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Mobile video production

To produce storytelling videos or just to produce videos for the e-learning package, require to own basic camera equipments and accessories like:

  • videocamera
  • microphones
  • tripods
  • studio lights

Many times it could be difficult to find all these elements available in the school, so just considering a common smartphone functions like the capacity to connect with the internet, take photos and video, connect with computers, download applications, email, write notes and record audios, lets us to understand that a smartphone can be easily used for shutting videos and recording audios to create e-learning contents. Additionally, there are a variety of relatively inexpensive accessories on the market that can also turn the smartphone into an improved video camera.  The advantages of using a smartphone as a video recording device are various:

  • a smartphone can record video and audio at a decent quality
  • a smartphone is compact, handy and easy to be transported and used
  • a smartphone is smaller and less intrusive than a traditional video camera
  • there are many apps for video editing that allow to adjust the footage, to add special effects and titles, and to edit on the go, so the post production of the video is nearly immediate
  • the smartphone allows to quickly move the recorded video to the local computer or to internet

Anyone with a smartphone can gather and distribute media such as video, photos, audio and text and on internet there are thousands of examples of videos shooted with smartphones. There are anyway limits to this use, because the internal microphone is not as powerful and flexible as an handheld microphone, some smart phone doesn't allow to hear the audio while it’s recording, some video formats may be not playable on the computer and may need to be converted to another format for editing or playback, some smart phones are very small and their handling during shooting could be difficult, the editing of the video in a very small screen is not idea, some apps have limited capabilities like, for example, only one audio track etc. 

Anyway, shhoting and recording with the smartphones is a very great opportunity for e-learning designers and for learners and here following there are information on how to do it.

Start to consider your smartphone as a video camera

  • understand where the camera is positioned on your smartphone
  • understand where the microphone is on your smartphone. For most smartphones the mic is on the bottom of the phone. This is necessary to be known to use the smartphones as an audio recorder orientating the microphone towards the subject or sound to be recorded
  • understand that there is a microphone plug in the smartphone because video looks great when it sounds good. Bad audio can distract from your video even if it’s well shot. So, normally it is good to use the external microphone to shut videos and to put it close to the recorded subject

Here following an example of a very large diffuse device:

device description

Know your smartphone video format

Many smartphones can shoot video in HD Video 1080p format. It's important that you understand what type of camera does you smartphone installs and his characteristics. Digital cameras capture images as pixel elements and 1 mega pixel is equal to a million pixels. Higher mega pixel characteristic generally means a better quality of video footage. You have to launch the video app and check on the settings what are the resolutions available in your device.

Hold your smartphone steady to shoot

One of the first things any expert will tell you about shooting video with a smartphone is that stabilization is key. Smartphones are light as a feather, and even the slightest hand tremors can mess up a recording. 

  • If you own one, always use a tripod to shoot. Currently, on the market, is possible to find very cheap selfie sticks that can fit your smartphone to a standard tripod.
  • If you don't use a tripod, always look for something to lean on like a table, the top of a chair, a wall, anything to give your body and the arm holding the camera some stability. If you can rest the camera itself on something, even better.
  • Hold the camera or phone close to your body rather than too far out in front to reduce undesired movements or vibrations.
  • Work out a position that's natural and comfortable for your body. It can help to keep your elbows pointing down and rest your arms while filming.
  • Bend your elbows and knees slightly to centre your weight. Make sure you move from your body's centre, not your wrists, if you're planning to pan with your camera.
  • Shoot wide and close and move your body in and out rather than zooming with your smart phone camera.
  • Give yourself some time to focus. It's easy to lose concentration if you're shooting in an exciting environment so make sure you take a second to think about what you're trying to achieve and concentrate.
  • Workout if your smartphone is level and correctly adjust the angle of your shot. Use a spirit level app. Some smartphone have these in the phone.

Video recording app

Nearly all smartphone are equipped with inbuilt video recording apps. Look for the video camera symbol or camera lens button on your smartphone. The video camera mode, like for the iPhone, also in Android can be in the same app as the still camera. In such case, use the slider to toggle between the two.

Get the best sound

If you don’t have an external microphone, don’t panic, just get up close to your subject, but to get a better sound it's always suggested to add an external microphone to your smartphone. If the distance is not so much, this can be done simply using the normal earphones, but when the subject it is not so close to the camera, if you don't own an extension cable, you can use a bluetooth earphone. In this case, pay attention to install an app that allows you to shoot the video using external bluetooth microphones. Pay attention to noise ambients and try to shoot in most silent places avoiding windy areas, especially if you are using the internal smartphone microphone.

Dedicated apps 

When you need a better video application than the built-in one, like the one necessary for example to manage the audio with the microphone of the bluetooth earphone, you can download it from a very large number. These apps are designed to make recording easier and more controlled. Apps can have greater features than the recording software that comes with your phone; like focus, effects, zoom etc.

Download these apps from your phone’s online store.

Here an example of app for android:

 

Testings before shootings

Make sure you’ve tested your smartphone, microphones and video camera apps and that you are familiar with how to get the best recording.

Use of batteries

Charge the telephone battery before to start recording to avoid to have to be to interrupt for missing of charge and if possible brings with you the charger and additional batteries already charged.

Close down all other apps on your phone.

Stop waves and incoming phone calls

During the recording someone could call your telephone interrupting the recording and additionally, radio waves can produce noises during recording, so it is necessary to turn on airplane-mode before to start any video shooting.

Light settings

Use natural light when you can. Although some smartphones have lights, nothing looks better than natural light. If you are indoors look for windows. For outdoor shoots, look for light sources. Lack of light will make your footage darker and grainier. here following the general schema for three point lighting that you can create also positioning the set in regarding to windows and doors positions:

3 point lights schema

Here a Shooting_video_Basics.pdf document with suggestions on shootings.

Post edit the video

Post edit your video using a proper app installed on your smart phone or with the computer application indicated in the Design Multimedia chapter.

Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0