More productions by BBC Studios going vertical

BBC Studios, a production company owned by the British Broadcasting Corporation, has started to create more vertical videos to cater to mobile phone users, said its senior executives in Shanghai.

David Weiland, the executive vice president of BBC Studios in Asia, made the comments before he attended the closing ceremony of the 25th Shanghai TV Festival on Friday.

Weiland said the idea of shooting vertically was inspired by the BBC Studio's Chinese partners during the production of Blue Planet 2 with China Central Television and Tencent Videoin 2017.

"This suggestion was excellent," he said. "Because we see a growing trend in China where more and more Chinese are watching videos on mobile phones instead of on television."

He added that BBC Studios will adapt some of its blockbusters into the vertical format to meet the increasing demands of mobile users.

You Daren, senior vice president of BBC Studios in Greater China, said that the company has already set up separate production teams for vertical video in some of its productions. These teams film using the mobile phone so that the footage can be used directly without adaption.

Given the popularity of vertical video content in China, such as those on video-sharing apps like Tik Tok and Kuaishou, Weiland said that BBC Studios will be exploring what kind of vertical content is best-suited for audience interaction.

Wang Junlin contributed to this story.