So, if you have a smart phone, you have a camera to shoot video with! To get the best from your phone you'll need a few simple guidelines and perhaps a few cheap accessories to help you get the best from it. using the cameraSet it Up Set up your phone so that is captures the best images it can. Make sure it is set to HD (720 or 1080) You might also want to download an app such as Filmic Pro to help with focus and colour balance. There’s a raft of youtube videos and web sites that can help suggest the right set up for your phone, so Google! Holding the Camera. Your phone is designed to capture a wide-screen (16x9) image, so use it to do just this. Hold the camera horizontally to get the correct full frame for your TV or computer screen. There's nothing more maddening then watching someone filming with their phone held vertically! If holding the camera by hand, help keep the shot stable by holding it with both hands and drawing your elbows into your sides. Better still get a small tripod or even a Selfie stick to help get steadier shots. If you need to Pan your shot move from the waist to keep the shot steady, similar for tilts. Framing the Shot There are few guides for framing a shot and it composition. They are simple to learn and take a life time to master. Here’s a couple to get you started. Once you've learnt them go off and break them. Lead Space If a character is looking to frame left, make sure they are to the right of the frame looking into the space in front of them. This way the impression of the shot is that the area of concern for the characters is indeed in front of them. If the characters were to the left of the image looking left and the blank space to the right then the impression is that the blank space is behind. Rule of Thirds. Imagine the frame with two vertical lines and two horizontal lines. It is the intersections of the lines are points of interest, where important objects are placed in the screen. These points of interest are comfortable to the eye, thus the middle portion of the frame are sometimes kept “empty” or clear. camera kitCamera Lens Your camera’s standard lens isn’t ideal for video. Adding 'clip on' lenses to help with the image quality as well as fitting more into your image is easy to do and has a dramatic impact on your shooting. Our set up offers Wide angle and fish eye and get used with almost any smart phone. Lens can be had from $10 to $100. You get what you pay for remember. But either way you should always have a set of lens in your pocket! Audio Recording This is perhaps the most overlooked aspect when using a phone to shoot video with, but there are 2 ways you can address this within the phone itself while the best option is to use an external recorder like the Zoom H6 which allows for greater quality but will have to be synced with the picture in the editing process. So keeping with the in phones options you can buy inexpensive Lavaliere mics, just make sure you buy one that is specific to smart phones such as the Rode Smart Lav. A directional Mic is also a great item to have as it increases the range from your camera to the subject and should also increase the audio quality. Rode also offer the VideoMic ME and Belkins old directional Mic has found its way into our kit bag too for out iPhone 4s. Hints and Tips Here's a few other suggestions to help you get the most from your phone. Storage If your phone is on the older side and only has 4GB or 8GB of internal storage and it can take a SD card then throw one in! It’ll allow you to capture more material then you could on the internal storage and allow you to change the card quickly for a spare if you manage to fill it! Battery Life Phones aren’t really made for long battery life while recording video, they’re made for fitting in your pocket and not being clumsy. If you’re going to to shoot make sure its fully charged and perhaps carry a portabkle charger with you for those longer days shoots. Lighting You can get some great little LED lamps for smart phones now which can really help in interviews and the like. A little fold up reflector is also great to have in the bag for fill in lighting when outside. Care for it
Get yourself a small kit bag to throw all your kit into, keep it together and keep it safe. So that's it for this little guide. Get your kit together and go make a short film!
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