Netflix Launches Vertical Movie Previews Because Everything is Bad Now

Netflix, wyd? The streaming service and constant content producer has decided to pound another nail into the coffin of cinema and start providing TV and movie previews in vertical orientation for mobile phones. More on the Netflix vertical movie previews below.

I’m not one of those “sanctity of the cinematic experience” people who thinks Netflix is bringing about the death of movies. In fact, I’ve grown so weary of going to movie theaters featuring poor projection, rude patrons and jacked-up prices that I’m perfectly fine staying home streaming things. In other words, I really like Netflix. But even I can’t get behind Netflix’s latest questionable move: previews for new Netflix movies and TV shows that are meant to be viewed vertically.

As Variety reports, “The 30-second mobile previews are presented in a slideshow format with circular thumbnails, very much like the presentation of Snapchat and Instagram Stories. As with the popular “stories” video format, users can tap the screen to play the preview or swipe to advance to the next preview. If you see something you like, you can add it to your watchlist directly from the video screen.”

If you’re unsure of what I’m even talking about, here’s a vertical trailer for the Blu-ray release of Justice League.

Justice League Vertical Trailer

Quality of the film aside, this looks terrible. No one should embrace this format. But Netflix thinks it’s a smart move. “One of the best ways to know if you’ll like a new series or movie is to watch a quick trailer,” said Cameron Johnson, Netflix director of product innovation. “With the launch of mobile previews, we are bringing a video browse experience to your mobile phone in a fun and mobile-optimized way.”

Look, in the grand scheme of things, this isn’t a huge deal. And I understand that most people won’t even blink an eye at this. Perhaps I’m being overly sensitive here, but I find the idea of watching anything – even a quick trailer – in vertical format appalling. This isn’t how movies (and TV shows) are shot now. They’re shot to be viewed horizontally, and that’s how trailers advertising these shows should appear. Also: is it really that hard for people to just flip their phones sideways to watch a quick trailer?

It seems Netflix wants to keep targeting people who tend to watch things on their phone. So much so that they plan to start pumping-out new short-form content, including 15-minute stand-up comedy specials. I don’t like any of this, folks. I guess this is what I get for defending Netflix against all the doomsayers who thought they were ruining movies.

If you want to know more about Netflix’s diabolical plan to target mobile viewers, here’s a video. It’s shot in vertical format. Because of course it is.