Ben Black has six tips to film videos using your smartphone.
Three in four adults (76 per cent) in the UK now own a smartphone. But the number using them to make calls is falling: a survey last year revealed that one in four adults do not make at least one phone call a week with their device. Can you remember the first phone you owned that could record video?
It was an eye opener all those years ago but it’s only now that we look back and realise the quality was poor. In 2008 I uploaded my first video to YouTube. It was of my two-year-old daughter chasing a piglet in Cwmbran. Take a look www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzKfmRGPCyI.
I can remember thinking at the time ‘wow, this is amazing’. Now I watch the video and think ‘wow, mobile phones were rubbish at videos’.
Fast forward to 2016 and this is a video of my daughter I made on my iPhone 5s. youtu.be/qeeR4zfCXIo
This was filmed and edited using iMovie in about 90 minutes from filming the first clip to finishing the edit. I’m not an expert but just love making videos and have found you simply get better by having a go and making mistakes.
Here are my six tips to making videos on your smartphone.
1) Just do it. It’s a cliché to say that but it’s true. The only way you will get better at making videos is to get your phone out and click record as often as possible. Viewers don’t expect professional quality videos. I watched a firefighter do a safety talk to a group of Bron Afon tenants and he talked about the danger of toasters. I realised the position of the toaster in my kitchen was exactly what he was saying so over breakfast the next day I filmed and edited this quick video and we shared it on Bron Afon’s social media. You don’t have to book in make-up and actors. You just need a creative idea and a smartphone.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eW0oRxlO3s
2) Landscape. Hold your camera in landscape mode. Look at your the shape of your TV screen – it’s landscape. Don’t film in portrait mode as your video will have that annoying black strip down the side of them when viewers watch them. Turn your phone on its side and use the full screen.
3) Sound. Get close to the person you are filming if it’s an interview. Smartphones have microphones but they’re nothing like the big furry ones on sticks that TV journalists use. Poor quality sounds is annoying for viewers. Phones aren’t intrusive so people don’t mind if you get close to them. Also make sure you know where the microphone is on your phone so you don’t cover it with your fingers. If you’re at a noisy event simply ask the person you’re interviewing to go to a quiet area so you can reduce any annoying background noise.
4) Tripod. This is one of the best investments you can make. Shaky videos are difficult to watch so just using a cheap tripod means your videos look better immediately. If you haven’t got one make sure you hold the phone with both hands and keep your elbows tucked close to your body to minimise any shaking. The goalkeeper video I filmed was done with the phone resting against a jumper so don’t be afraid to improvise.
5) Airplane mode. Make sure you switch this on while you’re filming video clips. It means your phone won’t get any calls, text messages or notifications. All of these things can ruin the video clip you are filming.
6) Editing. If you can use Word to edit your writing you can use iMovie to edit videos. Don’t be scared and don’t say ‘it’s too technical’. The logic is like editing words in a document. You just cut things out and add things to make it more interesting to watch. An app like iMovie (I’ve heard good things about KineMaster if you use Android) is made for people with little knowledge of video editing.
I’d love to see any videos you make. Share them with me on Twitter @benblack.
Ben Black is communications and marketing manager at Bron Afon Community Housing