Smartphones with a great camera and the ability to record high-quality video are no longer difficult to find, in fact they’re in everyone’s pocket. Beginning and even seasoned content creators are finding that using their mobile phones to shoot video has several major advantages:
Mobile phones are ubiquitous and we almost always have our phones with us. Quickly and spontaneously capturing quality video content doesn’t require lugging around large and expensive video cameras when an unexpected opportunity presents itself.
Perhaps most importantly, as phones have become more capable, content creators are finding that getting their foot into the door of vlogging or filmmaking is made much more affordable.
However, while it is a good start to have a smartphone with an awesome camera, using poor video-production techniques will result in a poor final product. Having the right tools is nothing if you don’t know how to use them to the best of their ability.
First of all, your subject should be lit properly. Proper lighting has a huge impact on smartphone cameras especially because they have smaller image sensors and lenses. Try as much as possible to shoot your video in areas where your subject is illuminated evenly and not shadowed or blown out by light sources in the background.
If you don’t want your video footage to come out distorted, blurred, or affected by “rolling shutter” the best thing to do is to keep your phone steady while recording. If you’re serious about shooting steady video, you can use a tripod clamp to keep your phone stable and give it some weight so your movements are smoother. At the very least hold your phone with both hands and try to be as smooth as possible.
Another consideration is your audio quality. An amazing video with poor audio can change the overall experience for your viewer for the worse unless you plan to add a completely new audio track during the editing process. Some would even argue that while you want your video to look good, the quality of your audio is more important than the video.
Don’t zoom unless you absolutely have to. Staying physically closer to your subject ensures better image quality, less digital noise and better focus in your videos since most smartphones use a digital zoom rather than optical zoom. Digital zoom basically enlarges the existing pixels rather than magnifying the light entering the camera lens and will hurt the quality of your video immensely. You can get away with some digital zoom if you’re shooting in 4k, but it’s still best practice to avoid it.
Lens attachments can expand your options in this regard. There are a number of lens accessories available that can give you wide-angle, zoom, and a variety of other specialty lenses with very professional results.
It should go without saying but in the age of Snapchat, DO NOT SHOOT VERTICAL VIDEO! Hold your phone horizontally so that videos played back on non-mobile screens will look as it should.
Be prepared. Before you begin recording, make sure you rehearse as much as possible. If you plan on moving with the camera, walk the path you plan on traversing. Pay attention to other people that aren’t aware of what you’re doing and make sure they won’t be in your way and you won’t be in theirs. Charge your battery, make sure your phone memory has enough space for your recording and put your phone in airplane mode so an errant phone call doesn’t ruin your perfect shot.
A quick search on YouTube can find a number of commercials, and even entire movies shot entirely on an iPhone. These devices can really capture some magic and with a little practice and the right techniques, you can make something that looks professional and perhaps even Oscar-worthy.