With all the latest technological advances, it has become easy to shoot a video with your smartphone. Indeed, using your smartphone is faster, cheaper, and more convenient. And although you won't get the same quality as with pro video equipment, you can still make very good quality videos. So let's see, how you can make great videos with your smartphone!
In order to film quality content, you need to do a few things.
This may seem like an obvious thing to do, but it is easy to forget. It is important to check that the camera view is not obstructed. You don't want your content to be blurry or just not sharp enough. So take a suitable cloth and clean your lens well before any recording.
You need to have enough space on your phone, so you can shoot all the content you want. If you don't, your recording may stop and part of the video will not be saved. So if you don't have much space, try to delete some pictures, videos, or applications to make room on your phone.
When it's done, you have the possibility to improve the recording of your video by configuring your settings. Thanks to our smartphones, we have the chance to select the video quality on your mobile, to have the best possible video resolution. Generally, the options are 720p, 1080p (which is 2K), and also 4K.
However, the higher the quality, the larger the file size. You will probably have to make more room on your smartphone.
Putting the airplane mode on during your shooting will allow you to not be disturbed while you are filming. For example, if someone is calling you, the recording will stop.
On top of that, the power consumption of your smartphone will be reduced, which is advantageous if you need to shoot a lot.
Filming in landscape format means that you have to shoot horizontally with your smartphone. This will allow you to have a 16x9 format, which will be perfect to edit and broadcast your videos. For example, if you don't shoot your movie horizontally, and you want to post your video on YouTube, you will have black bars on each side of the image and your movie will not fill the whole screen.
The portrait format (when you shoot vertically) is only suitable if you want to post videos or stories on your social networks like Instagram or TikTok.
It is better to shoot in the middle of the day to avoid problems of luminosity (except if the shooting must be done at night). Be careful with backlighting and position yourself with your back to the light source.
When the shooting is done, it's important to save your content. We advise you either to buy a USB key adapted to your smartphone. This way, everything is recorded. You can also transfer your content directly to your computer. Nevertheless, even if you have your content on your computer, keep your files organized. Also, to make sure not to lose anything, don't hesitate to save your content on the cloud. You never know if your computer crashes or if it is stolen!
There are also some smartphones that automatically save your content on the cloud. If you tend to be absent-minded and may forget to save your content or if you like simplicity, you can buy a smartphone that offers you the possibility to automatically transfer your items to the cloud. The most famous smartphone that offers you this possibility is probably the iPhone, but you can find others if you want.
If you have enough budget, and you want to offer even more elaborate videos, you can invest in some accessories that will be useful for your shootings.
If you move too much, the quality of your video will be lowered. That's why it would be interesting to buy a tripod or a stabilizer.
The tripod will be more suitable if you intend to make fixed scenes. While the stabilizer will be more suitable if there is movement in your scenes.
If you are filming outdoors, do not have a charger, or simply do not have a suitable socket, this can be problematic. Indeed, if you start to run out of battery, it will be impossible to shoot. That's why we advise you to take a portable battery backup. It would be a shame to stop your shooting prematurely!
In order to have the best quality video, you need good audio quality. To improve your sound recording, you can buy an external microphone. This way, you will be sure to have a good quality sound. If you are going to interview someone, you can choose the lapel microphone, which will be more suitable.
Sometimes, the natural lighting in a room or outside will not be sufficient to have a good quality of the video. You can find adapted lamps to improve the luminosity. There are also "ring lights" which are very popular with content creators and are quite simple to use.
Now it's your turn! Get started and start shooting anything you want with your smartphone. And if you have a low budget for your filmmaking, go see the checklist to save more money.
