Learn tips for producing content using your smartphone. See how to record better!
Many content creators can do absolutely everything with just their cell phones: record videos, edit professionally, take photos to post on social media, write scripts, optimize content, SEO, upload, among others.
All of this can be done using just smartphones. But to do it with quality and professionalism, you need to know how to use the device in the best possible way. So, keep reading to get access to some simple tips that can completely change the performance of your videos.
Configure your smartphone
Most smartphones today have two cameras (front and rear). If possible, always use the rear camera on your phone. It has better image quality than the front camera. There are several options when it comes to saving your video in high resolution. Always try to use the HD (1280 x 720 pixels) or Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) options.
Some cell phones already record in 4K (3840 x 2160 pixels), but although this is a very high-quality format, it is best to avoid it, as it produces very large files, requiring a powerful (and expensive) computer or mobile device to edit them.
Edit with programs and applications
This brings us to the second tip. There are several editing programs video editors, both for computers and cell phones. For computers, the best-known products are “Adobe Premiere”, “Sony Vegas” and “Final Cut”. However, these programs are paid and their price can be a bit high for us Brazilians. There are free editors, such as Edius and Movie Maker, which can be great options for those who cannot spend hundreds of reais on an editing program.
If you are looking for convenience and don’t need editing tools for your PC, there are video editing apps for smartphones, such as “Adobe Premiere Clip”, “Inshot Video Editor”, Androvid and “FilmoraGo”. With them you can edit, insert background music, use transitions and even create animation effects and best of all, they are free apps.
Framing is everything
After attaching your phone to the tripod, turning on the softbox or ring light, and standing in front of the camera, are you ready to record? Not yet! A very important factor when recording video with your phone is how you position it. If you are “standing”, you will record the video vertically, and if you are “sitting”, you will record the video horizontally. There are no exact rules for this, but it is important to remember that in audiovisual video production, it is always recorded horizontally, which is why YouTube itself works with this format.
So when recording vertically and share on YouTube, your video will have two black bars, each located on one side of the video. It is worth remembering that these bars will take up a third of the allocated area in your video. In other words: wasted space.
Check out the lighting
A very important element in video is lighting. Cell phone cameras are very small and therefore cannot capture all the light needed to obtain quality indoor images. However, if you point the light towards you, you will get too much light, making the lighting of your video uncomfortable (the famous “blown out”).
To achieve pleasant lighting, you can use a “Softbox”: a box with internal light and open on one side, covered with an opaque material, such as tracing paper. You can easily find Softboxes sold in photography stores or online, but they can be a bit expensive.
If you're on a tight budget (and you're a good student in art class), you can make a softbox at home using inexpensive materials, as shown in the video below. Another great option is ring lights, they're cheaper and provide good lighting.
