This post (text and video) is crammed with beginner-to-advanced tips & ideas for mobile video creation, updated for 2024. I've included the text of the video for reference as sometimes it's easier to find a snippet of info by searching the text than scrolling through a long(ish) video. However, the video contains several shot ideas placed throughout, so I recommend giving it at least one watch.
This guide is for anyone who wants to create amazing content with their smartphone, whether you're a seasoned YouTuber, a budding social media influencer, a hobbyist looking to polish your videos, or an aspiring freelancer seeking a head start.
Auto or Manual?
This is what video looks like using the regular video mode of my Samsung.
And this is what it looks like when I switch to Pro mode.
The Pro mode version has less dynamic range, which means highlights get blown out or the shadows get crushed to black. Why does this happen?
Get Started With Your Video Creation
Smartphones have reached a level where they can produce beautiful content that rivals the quality of expensive camera rigs. If you have a phone in your pocket, there's no reason to put off becoming a Video Creator Pro.
However, all these extra features can be confusing. You’re probably now wondering whether you should use Pro mode or the regular video mode. In this post, I'll be providing the answers to exactly these kinds of puzzles mixed with some general video creation knowledge.
6 Myths Debunked
As we go through this post, I’m also going to debunk 6 common smartphone filmmaking myths which are still being shared by YouTube educators. Some of these tips are somewhat old and need updating. Unless you are using a pretty old smartphone, they might be doing your videos more harm than good.
If you find this post informative, make sure to share it so we can spread the good the tips and help more video creators be up to date.
Myth #1
Do we need a pro camera app?
If you’d asked me 5 years ago I would’ve said yes, you need to use an app like Filmic Pro. But this hasn’t been the case for a long time now. As I showed you earlier, your native app will give you more dynamic range.
Why? Because over the last 4 or 5 years smartphones have been using a process called dynamic tone mapping, for photos and videos. And what this does is adjust exposure differently for different areas of the image. So exposure will be turned down in the sky and turned up for the shadows.
If you switch to manual mode in an Android phone, this tone mapping is disabled and often you end up with less dynamic range and possibly a less appealing image.
In an iPhone it’s different, because the only way to switch off dynamic tone mapping is by recording Apple Log, which you can only do in iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max.
Of course, camera apps can come in handy when you want more control over the camera settings. But it's a little bit more complex than just saying "always use manual control" as some do, because in many cases you'd be missing out on that extra dynamic range. Rather, I recommend you see camera apps as tools which help out in certain situations.
More on that later. But first...
Which smartphone?
The last device I bought was the iPhone 15 Pro, which I used to film the video for this post, as well as my Samsung Note20 Ultra.
But don't think you need the latest iPhone or Samsung flagship device to make stunning smartphone films. My Note20 Ultra is over 3 and a half years old now and I still love the look of the video from this device. The battery is still holding up pretty well too.
Most modern smartphones, especially from big names like Apple, Samsung, Google, Xiaomi and Sony, can deliver impressive results.
iPhone Advantages
My Samsung is my main phone, but these days it’s probably not as convenient for video creation as my iPhone 15 Pro. We can argue whether the latest iPhone or Samsung has the best video quality until the end of time, but try buying lens or filter accessories for a Samsung or a Xiaomi.
I’ll go into gear in more detail later. Just be aware that someone with an iPhone has more options when it comes to adding accessories, than someone with an Android. As well, Android devices often limit access to certain features to 3rd party app developers, therefore your gimbal app probably won’t work as well as it does with an iPhone.
I’m not trying to put off android users from creating videos. You can obviously get amazing results. And I will talk about how to do that in this post, no matter what your device.
If you don’t have the budget for a flagship device, then Xiaomi actually makes some great mid and lower range devices. But there’s another myth to do with camera apps.
Myth #2
Some will tell you that you need a camera app to avoid exposure changing during a shot. But that’s not true either. With any smartphone, just tap and hold on the subject and it will lock exposure and focus.
So what is the point of camera apps? Should we just forget about them completely? Let me answer that by giving you 3 scenarios when they’re useful.
Scenario 1 - Low Light
My first scenario where you might be better off using a 3rd party app is when there’s less light. In these situations, the dynamic tone mapping often adds extra digital noise. And digital noise lowers the quality of your video.
In my experience, the extra dynamic range from tone mapping benefits us most in bright conditions. As we’ve seen, it stops the sky blowing out. But in dark conditions it’s not so helpful, so I recommend switching to a manual control app.
And that brings us to myth #3.
Myth #3
You’ll often hear folks say smartphones are terrible in low light conditions. They might not be as good as a big camera with a big sensor, but I wouldn't say they're terrible.
I’ve worked with smartphones in low light on a number of occasions and got good results. Like I say, use a manual control app and bring down your ISO as low as possible. You can even go a little bit lower than looks right, then bring up the shadows with an editing app.
It just takes a little bit of know-how that’s all, and you can capture good low light footage.
Scenario 2 - Extra features
The 2nd reason to use a 3rd party app is that they usually contain extra settings and features. Things like specialist video formats, different levels of stabilisation, full white balance control and lots of other stuff.
For example, the Blackmagic app allows you to record Apple Log in different codecs. Whereas the iPhone’s native app only gives you ProRes as an option for Apple Log. You can also add LUTs and many other features not available otherwise.
Filmic Pro and other apps allow you to program focus changes, for example, so you can create professional looking focus pulls.
The list of things you can do would fill up a 10 hour video, but in short: there may be times when you switch to your Filmic-Pro-type-app for these extra features, when the need arises.
Scenario 3 - Greater Control
The third scenario is when we simply want to shoot video in the traditional way. Maybe we’re shooting a short film and we want more accurate control of bitrate, exposure, focus and white balance settings.
With the phone’s native app, everything is locked together. Whereas with a manual control camera app, we can lock settings individually.
One really useful setting is to have exposure locked but focus in auto. Sometimes we need focus to change as a subject moves within the frame. But we don’t want exposure to change at the same time.
Thing is, each setting creates different effects on the look of the video. By using an app we can now control those effects in more detail.
Of course there’s really no reason why you can’t mix up footage from your native app with a manual control app. I did exactly this when I shot my iPhone documentary. For daylight shots I used the regular app for the wider dynamic range. For dark interior shots I switched to Filmic Pro, so I could bring down the ISO.
Do we absolutely need to be using a manual control app to shoot great looking video? Absolutely not. Is it a good idea to have one installed we can switch to when needed? Absolutely, yes.
To make this easier to digest, here are the 3 options we have available to us when creating video content with our mobile devices.
3 Options
Option 1 is to record video completely auto, nothing is locked. Can this look professional? Yes it can, in the right situation. I often have my camera set to auto because it’s faster and more convenient.
On the downside, the camera is constantly adjusting settings like shutter speed, ISO, and white balance, which can lead to inconsistent exposure, focus and white balance.
Option 2 is to record video with everything locked, by quickly tapping and holding on the screen. Still pretty convenient and stops the shot looking messy. You will also keep the extra computational dynamic range.
Option 3 is to use a camera app like Filmic Pro or Blackmagic to get individual control. You can set ISO exactly, shutter speed exactly, white balance exactly, focus exactly.
The downside of this last option is it takes more time as well as losing the extra dynamic range (although with iPhones it's never fully switched off unless you shoot Apple Log).
Right Tool for the Right Job
Creating video with a smartphone, we learn when a faster option is preferable and when we need more control. There's a variety of ways we can capture video, and that's one of the things that makes using smartphones fun and flexible. The more you practice, the easier it will be to decide what to use and when.
There’s pros and cons to each option. It’s simply about choosing the right tool for the right job.
Some scenarios require you to work fast and by the time we’ve set shutter, ISO, white balance and focus we’ve missed the shot. The bird has flown, the magical sunset has turned to nighttime, the paraglider has packed up and gone home.
On the other hand, working on a project like a commercial, short film or a documentary you’re more likely to benefit from using an app, because you have time to be more precise with your settings.
Which App?
Now, many Android devices have these pro features built into their native camera app. If that's your phone, lucky you! Now you can access manual control on your smartphone without an extra app. You won’t get so many features, but you get all the most important ones.
If you have an iPhone there is no manual mode, so it’s pretty essential to have at least one of these more pro apps installed.
Filmic Pro is still the best developed app in my opinion, for both iPhone and Android. But it does require a subscription. The new Blackmagic app for iPhone is free and has been getting a lot of attention, although it does still have some flaws. For Android there’s also apps like McPro24fps, but it’s not the most user friendly, in my opinion.
Other apps you might want to look at are: Moment Pro Cam, ProTake and Cinema P3 (there are others too).
What do Apps do?
Apps like Filmic Pro make it easy to control the key settings that affect your video: resolution, frame rate, shutter speed, ISO, and white balance. With a regular camera, we'd also include aperture in this list, but almost all smartphones have fixed apertures that we can't adjust. So, if you're using a smartphone, don't worry about aperture.
I’ve made a whole course on these settings. As a Video Creator Pro on my Patreon, you can access that course. I’ll just quickly run through the six key settings for any camera app.
Camera Settings
There are 6 key elements for setting up your camera app correctly. If you master the 6 basics, you can pretty much use any camera app and any device and get excellent results.
Ask any professional camera operator, and they will tell you that their work is rooted in 6 key principles, which are like the building blocks of a house. By understanding and mastering these principles, you can create films that are both technically and artistically sound.
The first of those six settings is frame rate.
Frame Rate
Frame rate is the total number of frames per second in your video. The Hollywood standard for frame rate is 24 frames per second. If you drop below 24 fps, our brains start to notice the gaps between each frame, making the video look choppy.
However, these days I actually shoot all my YouTube videos at 30 or 60fps. I use the 60fps footage to create 4K slow motion. Only reason I would use 24fps is when I specifically want to create a video that has the traditional look of film.
If you're filming slow-motion footage, you'll want to bump up the frame rate to 60, 120, or even 240 frames per second. The higher the frame rate, the more you can slow down the video without it looking choppy.
The reason I shoot 60fps is that most devices can shoot this frame rate at 4K. Once you go up to 120, 240 or even higher on some devices, resolution is going to be limited.
Resolution
Resolution simply refers to the number of pixels with the image frame. They’re sometimes written in different ways which can be confusing. For example, 1080p and 4K are the 2 most common resolution settings, but they look very different, don’t they? 1080p is also written as FHD or Full High Definition, whereas 4K is UHD or Ultra High definition.
Most smartphones now shoot 4K and some even go as high as 8K. But you might find one or more of your secondary cameras are limited to 1080p.
Personally, I shoot and edit all my videos with a resolution of 4K. An advantage of top of the range devices is that you can usually shoot 4K with all the cameras, including the front camera. That said, while Samsungs will shoot 4K in all cameras, Xiaomis (including the expensive ones) only shoot 1080p with the front cam.
Bitrate
One important setting people rarely talk about is bitrate. Thing is, the quality of your video will only ever be as good as the bitrate allows. If you have a 4K video with a bitrate of an 1080p video, it will basically look like a 1080p video. Then you’ll be confused as to why other people are getting better quality 4K video than you.
If you didn’t know what it was, you might set it low and think this is great, I’m getting 4K files but they’re nice and small. The reason they’re small is that the image information has been removed. Which brings me to my next myth to be busted.
Myth #4
Some people will say you need to set your bitrate to the highest level possible.
However, every codec and resolution has a recommended bitrate level. For example, a regular 4K 30fps video might have a bitrate of 60 mbps. But in McPro24fps, I can push my bitrate up to 1000 mbps, which would be crazy overkill.
The problem is, if you set your bitrate too high you will create files which are way bigger than you need, without adding any extra quality to the video. You’re just filling up your device storage quicker for no reason and it’ll take longer to transfer files.
If you’re using a camera app that has a bitrate control, try to use an appropriate setting. This is the kind of thing I go into detail about in my camera app masterclass for Video Creator Pros.
How to Set Exposure
There are two main settings on our phones that control the brightness of the image: shutter speed and ISO. Each brightness (aka exposure) setting has an extra side effect.
ISO controls brightness and image noise. High ISO can create noise and too much noise generally lowers the quality, negating the advantages of shooting in 4K.
Shutter speed controls brightness and motion blur. A fast shutter speed means motion blur is reduced, which means your video might look less smooth.
My method of setting exposure with an app is simply set your ISO as low as possible and lock it. Now set your shutter speed until the image has the same level of brightness as you can see with your eyes.
My next myth busting is a bit controversial. But it’s what I go by and it hasn’t failed me so far.
Myth #5
Some folks will tell you that you absolutely must set your shutter speed to double your frame rate. For example, 24fps video would require a 1/48 shutter speed.
But you don’t need to go crazy trying to set your shutter speed to double your frame rate. Nobody is going to see the difference between 1/50 and 1/60 of a second. Anything around 1/100 of a second or lower will give you a good amount of motion blur.
Thing is, motion blur is also controlled by the amount of motion in the image. When filming yourself talking to a fixed position camera, for example, there’s very little motion. Therefore, you can afford to set a high shutter speed and it won’t make any real visible difference.
Did you Guess the Shutter Speed?
In the video I showed 4 video clips at different shutter speeds to see if you could tell the difference, or guess the shutter speed of each clip. The answers are:
A: 1/125
B: 1/60
C: 1/250
D: 1/500
How did you get on? Following the "film look" shutter speed rule, only clip B should have had a natural look. But in my opinion, the majority of viewers won't spot any real difference between the 4 clips.
Perhaps shot D (at almost 10 times the recommended shutter speed) feels a little bit harsh. However, nice framing, lighting, and engaging action within the frame will trump any minor shutter speed issues.
Motion Blur
If we go outside in the middle of the day and set our exposure, look what happens:
Because it’s so bright, our shutter speed needs to be really fast. That means there’s almost no motion blur. Honestly, your video will still look OK. Especially if there’s not much movement.
However, if you want really polished video, then we need a way to get this shutter speed down.
And that’s where ND filters come in.
ND Filters
An ND filter blocks a portion of the light hitting the sensor, which allows us to set a slower shutter speed. These are clip-on filters by Sandmarc, which means you can use them with any smartphone.
Now if we use a variable ND filter we can adjust the strength, so it becomes like an extra setting. So now we have ISO, shutter speed and ND filter strength.
All kinds of companies make ND filters, but the trick is mounting them.
Moment do a great range of filters and filter mounts, including a clip. You can also get a case which allows you to mount lenses and filters but, like I say, unless you have an iPhone you might struggle to find one that fits your phone.
White Balance
Finally, white balance is a crucial setting to master in our camera app.
White balance, as the name suggests, ensures that the whites in your video actually look white, not overly warm and orange or unnaturally cool and blue. The reason why the colour of our whites can change is because light has different colour temperatures.
To deal with these colour temperature changes, we use the white balance setting on our camera.
There's no one correct white balance setting. Rather, it varies from scene to scene depending on the colour temperature of the lights. While auto white balance on your phone is pretty handy, it can lead to those unnatural shifts that can occur when your phone is making the decision for you.
If you have iOS 17 or later, I recommend you set your iPhone to lock balance on record.
Open settings, camera settings, Record Video, scroll down to the bottom and toggle on Lock White Balance. This means white balance will auto adjust when you’re not recording, but it will lock as soon as you hit the record button.
If you have Pro mode on your Android, you can set a specific white balance so it doesn’t adjust.
Camera apps also have this "lock on record" setting and it’s probably the best balance. You still let your camera do the work, but you don’t get messy white balance during a shot.
Matching White Balance Settings
Another white balance option is to have the same setting for a scene, when you know you'll be cutting between different angles in one location. You want your colour to be consistent between cuts, otherwise it can look weird (or cause unnecessary complications for colour correction).
In this case, set white balance in your camera app and keep it locked at the same setting for all the shots in that location. You can also use the presets if they fit the scene.
As well, if you’re using multiple cameras for say a live event, lock them all to identical white balance settings. However, if you're using different models of camera (eg a Samsung phone and a DJI action camera) there will probably be slight colour differences between the cameras even with identical white balance settings.
Which Camera?
These days, most smartphones typically have multiple cameras that we can toggle between. Often we have a standard wide camera, an ultrawide camera, and a telephoto camera. And if you want to zoom in on a subject, we use the telephoto camera, right?
Well, sometimes using the telephoto can reduce the video quality.
It’s cool to have these extra options, but think twice before using the secondary cameras for video. When I say secondary cameras, I’m talking about the tele, the ultrawide and the front selfie camera.
What they give us is more range and flexibility in the shots we can capture. However, there's a significant caveat because not all smartphone cameras are created equal. The standard wide camera is nearly always superior to the other three in terms of image quality.
Notice how the telephoto compresses distance while the ultrawide exaggerates it. The tele makes the birds seem closer together while the ultrawide makes them seem further apart.
The main cameras have larger sensors and wider apertures that are better at capturing light. They also give you some natural bokeh, or blurry background. When you switch to the selfie, ultrawide or tele lens, in some low light situations you might get more digital noise.
As well, the main camera often has more advanced stabilisation technology, which is going to smooth out camera shakes. On the other hand, there are times when using a different camera is a great idea.
In the image above, I used the ultrawide camera to make use of the dramatic long shadows.
A tele or an ultrawide creates an image with a different character and this adds variety to your shots. So don’t discount the extra cameras completely.
Conversion Lenses
Another option is to add conversion lenses to your main camera. You can get an ultrawide or a tele lens, place it over the main camera and now you have the best of both worlds. Best quality camera and with the advantage of different character images.
It’s time we busted another myth isn’t it? Next one is to do with accessory gear.
Accessories
If you like cinematic camera movements then you’re going to want a 3 axis motorised gimbal. My current favourites are the Insta360 Flow for a compact, travel gimbal and the Hohem iSteady M6 for more heavy duty work. The DJI Osmo Mobile 6 is also a great travel gimbal, there’s only minor pros and cons between that and the Flow.
Myth #6
There’s a tip still hanging around which says you have to switch off your phone's inbuilt stabilisation when you’re using a gimbal. The claim is that it works against the gimbal’s stabilisation.
Again, this may have been true some years ago, but not any more. In fact, you might get less smooth footage if you have it switched off.
Yes, if you have a budget phone with poor stabilisation quality then switch it off. But in that case I would say don’t use stabilisation at all, regardless of whether you’re using a gimbal.
Personally, I pretty much always have stabilisation switched on when using a gimbal. Thing is, even with a gimbal there are still some little shakes that occur and I find the phone’s stabilisation removes those to add extra polish to the shot.
Stable Grip Tip
If you hold your smartphone like we normally do with our fingers, it’s not very stable. You’ll probably get shaky video. All you have to do is place one hand flat against the back of the phone and now your video will be much more stable. No extra kit required.
That said, let’s talk about kit.
Gear Essentials
We’ve already talked about ND filters, conversion lenses and gimbals. But more essential than any of those is a good tripod. I have 2 tripods by Andoer which I’ve had for a few years now and love them.
There’s a smaller, lighter one which is really easy to carry around. And a bigger heavier one if I need that extra height. You don't have to have 2 but you should definitely have at least 1.
I recommend getting one with clips on the legs rather than the screw ones. Clips are far quicker than the screw version.
You’ll also need a tripod clamp. I’ve tried dozens of these things before finally going with these ones by JJC. They’re pretty cheap, but well made and sturdy. I’ve never had to replace one.
For extra grip, you can think about adding a cage or rig. This is one by SmallRig and can be used with any smartphone. It’s a basic cage with a quick release system for the phone.
If you have an iPhone this cage also has MagSafe, so the phone can attach directly without needing the clamp.
You can mount things to the cage like lights and mics. You can also mount the cage itself to a tripod. You can get handles to attach which are also quick release. They also come with a bluetooth shutter button to start and stop recording.
Having handles obviously gives you a better grip. But also having your hands further apart reduces any handshake. I would recommend SmallRig gear for video creation. It’s well made, usually well designed and quite affordable.
Less affordable but more pro is gear by Beastgrip.
If you’re recording voice, you’ll also want to think about a microphone. If you’re standing outside and you’re close to the phone, you can usually get very good sound. As long as it’s not windy.
Otherwise I recommend some kind of external mic. You can get good, very affordable lavalier mics. And these days there’s even pretty good, reasonably priced wireless setups. Personally, I think the DJI wireless mics are excellent and user friendly.
Happy filming!
Simon
