How to get cinematic quality videos from your phone
We’ve all noticed by now that video is becoming the ubiquitous format for social media content. Yes, photos are still cool, but video is where it’s all going. Here are four easy tips to start getting more cinematic quality video out of your phone.
ONE: Clean your lens!
It may seem obvious, but we can all forget this one simple step when inspiration strikes. Simply scrubbing the lens with your shirt can make a world of difference to the quality of your capture. Here’s an experiment to demonstrate.
Take your phone out of your pocket, and just look at the lens. If it’s anything like mine, it’s probably filthy, covered in fingerprints, and covered in pocket lint and dust. No bueno!
Take a picture with it!
Then, give it the old 5-second scrub with your shirt, a kleenex or a lens cloth (if you’re fancy) and take the same shot.
Compare the two and tell me the second one doesn’t look much more clear, detailed, vibrant, and just plain beautiful.
TWO: Shoot In Landscape
I’ll be the first to tell you that vertical video is in, but you already knew that. Still, if you’re planning to use your footage for anything other than social media, the standard is still 16:9 widescreen (landscape).
It’s also much easier to re-crop your video into vertical format from widescreen than the other way around. You end up losing a lot of resolution if you go the other way. So if you think there’s a shadow of a chance you may want to use this clip on YouTube, or make it a part of a longer piece to be viewed on anything other than a phone, shoot landscape.
THREE: Why the 4k not?
Phone cameras these days are amazing. Honestly, when anyone asks me what camera I recommend they purchase for taking high-quality photos, I recommend a new iPhone. Seriously. For the cost, ease, and versatility, you really can’t beat a phone.
For example, every iPhone since the 6s can shoot 4K, which is becoming, if not already is, the new standard resolution for high-quality video. Full disclosure, “cinema” cameras are already shooting 6K, 8K, and beyond, but who cares? That’s beyond the scope of what we’re trying to do and will make no difference when viewing your video on a relatively tiny phone screen vs. a 60” TV or a movie screen.
For iPhone:
Go to Settings > Camera > Record Video
Select 4K at 30 fps (frames-per-second, TV standard). You can also pick 4K at 24 fps, which is the film standard.
The only difference here is that at 24 fps, you’ll notice more motion blur when you move the camera, or subjects move within it. This is because the human eye can detect the space between frames at 24 fps. When compared to 24 fps, 30 frames per second looks much smoother, because the eye cannot detect the space between the frames.
If you want to shoot slow motion, select 4K at 60 fps, which shoots at 2x the frame rate of 30 fps, and thus can be slowed down to 50% and still look smooth like 30 fps. Pretty cool, huh?
For Android phones:
Google it. I’m sure it’s equally simple, but I just don’t have an Android phone and it’s time to move on to tip four and get on with it.
Four: Keep it steady
Other than bad audio, the number one tell of amateur video is shakiness. Fortunately for us, there are tools out there that make this easy to correct. A gimbal stabilizer like the DJI Osmo Mobile 3 ($99-$117) fits most phones and is a great, relatively inexpensive way to get smoother, more cinematic camera movements than handheld.
This is especially recommended if you’ll be walking, running, driving, skiing, pole vaulting, or really anything movement related while recording. Of course, I don’t encourage you to do anything as reckless as drive, ski, or pole vault while recording yourself.
Perhaps that’s when you bribe a friend or hire a pro to capture the magic for you.
Why It matters
Your industry is competitive and every edge counts, so picking up the low hanging fruit like this is a must. You care deeply about your brand, and you wouldn’t spend your precious time producing anything less than great quality content. These tips may not be overt, game-changing leaps in your production value, but discerning viewers and potential clients will notice that you care. At some point, they will make the split-second, subconscious judgement about whether or not you’re right for them. We want that decision to be based on the content, and whether or not you are a good fit for them as a person and a professional, not a dirty lens.
I’m here to help you keep technology from standing in your way.
Questions?
There are more ways to improve your videos on a budget, and we’ll explore some of those in future posts. But, if you have any burning questions, please drop me a line at workwithsheehan@gmail.com, or DM me on Instagram @sheehan.works
