Modern smartphones are equipped with a fairly advanced camera that can shoot high-quality video when it is proper skill. There are many subtleties that affect the final result. If you want to make the most of your smartphone camera, follow these guidelines.
1. Clean the lens
Clearing the camera seems to be the most obvious advice, and that's why it always forget about. The wiping is better to use a special cloth, but if anything at hand is not, you can just breathe on the lens and wipe it with a t-shirt.
2. Use third-party applications
If you want to shoot a professional video, will have to get the appropriate application. Unlike conventional cameras, such applications the iPhone and Android-smartphone has a lot of settings that allow to control the process of shooting.
With Filmic Pro, for example, you can choose not only the frame rate, bit rate and audio codec for the video, but also to adjust the focus, exposure, and white balance many other parameters.
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3. Consider lighting
Like in the pictures, the video light is very important. Try to shoot in well-lit areas to avoid unnecessary noise and shadow, which spoil the picture. In this case, undesirable to film at too bright midday sun, the best time - early in the morning or a few hours before sunset. If in doubt, it is not superfluous to conduct a test shoot and see the result.
Also avoid situations where the camera is pointing directly at a bright light source. Ideally, if he will be behind you or to the side. The camera tries to adjust to the lighting automatically, but it is better to control yourself this moment.
4. Adjust exposure and focus
Now even mobile cameras allow you to change the exposure and focus in a small range. In the case of exposure is usually a compromise: to increase it in the pursuit of a maximum amount of light, we get the picture, devoid of detail in bright parts of the frame, and vice versa.
It is important to find a middle ground and understand what parts better to sacrifice for the best effect.
If possible, avoid the automatic exposure and move in a fixed mode, especially shooting dynamic scenes with the change of angle.
The ideal is a clear focus is also very important. Auto focus - a good thing, but when there is insufficient light conditions it becomes useless, and from him more harm than good. Correct use manual focus control, which is available in all professional applications for shooting video.
5. Keep your smartphone firmly
Due to the small size and weight of the smartphone to your every movement causes twitching pictures. When shooting without a tripod is very important to keep your smartphone with both hands, pressing his elbows against your body for the most stable position.
Avoid jerking when shooting panoramic plans to move slowly and smoothly. If you want to point the camera at a different subject, it is not necessary to change the position of your hands - it is better just to turn his whole body.
6. Be careful with zoom and flash
There is nothing worse than digital zoom, and most smartphones are just like that. He is no different from the simple scaling the image, in which the popping noise and pixelation. Forget the zoom is better to just move closer to the subject. In an extreme case, to bring the image with the zoom will be later during installation.
Mobile outbreaks in recent years, of course, considerably advanced in their development, but they are still far from ideal, especially when shooting video. If you do not want to get people with red eyes and yellow skin, it is better to use an additional light source. Will fit a flashlight on another smartphone or a neon sign. Experiment!
7. Connect an external microphone
Poor quality sound can easily spoil even the perfect video. smartphone microphones have noise reduction system, but in difficult conditions to cope not always. You can try to get closer to the man to write his speech, or cover the microphone hole on the body smartphone, protecting it from the wind, but be prepared for what may eventually have an audio track remove.
One can be assured as the audio only resorting to an external microphone which is connected through the headphone jack. Their market is now a huge amount, and even the budget on the head of superior quality built-in microphones for recording.
8. use accessories
In addition to the microphone, there are many other accessories from well-known manufacturers, which help to improve the quality of shooting, raising it to a whole new level. If is important to you the end result, it makes sense to expand its arsenal.
tripod and steadicam give a smooth and seamless image, with the external battery case to increase the battery life, and universal drives allow capture more material. In addition, there is the removable lenses, external light, remote controls and much more.
9. Take care of free space
Whether you though Spielberg himself with an arsenal of steadicam and expensive microphones, if the smartphone memory runs out, lift does not work. Availability should take care in advance, so as not to run into this problem in the most inopportune moment.
The simplest - is to buy a smartphone with a maximum amount of memory or a memory card, although there are other ways. If the hand is a good internet connection, you can simply unload the footage in the cloud, if not - will gain universal flash drive that connects directly to your smartphone. In an extreme case, bring your laptop and copy video from a smartphone to a disc using a cable.
10. Mount the clip in the video editor
The final stage of any survey is, of course, video editing, for which all and was started. Remove all one take is not always possible, even in the present directors, so the final installation is a must.
If you do not want to bother, you can use the mobile video editingTo crop unwanted parts or assemble several clips into one. If the goal is to create a full-fledged film, it can not do without a serious software for installation on your computer.
What not to do
Finally - some of the most common mistakes. If you want to get a really cool video, which will not be ashamed to show your friends and put in a social network, you will never:
- do not record the video in a vertical orientation;
- Do not use the zoom and flash;
- Do not remove the sun or other light source;
- do not abuse the panoramas, especially when shooting with hands;
- do not start shooting almost discharged smartphone memory is full.