Intro
It's 2022, and smartphones have reached a level where they can produce seriously amazing content—content that can honestly rival the look and quality of high-end expensive camera gear. So if you've got a phone, there's really no excuse to delay your content creation journey. In today's video, I want to arm you with the skills and knowledge to take things to the next level.
Smartphones
What's up, creators? My name is Anthony Gallo from the team at contentcreator.com. In today's video, I want to give you the ultimate beginner's guide to picking up your phone and shooting content that truly makes you happy. This content will apply to YouTubers, social media content creators, hobbyists looking to up the quality of their videos, and even people who want to start a freelance business and might want to get a jump start by using their phone to practice. I want to give you a full guide on filming with your smartphone, covering the apps to use, the settings, potential gear worth buying, filmmaking hacks, and how to get started editing—tons of stuff to dive into today. So, to get started, let's first talk about smartphones themselves.
I personally am using the iPhone 13 Pro, which has really opened my eyes to the power of modern smartphones. However, I don't want you to think that the content in today's video only applies to people who own the iPhone 13 Pro. Most modern smartphones nowadays, especially from major manufacturers like Apple, Samsung, and Google, perform extremely well, and the strategies we use to capture cinematic content don't really change much from camera to camera. It's kind of like throwing a baseball versus throwing a tennis ball—it might feel different in your hand, but the way we throw it doesn't really change all that much.
With all that being said, if you are in the market for a smartphone upgrade and you're looking to max out the content potential, I'd recommend the iPhone 13 Pro or the recently released Samsung S22 Ultra. They're extremely similar from a camera perspective. Yes, the S22 Ultra allows you to shoot in 8K, which is very cool, but it comes with a significant crop factor, and I personally don't see a need for 8K footage for most smartphone users. But hey, that's just my opinion. Instead of basing your purchase decision on the camera itself, I'd suggest choosing based on the ecosystem you prefer, like Apple or Android.
Settings and Apps
Now that we've talked about the phone, let's discuss the apps. First off, is a separate third-party app actually necessary to create great content? I don't think so, but they can definitely help in a lot of situations, simply because they let you take more manual control over the different settings.
A big disclaimer here about camera settings: I think a common misconception with new content creators is that there is some secret setting that's going to magically make all the content they shoot look great. As amazing as that would be, I wish there was just some button we could press, but it's just not true. Great content is almost entirely dependent on three things that have nothing to do with your camera itself: lighting, composition, and storytelling, which we're going to talk about later in this video.
The real benefit of controlling settings using a pro app is to help you avoid the dreaded exposure shift that comes with auto modes. Most native camera apps are by default set to auto, meaning they will change your settings like shutter speed, ISO, and white balance on your behalf. While this can be convenient, it can also cause your settings to change while you're recording, resulting in a shift in exposure, which can be distracting and unnatural.
If your goal is to capture the best-looking content possible, it's best to take manual control, and that's when the pro apps really come into play. Certain smartphones have these pro features built into their native camera app, and if that's your phone, great—no need to get one of these third-party apps. But if you have an iPhone like I do that doesn’t allow you to control these settings, I’d recommend downloading one of these pro apps. My personal go-to is Filmic Pro, which is a $15 investment, but I’ve also used the Moment Pro app, which is good, and I also really like the DJI Mimo app.
A pro tip for those in a pinch who need to film something quickly: if you want to use the native app, you can actually lock your exposure and focus by tapping and holding on your subject. This prevents the exposure from changing when you move your camera around, solving a lot of the problems caused by exposure shifts. It’s a middle ground between auto mode and using a pro app.
Camera Settings
Filmic Pro easily allows us to control the primary settings that impact our video, which are resolution, frame rate, shutter speed, ISO, and white balance. Normally, we would add aperture to that list, but almost all phones have fixed apertures that we can’t actually change, so don’t worry about it on a smartphone.
Resolution is the size of your video—how many total pixels are there. Generally, the bigger the better, and with Filmic Pro, I recommend maxing this out, usually at 4K.
Next is frame rate, which is the total number of frames in each second of video. The Hollywood standard for frame rate is 24 frames per second. Anything lower than 24 frames per second, and your eyeball will start noticing the small gaps between each individual frame. So, film all of your regular-speed content at 24 frames per second. If you want to capture slow-motion video, increase the frame rate to 60, 120, or 240 frames per second, with each higher frame rate allowing you to slow the video down even more without getting to the point where you start seeing gaps between each frame.
Shutter speed is the next setting to consider. There are two settings on our phones that we use to control the exposure of the image, which is a fancy word for brightness: shutter speed and ISO. Ideally, you want your shutter speed to be two times your frame rate, so at 24 frames per second, you want your shutter speed to be 1/48th of a second. You can adjust this in Filmic Pro by locking the ISO in place and then scrolling the wheel to change the shutter speed to the desired setting. You’ll notice when you do this, it changes the brightness of your video.
When filming in slow motion at 60 frames per second, adjust your shutter speed to 1/120th of a second following that 2x rule. However, lighting plays a crucial role in how your footage turns out, so you may need to increase your shutter speed, which cuts down on the amount of light getting into your camera, correcting the exposure but sacrificing motion blur. Motion blur is key to capturing natural-looking content, but sometimes, increasing the shutter speed is necessary. Alternatively, you can use a neutral density filter (ND filter) to cut down on light while keeping your shutter speed in the ideal range, bringing back motion blur into the image.
ISO is the second setting used to control exposure. Think of ISO as digital brightness—if it’s dark and your image is underexposed, you can increase the ISO, which adds digital brightness to the image. However, this also adds digital noise, which decreases the quality of your videos, so always keep your ISO as low as possible to avoid that ugly noise.
White Balance
A crucial setting in Filmic Pro is white balance, which ensures that the whites in your video actually look white—not overly warm and orange or unnaturally cool and blue. The color of whites can change because all light has a particular color temperature. To compensate for these changes, use the white balance setting on your camera. There’s no perfect setting for white balance—it changes from scene to scene depending on the light's color temperature.
Auto white balance on your phone is helpful, but it can cause unnatural shifts while filming. Instead, before hitting record, open the white balance setting in Filmic Pro, click auto to set it for the current scene, and then click it again to lock it in place, preventing it from changing during recording. This keeps your scene consistent, which is much more professional. If it still looks off, you can fine-tune the white balance using the adjustment bar until the image looks natural.
Cameras on Modern Smartphones
Modern smartphones typically have multiple cameras that we can toggle between. Most phones have a standard wide, ultra-wide, and telephoto camera. While this gives us more range in the diversity of shots, they aren’t all built equally. The standard wide camera is much better than the others in terms of image quality because it has larger sensors, wider fixed apertures, and more advanced stabilization technology, which makes it better in low light situations and smoother in movement. So, if the goal is to capture the highest quality video, stick with the main camera.
However, sometimes you need to sacrifice quality to better tell your story. For example, in real estate, the wide-angle camera showcases more of the scene and makes spaces look larger, so I often use the ultra-wide camera. It’s essential to balance creative storytelling with focusing purely on camera specs.
Composition Tips
When it comes to composition, don’t start recording without knowing what you’re filming. Randomly shooting content without a defined subject results in amateur-looking videos. Instead, pick a specific subject and plan a movement to highlight it. The biggest difference between Hollywood movies and what we shoot with smaller cameras isn’t the gear—it’s the level of planning that goes into the final product.
To elevate your content, plan more. Use composition tips like keeping lines in your scene straight, studying the rule of thirds, aligning subjects along vertical and horizontal lines, and creating depth by adding layers to your video. Depth makes your content feel immersive and life-like,
By Sal Framondi,
CEO/Founder, OPPRIME.tv
Producer, Black Filmmakers Matter
The success of independent filmmakers hinges on effective distribution, and OPPRIME.tv offers a prime opportunity for filmmakers to present their work to a global audience. By partnering with OPPRIME.tv, independent filmmakers gain access to a dedicated platform that prioritizes the promotion and exposure of their films. This partnership allows filmmakers to reach a wider audience, generate significant revenue, establish crucial industry connections, build a strong reputation, and participate in social and cultural discourse. OPPRIME.tv empowers filmmakers by providing the means to share their unique stories, initiate important conversations, and leave a lasting impact on the filmmaking world. With OPPRIME.tv as their distribution partner, independent filmmakers can overcome distribution hurdles and seize opportunities for growth and success in the industry.
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