
Three questions that settle it
If you are still unsure, answer these in order and stop at the first clear yes.
- Will most people see it while scrolling on a phone? Choose portrait.
- Will it sit on a page, a slide or a screen alongside other content? Choose landscape.
- Does one film need to work in several feeds without being remade? Choose square.
Writing for the shape you picked
The shape changes the script as much as the picture. A portrait film has less room, so short sentences and one idea per scene read far better. A landscape film can carry a comparison or a diagram that builds across the frame. Whichever you pick, keep any words you want on screen short — a long phrase shrinks to fit.
- Portrait: one idea per scene, short sentences, few numbers on screen
- Landscape: comparisons, step diagrams and lists work well
- Square: write as if it is portrait; it keeps the film safe in every feed
Changing your mind
Orientation is picked before you press create, and it costs nothing to change while you are still editing the script. If a finished film needs to exist in another shape, open it, make changes and pick the new orientation — it saves as a new video and the credit cost is shown before you confirm. Portrait is the default, because most first videos are made for a phone.
What it costs
Shape does not change the price. Cost depends only on length: 100 credits is one minute, so 30 seconds is 50 credits, a minute is 100 and two minutes is 200. New accounts get 100 welcome credits that never expire. Credit pack and plan prices are on the pricing page.
Next step
Decide where the video will be watched, then write the idea in the box below and pick that shape before you create.
Start your explainer
Free to write and rewrite. Credits are only used when you generate.
Common questions
- Which shape should I pick if I am not sure?
- Portrait. Most first videos end up on a phone, and portrait fills the screen there. It is also the default.
- Can I make the same video in two shapes?
- Yes. Open the finished video, choose to make changes, pick the other orientation and remake it. It saves as a new video and the credit cost is shown first.
- Does the shape change the price?
- No. Only the length changes what you pay: 100 credits for a minute of finished video.
- Will text on screen still be readable in portrait?
- Yes, as long as the phrases are short. Portrait has less width, so a handful of words reads far better than a full sentence.