13 Sep How to shoot video like a pro with your iPhone
Can you really use an iphone to create quality great video and podcast?
Of course you can. I get asked this question so often and my answer kind of revolves around the same response. What are you going to shoot? How are you going to edit the the footage? What are your plans for audio? The answer to those 3 questions really kind of eliminate quite a few possibility’s and can also set you on the path to getting what ever accessories, if any, are needed to start your project. Once you’ve decided that shooting on an iPhone is a great choice for you, we can talk about lighting, sound and motion. Those are are the big 3 topics we need to discuss while planning the shoot We’ll cover those topics and a few hacks in this article.
Can my project fit in an iPhone? Editing
You would be amazed with the amount of people that are not aware of the editing that goes into a video. It’s very similar to the post editing that goes into photography. You can take good pictures with an iPhone a place filters on them until you are happy. While that clearly has a place in photography, it doesn’t minimize the work most do in Photoshop or Lightroom (check out or presets here). iMovie can and will do a great job editing short videos with ease. If you are decent with your iPhone, this shouldn’t be too difficult after you get past the relatively short learning curve. There are hundreds of videos on YouTube on how to edit. If you have a short video, 7-10 minutes, and a relatively small amount of clips to edit, this could be for you. Just keep in mind, the longer your video is and more clips you have to edit, the more complicated it is to organize on a small screen.
audio and an iphone - audio is underrated until you have bad audio
That is so true. Audio sometimes is an afterthought until you listen to your audio of the entire video and realize you have horrible audio. Horrible audio can make great video look, well horrible. when you are coming up with your plan for audio think of these questions because the answer will lead us in the direction of what type of audio equipment you need.
Can a microphone show? It may seem like a funny question, but if you are shooting a movie, show or any video where a mic in the shot would not be appropriate, then you need a small shotgun mic accessory like any of these. Which one is better? Well the Rode mics have always had a nice crisp tone to them, however the Movo is also a great mic as well for the money. Keep in mind, if you are shooting in an area that will any type of wind/breeze, the windscreen is a must. So if you buy the $48 Rode mic (great mic) also buy an accessory kit because it will come in handy.
In many shooting situations, as of recently, having a mic in the video is absolutely fine. Especially podcast or interview style. For that we recommend getting a mic adapter for your phone and using any of these lapel/lavalier mics. Keep in mind, all of these mics will essentially give you the best audio input because the mic is on the person speaking. So a mic 6 inches away will always be better than a mic 6 ft away.
These mics connect from your phone to this 3.5 mm adapter to the mic. So if you don’t have an adapter, make sure you get one as well. We really like the Belkin adapter. It allows you to put headphones on and check the audio quality as well. That way you can monitor the sound which, believe me comes in handy.
motion - not always a good thing
Video stabilization has come a long way in the past few years. We have come from nothing, to the selfie stick, the gorilla grip and finally too gimbals. If you are looking to stabilize your shot and also give yourself additional shooting tools (pan, roll, tilt, etc) like pro’s use, then a gimbal is the way to go. Of course there lots of different styles and price points for gimbals, but we have always stuck with the Zhiyun Professional Gimbal line. They are well made, they have an easy to use app to control the gimbals, and they stand behind their products.
It is not a matter of do you need a gimbal, you do. It just really comes in handy as a great tool to boost your video value.