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One film, every screen: the shapes and lengths to ask for

Wide, square and vertical; six seconds or two minutes. Which shapes and lengths a film needs for a website, feeds, adverts and events, and how to plan for them.

AI production · 3 min read · 10 October 2026

A film made for a wide screen and then cropped for a phone loses the edges of every shot, and often the subject with them. A film planned for every screen from the start keeps what matters in every version.

The shapes and lengths are few. Decide them before production and they cost little.

01The shapes

  • Wide, 16:9. Websites, presentations, television and video platforms watched on a desktop.
  • Vertical, 9:16. Phone feeds and stories. The whole screen, held upright.
  • Square, 1:1, and tall, 4:5. Feeds where the film sits among other posts.
  • Extra wide. Cinema screens and event walls, where the venue gives the size.

02The lengths

  • A few seconds: an advert that must land before it can be skipped.
  • Fifteen to thirty seconds: feeds and most paid placements.
  • One to two minutes: a product page or a company film, for someone already interested.
  • Longer: demonstrations, training and talks, for people who chose to watch.

Length follows attention. A stranger gives seconds; someone on your product page will give a minute if the opening earns it.

03Plan for every version at the start

  1. List where the film will play before the storyboard is drawn.
  2. Frame each shot so the subject survives the tightest crop.
  3. Keep text and logos inside the area every version shares.
  4. Write the short cut as its own film, with its own opening, not as a trimmed long one.
  5. Leave space at the edges for platform buttons and captions.

04Sound off, captions on

Much video in feeds is watched without sound. The first seconds must make sense silently, and captions should be part of the design, sized for a phone. Supply captions as a separate file as well, for accessibility and for search.

05What to ask your studio for

  • The master, at full quality
  • Each shape and length as its own file
  • Captions, burned in and as a separate file
  • A still image for each version, for thumbnails
  • Separate voice, music and effects tracks, for future languages

In short

  • Wide for websites and screens, vertical for phones, square or tall for feeds.
  • Length follows how much attention the viewer has already given you.
  • Frame for the tightest crop and write the short cut as its own film.
  • Design for silent viewing, with captions.

Questions

Can a wide film just be cropped to vertical?

Only if it was framed with that in mind. Otherwise the subject is cut off. Software that follows the subject helps, and an editor should check every shot.

Which version matters most?

The one for the place most of your audience will see it. For many businesses that is now the vertical cut.

Do platforms change their sizes?

Yes, from time to time. The three basic shapes have been stable; check a platform's current guidance before a paid campaign.

Does Quantum Beetle deliver all versions?

Yes. Versions and localisations are planned at the brief and delivered together.

Sounds like your problem?

Tell us about it. We'll say honestly whether the swarm can help, and what it would take.

Talk to ushello@quantumbeetle.ai

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