Motorsport Filmmaker Mark Urban on the Vertical Video Dilemma

In a recent YouTube video, professional motorsport filmmaker Mark Urban addressed the challenges of shooting for both vertical (9:16) and horizontal (16:9) formats, a common issue in the age of smartphone-driven social media. Urban explains that while vertical video is demanded by platforms like Instagram and TikTok, it limits future use in documentaries or other horizontal mediums. He critiques common solutions: shooting vertical directly locks the footage, while shooting horizontal and cropping to 9:16 often results in poor composition for one format. He also discusses the limitations of open gate recording, which offers a 3:2 sensor aspect ratio for more flexible cropping but still struggles with dynamic subjects like sports. Urban suggests that there is no perfect solution and proposes that clients might need to hire two videographers—one for each orientation—though he doubts this will happen. The video was published on August 13, 2026, on PetaPixel.