1. INTRODUCTION While major motion pictures might not be filming with smart phones, having a video camera that fits in your pocket gives budding cinematographers a chance to get excited about shooting video. Even if it is not the primary reason you bought your phone, letting your perfectly good camera sitting in your pocket, is a travesty when you could be shooting great video today. In this session we will learn how to get better video with your smart phone including mistakes to avoid, and tips on (See Fig.1) Framing Stabilization Exposure & Focus Lighting Audio and Accessories Fig. 1 Overview of Smart Phone Shooting Whether you are just getting to know the video features of your new phone or you are a seasoned veteran, knowing some ground rules for shooting with a smart phone can get you vastly improve results without breaking the bank. 2. COMMON MISTAKES Before we dive into some standard shooting fundamentals we need to address two most common mistakes people make when shooting with their smart phones Shooting orientation Zoom In
The first thing what you want to do is make sure you hold your phone in a horizontal position, while still photos might work either way, traditional video is always shot in landscape. (See Fig.2) Fig. 2 Shooting Orientation Horizontal positioning for video recording Fig. 3 Zoom Control Avoid using this option The second thing you need to avoid is using the zoom control. This will artificially enlarge your footage and resulting in a pixilated image and reduce clarity. (See Fig.3)
If you need a closer shot, the best option is physically move closer to your subject. (See Fig.4) Fig. 4 Camera physically moved closer to the subject While smartphones have their own set of strengths and weaknesses certain shooting fundamentals remain the same no matter what camera you are shooting with. 3. RULE OF THIRDS One secret to a great footage is proper framing. A key element to understand how to achieve proper framing is known as the rule of thirds. (See Fig. 4) Fig. 5 Rule of Thirds the key element for video recording
Imagine a shot divided into thirds, both vertically and horizontally, apps like camera awesome for ios and android have the option to super impose these lines right on your screen. Fig.6 Four intersecting points The dividing lines intersect at four points (See Fig.6) for visually pleasing composition horizontal and vertical elements within the scene should closely follow the horizontal and the vertical lines, with key elements placed at or near the points of intersection. The rule of thirds is also the foundation for framing your shots with proper 3.1 Headroom Head room and Lead room Headroom refers to the space between the top of your subject s head and the top of the frame. In this scene the person s head is too close to the top of the frame, which gives it a claustrophobic feeling, any upward movement will cause our subject head to touch or extend beyond the top of the frame. (See Fig.7) Conversely, it is also possible to have too much head room. In this scene there is an inordinate amount of room or dead space between the top of the subject s head and the frame. This can cause them to appear small, isolated and insignificant, and can leave the audience confused or distracted by other elements within the scene. (See Fig.8)
Fig.7 Framing with no headroom Fig.8 Framing with inordinate amount of room or dead space When framing people the primary area of focus should be their eyes, keep the eyes on the upper line of third, preferably at or near a point of intersection. Let s take a look at few examples. In this close-up, we have placed the subject s eye on the upper line and even though the top of the head gets cut off the framing looks good. (See Fig. 9) Fig.9 Framing with subject s eye on the upper line
Fig.10 Framing included a portion of the subject s shoulders Moving out to medium shot we still have the eyes placed near the upper line, notice how we have included a portion of the subject s shoulders. (See Fig.10) The same shot without including the shoulders make it look the subject s head is floating in the frame. (See Fig.11) Fig.11 Framing looking the subject s head is floating in the frame Another thing we definitely want to avoid is, cutting off your subject s chin. This example clearly demonstrates the awkward feeling that this gives the viewer. (See Fig.12) Fig.12 Framing cutting off your subject s chin
3.2 Lead room 2017 Lead room refers to the space in front of the subject in the direction they are facing or in which the action is moving. In this scene the subject is framed properly according to the rule of thirds, but there is too little lead room. The subject looks cramped and claustrophobic. Not enough lead room cuts off the energy to the front and is unsettling to the audience. (See Fig. 13) Fig.13 Framing with too little lead room Here is the same shot with proper lead room. Notice how there is ample space in the direction of the action is moving. (See Fig. 14) Fig.14 Framing with proper lead room
Of course human beings are not the only things that benefit from having the right amount of lead room, moving objects such as a rolling ball, or a moving car should have plenty of lead room in the direction in which they are travelling. (See Fig. 15) Fig.15 Framing providing lead room in the direction of the rolling ball Even still object such as a tree may give more way to one direction or another. If so, provide lead room in that direction. (See Fig. 16) Fig.16 Framing providing lead room in the direction of the tree
3.3 Placing the Horizon Another common application of the rule of thirds is placing the horizon in your short. Whether it s a sun set or mountain range, you should place the horizon on the upper and the lower line of the grid to get a well composed shot. You definitely should avoid placing the horizon, dead centre. (See Fig. 17) Fig.17 Framing the horizon on the upper and the lower line of the grid 4. KEEPING THE SHOTS STEADY Now you know little bit about composing shots, let s talk about keeping those shots steady. Because of the phone factor and weight of your phone, it s impossible to get a shot without the phone moving on both horizontal and vertical axis. Sure in a pinch you can pull your phone out of your pocket and start shooting. But this typically results in a pretty shaky footage. Ideally you have some type of basic stabilizer, but if you don t you can minimize shaky camera movement by leveraging your body. (See Fig. 18) Instead of holding your arms outside with your elbows forward, try resting your elbows against your body for more stable shot, leaning against the wall or object can also help you steady the shot. In some situations you may even be able to rest the phone on a flat surface, for a completely steady shot.
Fig.18 Resting the elbows against the body for more stable shot The fact that your phone is so much lighter than a traditional camera can be an advantage. Using a bit of gaffers tape, a special type of tape extensively used in the video production, you can try mounting it in a variety of locations. This not only keeps the phone stable, but also offers some unique camera angles. (See Fig. 19) Fig.19 Gaffers tape, a special type of tape extensively used in the video production
If you already have some stabilizers for different cameras such as a tripod, you can get an accessory for your phone that has a standard quarter twenty mount. A quarter twenty mount is an industry standard size that will allow you to mount your phone to just about any support accessory, to get rock solid shots. (See Fig. 20, 21) You can even mount it to a Jib and get shots like this. Fig.20 Accessory for your phone that has a standard quarter twenty mount Fig.21 Mount your phone to just about any support accessory, to get rock solid shots
5. CONTROL THE IMAGES So you know how to frame a decent shot. And you have got some options for keeping those shots more stable. Now you need to have more control over our images, using camera controls. Using the right apps, there are typically two things you should try to control to get the image you want. 5.1 Exposure Exposure and Focus Exposure controls how bright your image is and helps prevent your shot from being underexposed or over exposed. An underexposed image will appear too dark with the darkest areas of the shot becoming pure black, with no detail. (See Fig. 22) Fig.22 An underexposed image An over exposed image will appear too bright with the brightest areas of the shot becoming pure white with no detail. (See Fig. 23) Fig.23 An overexposed image
5.2 Focus Focus controls the point in your scene that will look perceptibly sharp with other areas potentially being blurred. If you fire up the built-in video app for most phones, it s typically going to be auto everything. (See Fig. 24) If you ever tried to shoot inside with the bright window on the background, you likely being frustrated will be frustrated that your subject looks like they are in the witness protection program (See Fig. 25) Fig.24 Framing in auto focus mode, wherein all options are auto Fig.25 Subject looks dark when there is light exposed from behind
5.3 Let s talk about options to gain more control In the case of the I-phone, touching a point on the screen will use that point as the reference for determining the exposure and focus, and holding your finger on the point will lock that point in. (See Fig. 26) Fig.26 Touching a point on the screen for reference Fig.27 Focus and Exposure does not shift So changing the shot won t cause the focus or the exposure to shift. (See Fig. 27) This is a good first step. But, eventually you are going to want a say your exposure and focus separately. While many apps allow you to choose two separate points to determine auto-focus and autoexposure and important feature to look for is the ability to also lock each point separately. Fig.28 Control to set and lock exposure and focus Fig.29 Features preventing from altering the shot Apps like camera awesome for android and camera pro for the I-phone have this feature. This will give you complete control to set and lock exposure and focus, which will prevent the automatic features from altering your shot once you set it up. (See Fig. 28, 29)
5.4 Common issues Let s talk about some common issues with exposure. When you set your exposure on your smart phone, it automatically adjust iso and shutter settings to get the best image possible, what you don t need to understand the ISO and the shutter speed, you do need to be aware of the couple of things that are likely to happen. In a very bright scene, your phone will use a faster shutter which will cause fast motion in the shot to appear a bit stuttery. In a dark scene your phone will use a higher ISO and a slower shutter speed, which can cause your footage to have unwanted noise in it. (See Fig. 30, 31) Fig.30 Faster shutter for fast motion Fig.31 Higher ISO and a slower shutter speed When it comes to focusing, Simply select the point you want to be shot. If you are looking to get a nice soft background and a crisp foreground your best bet is to put much distance between the two as you can. And get as close to the foreground object as possible. (See Fig. 32) Fig.32 Selecting the point to be shot
5.5 How these Functions work Now let s take a look at an example of how these functions work. Here is our shot on Automatic while a bright background is shot with a decent exposure. Our intention is to have the little mushroom in focus, and properly exposed. (See Fig. 33) We can get the exposure we want by dragging the icon to the mushroom, while may be even part of the table. Once we get the look we want, we make sure it s locked in. Our background ends up over exposed, and that s preferable to underexposing our mushroom. (See Fig. 34) Fig.33 Framing a shot on Automatic Fig.34 Getting the exposure wanted by dragging Now we can drag the focus icon on to the mushroom, and make sure its locked. Notice that we have got a nice soft background, because we are so close to the mushroom. (See Fig. 35) And the background has a lot of separation from it. This effect is known as the shallow depth of field. (See Fig. 36) Fig.35 Distinctive in foreground and background Fig.36 Shallow depth of field So, we gained some control over focus and exposure.
6. LIGHTING Now, let s talk about lighting. Even if you are not using a professional lighting setup, you still want to try and control the natural lighting in your scene, because it has a lot to do with your final result. When it comes to lighting conditions, there are two things smart phones are very good at. Shooting scenes with High contrast or Low light. High contrast means they are very bright and very dark areas occur within the frame of your shot. Getting back to our mushroom shot, the bright background and shaded foreground make it difficult to attain proper exposure for the entire shot. (See Fig. 37) Either the dark areas will lose detail and completely become black or the bright areas will lose detail and become completely white. (See Fig. 38) Fig.37 Difficult to attain proper exposure Fig.38 Shifting the exposure There are a couple of ways to combat this. The easiest option is to try and frame your shot to eliminate high-contrast areas, if you are outside, this might need making sure your entire scene is either in the sun or in the shade (See Fig. 39,40) Fig.39 Framing in a sunny ambience Fig.40 Framing in a shady ambience
Also you should avoid shooting in the direct sun at mid day. Having the sun directly over head, gives harsh shadows on your subject while shooting in the earlier late hours of the day provides softer lighting. (See Fig. 41) Fig.41 Harsh shadows on the subject If you need to shoot mid-day, one relatively affordable accessory you can get is a 5 in 1 reflector. This will allow you to bounce light like the sun back on to your subject to help filling the dark shadow. In a pinch, you can also use a piece of white foam card board, to achieve a similar effect. (See Fig. 42) Fig.42 Reflector bouncing the light
If you are indoors, try avoiding shots with windows in the background, as the outside light is sure to overpower the indoor light. (See Fig. 43) Fig.43 Avoid shots with windows in the background If you are attempting to shoot indoors with existing light, make sure all the lights are on and have full brightness if they are on a dimming system. Without enough light you might get an image but it is likely to have a lot of noise in it. Some video apps will allow you to keep the flash bulb on while shooting which can help a little if your shot is too dark. (See Fig. 44) Fig.44 Shooting with flash bulb on Fig.45 More light yields less noise in the shot Basically the rule of thumb here is that the more light you have the less likely you are going to end up with a footage that is noisy. (See Fig. 45)
7. AUDIO With all these video settings and techniques, it is easy for audio to get lost in the shuffle. But in reality, people would too know bad audio with good video a lot faster than a bad video with pristine audio. To get better audio on your phone, the best solution is to use an external microphone, if you are just recording audio, the rode smart alarm is a great choice and it even comes with a free app. (See Fig. 46, 47) Fig.46 External microphone Fig.47 Rode app.for audio gain control Fig.48 Limitation in controlling audio gain while recording video This allows you to control the audio level manually to get good results. Unfortunately that manual gain control can t function if you are using a camera app. (See Fig. 48) If you need audio and video at the same time, a better option is something like irig-pre. This is a physical gain control, you can set the level of the audio, without an app. (See Fig. 49)
Fig.49 irigpre a device to control the gain physically Fig.50 Third party apps., with audio meters Pairing it with the video app, like Pro cam, that has the audio meter, with full control. (See Fig. 50) Once you start getting great looking footage and audio from your phone, you will be clamoring to take your shooting to the next level. And that means it s time to accessorize with lenses, lights and stabilizers.
8. ACCESSORIES 8.1 Lenses 2017 Let s start with lenses. Lens on your smart phone is fixed. (See Fig. 51) As we mentioned before, the zoom function on any app is merely enlarging your image artificially, luckily for us manufacturers have developed optical lenses that gets placed over the existing lens, to alter how much of the scenery camera sees without digitally manipulating the image. (See Fig. 52) Fig.51 Lens on smart phone is fixed Fig.52 Optical lenses to enhance the picture quality This will essentially allow you to get different looks from your phone that were previously a possibility. Here s our shot with a standard lens. And here is the same shot with I-Pro Fisheye Lens. Notice how much more of the scene was able to be captured from the same location. (See Fig. 53) Fig.53 Shot captured with Standard lens and I-pro fisheye lens
8.2 Portable LED light 2017 If you want to add a kick of light to a scene that is a bit dark, you can mount a battery powered LED light with a right setup like this clip light for Monfrotto. (See Fig. 54) 8.3 Stabilizers Fig.54 Battery powered LED light for dark scene While keeping the shots static preferable than shaky hand held footage, eventually you are going to want to introduce motion in your shots, to do this the right way, you need proper stabilizers to avoid going back to shaky town. If you looking for something affordable, this walks and sling shot acts as a small tripod, gives hand held control and has as a recorded twenty mount. (See Fig. 55) Fig.55 Impressive results with affordable stabilizers
This eye stabilizer dolly can give you pretty impressive results, used on a flat surface. Let s take a look at an example. If you are looking for better follow shots, the steady cam smoothie is one of many options to get the job done. Let s see it in action. (See Fig. 56, 57) Fig.56 Steady cam smoothie for the follow shots 9. CONCLUSION Fig.57 Resulting in remarkable outputs While smart phones are designed to make shooting easy, great footage needs a little bit of extra work. With proper framing, stable shots, well exposed sharp footage, you truly do have a way of great video, right in your pocket. Take that phone out and start shooting. Courtesy - Videomaker