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How to use smartphones to create video content

Since the advent of the iPhone a decade ago, smartphone cameras have evolved progressively with each passing year. Smartphone cameras have changed filmmaking and videography. In a marketing POV, using smartphones to create video content provides more than a few noteworthy benefits.

For one, smartphones are omnipresent. Capturing video content spontaneously becomes easier. There’s no need to bring heavy equipment all the time. Using a smartphone camera, a marketer can shoot relevant content when an unexpected opportunity presents itself. Also, there are tons of apps available designed for smartphone camera editing. These sophisticated digital apps enable marketers to edit and enhance raw footages in real time for a fast viewing distribution online.

But most of all, using smartphones to create video content is more budget-friendly.

Now, having an awesome camera phone won’t always guarantee high-quality end-products. Without cautious planning and clever techniques, the camera phone is but just a tool. Below are tips on how to maximize the use of smartphone cameras to create high-quality marketing videos.

 

Prioritize good lighting.

Proper lighting is imperative on smartphone cameras because mobile phones have smaller image lenses and sensors. As much as possible, shoot the video in a brightly lit place. This is to avoid producing grainy areas in the video as well as adding unnecessary shadows. The natural light is still the best source of light when it comes to capturing photos and videos. But, if it’s a gloomy day or the shoot is in the evening, try to use fluorescent bulbs.

It’s also important to not point the camera directly at the source of light. This is to avoid lens flaring or overexposed shots. Also, adjust the phone’s backlight and white balance settings.

 

Keep the phone steady.

A smartphone that is unsteady will produce blurred and/or distorted footage. As much as possible, use a tripod. There are sturdy tripods designed for smartphones available for as low as $10. If there’s no budget for a tripod or the use of it isn’t practical for the situation, rest the phone on other items that provide physical support. Use a desk, bookshelves, stacks of books, or a table to steady the device.

 

Invest in an audio gadget.

The audio quality of the video is as important as the quality of the video itself. Poor sounding in a video will almost always guarantee to disappoint the viewers. Sometimes, even adding subtitles won’t save a video with low-quality audio.

Unfortunately, even the high-quality smartphone cameras suffer from mediocre built-in microphones. When shooting outside, the mic on the smartphone catches unnecessary background noise like the wind that competes or completely drowns the main sounds in the video. These background noises are also impossible to remove or edit out later.

The best solution for this is to invest in an external microphone that is designed to work well with smartphones.

 

Shoot horizontal.

To avoid extra hassles during the editing process – and to ensure viewers can enjoy the video on a computer or TV monitor – keep the phone horizontal. Shooting a footage with the phone upright doesn’t seem like a problem at the time of the recording because the clips are shown on the phone’s vertical screen. However, once the video is played anywhere else, the footage will compete with two black bars for space.

 

Enhance the video clips with mobile apps.

Third-party phone apps are designed specifically to enhance a task. Mobile apps for video editing do just that – they improve the clips recorded using a camera phone. Some of the free video editing apps are enough to make the raw footage more professional-looking. But, to elevate and sophisticate the video clips more, buying the premium version of a mobile editing app is a wise investment.

Using smartphones to create video content is possible. It also stretches the imagination and pumps the creative juices of the company’s marketing team. Through patience, trial and error, and practice, marketing videos shot using a camera phone can be the go-to marketing medium of a company.

Creating relevant, creative and quality marketing videos don’t have to break the bank.
Planning beforehand will ensure the marketing team sticks with the budget.