Can You Shoot A Movie On An iPhone?
You might've seen that exciting Apple keynote, where Apple shows how the iPhone can shoot cinematic quality footage. And sure, it's impressive, but let's be real. That footage is all shot by extremely talented filmmakers using big budget filmmaking equipment, you know, besides the iPhone. So can you really shoot a movie on your phone? Yes. Okay. Movie over.
Okay. Okay. But seriously, yes, you can shoot an entire movie on your phone. And in fact, several filmmakers have already done it. Unsane, Tangerine, High Flying Bird are just a few of the mini feature length films that actually shot on an iPhone. But even though you can shoot on your phone, there's still some important things to consider. So let's go over some tips for shooting your film on your phone.
First up is good audio. The truth of the matter is bad audio is actually much more noticeable than bad video. Surprisingly viewers are more okay with low quality visuals, then they are sound. In fact, bad sound can even trick your viewers brain into thinking the visuals are bad too, even when they aren't.
So if you're not spending your money on an expensive camera, then consider using some of the money you save to buy better mics. However, if budget is still a concern, there are still low budget mic options that can help you get better audio quality than what your phone delivers. Such as RODE's video mic pro, which prices in around $200 and gives you a lightweight boom mic or the iRig lav mic that plugs straight into your phone and can use your phone's native voice recording apps to record audio.
Next is stabilization. No one wants to watch shaky camera, phone footage. And while it might look fine on your phone's small screen, it's not going to look great when blown up on that big film festival screen. So making sure you have some sort of stabilization is key to making any camera phone footage look good. You can get more stable footage by getting a filmmaking smartphone case that allows you to attach various forms of stabilization to it such as tripods, gorilla arms, or even selfie sticks.
These filmmaking smartphone cases often also allow you to attach other gear such as mics and lights as well. And if you're looking for more of a moving action type shot, you can get gimbals and steady cams that are specifically made for your phone.
Next up is lighting. Now you might be ready to jump out there and shoot your next film on your phone, but first consider its limitations when it comes to lighting. Camera phones still aren't great when shooting in low light situations like nighttime or dark rooms. So I recommend either making sure your film is extremely well lit or shooting during the daytime.
And speaking of limitations, next up is storage space. Another thing to consider when shooting on your phone is space. You might not have the same amount of storage space on your phone as you would if you were shooting with SD cards, for example. So make sure you've got a quick option for more space, whether that's downloading and dumping footage on a hard drive as you go, or maybe even having a second phone handy to shoot with.
And finally camera apps. Depending on your camera phone, it could be extremely beneficial to get a third-party camera app, as these can help you lock in features like exposure and focus that the built-in camera app on your phone might not offer. There's even camera apps that will allow you to utilize more than one camera in your phone at a time like the double-take app.
So if you don't have the budget for a more expensive camera, then use the one you've already got and get creative. After all the essence of filmmaking is about telling good stories, not about buying expensive gear.
Featured Gear:
➜ iPhone Filmmaking Case: https://amzn.to/360zdvw
➜ Video Mic Pro: https://amzn.to/2I4NLCo
➜ iRig Lav Mic: https://amzn.to/3mQIpcI
➜ Ring Light: https://amzn.to/38jUCCu
➜ Gorilla Arm: https://amzn.to/34VyFb4
➜ Gorilla Pod: https://amzn.to/2TRM65x
My Filmmaking Resources:
➜ All of my Filmmaking equipment: https://www.amazon.com/shop/laughstashtv
➜ Get Free Filmmaking Checklists through my newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/e071707aca31/fiy
➜ Get my Filmmaking Templates on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FIY
➜ Rent gear like a pro on BorrowLenses: http://shrsl.com/29h7t
➜ Learn how to be a successful YouTuber: https://linkedin-learning.pxf.io/BbBN4
➜ Get $10 off of Subtitles and Captions for your videos: https://www.rev.com/blog/coupon/?ref=...
*This post contains affiliate links which give me a small commission once clicked on.