Rob at Smartphone Filmmaker has a series of handy tips to try if you're using your smartphone for filming.
It's important to note that before even implementing any of these tips, you'll want to use a more professional shooting app on your phone. Rob uses Cinema P3 Pro Camera ($10.99 on the Apple app store), but there are plenty of others out there that can accomplish the same goals of manual controls, such as the popular Filmic Pro ($9.99 weekly). Without it, the default video app on the iPhone doesn't give you access to most of the controls he talks about.
The main tips that Rob shares are controlling the ISO of your camera. Just like in still photography, a higher ISO means higher noise levels and less image quality. Where you can, you'll want to keep things as low as possible. This level of manual control also extends to white balance, where you'll want to find the right setting and lock in the color temperature so it doesn't change as you shoot.
Another tip is getting fine control of your focus. While the default iPhone app lets you tap to focus, being able to manually set your focus in a more full-featured app can be critical to professional filmmaking.
Professional apps also allow for more control over the frame rate and resolution, and choosing the broadcast standard of 30 fps or Hollywood cinema standard of 24 fps could mean a real difference in what the final product looks like.
Rob offers a few more tips to really take control of your video filmmaking. Check out the video above to get the full rundown of tips.
Do you have any phone videography tips of your own to share? Leave them in the comments below.
