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Sent from my iPhone: Why You Don’t Always Need a Fancy Camera

Sep 11 2012

One of the most common questions people ask about our videos is "what camera did you use?". Well, for this video, we only used an iPhone. (Notice anything about the music?)


Technology is evolving rapidly, and these days, even the simplest of video cameras is capable of capturing solid video footage. It's not just flip cams and point-and-shoot cameras. There's some incredibly powerful technology built right into your smartphone. It's not so much about buying the most expensive, cutting edge equipment as it is about focusing on other important elements of a great video, like audio, lighting, and the message that you're trying to deliver.

Okay, so we used our usual bag of tricks like the famed "Wistia backdrop" and a camera dolly. But this video was made to prove that you don't need to worry as much about the camera in particular. There are plenty of tools and tricks all along the spectrum of budgets and skill levels to make your video look good.

How did we do it? Chris broke down the process with a behind-the-scenes look into some of the tricks we used to produce the video.

Visit the Wistia Learning Center.

Find more video marketing and production resources.

Here are the tools that Chris mentioned in the video:

Are we suggesting that you put your Canon 5D or RED Epic on eBay? Definitely not! The iPhone certainly has limitations, especially in the broadcast and film world. And no one can argue with the effectiveness of interchangeable lens format cameras and how far that technology has come. But the accessibility, ease of use, and overall image quality does make the iPhone (and similar smartphones) an effective means for shooting your next web video.

Alyce (123 Posts)

Content Strategist


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This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 11th, 2012 at 3:47 pm and is filed under Making Video. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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  • http://twitter.com/JasonShen Jason Shen

    Love this post! Good work cutting out the “But I don’t have a fancy camera” excuse!

  • Raphael

    Sweet video and great tips! Thanks Wistia! What is the slider you guys used?

  • jeremy@niche

    tot’ly awesome post.

  • http://twitter.com/TimMacc Tim Macchi

    Great post guys, a good followup would be to create a video using only equipment you can find in most offices (without the rigs, lighting and booms). Because most people have a dslr, most dont have professional lighting/backdrop/rigs.

  • crlvideo

    Hey Raphael. Thanks for the question! We used a Kessler Crane Pocket Dolly. They folks at Kessler are doing awesome things! Here’s the link:

    http://www.kesslercrane.com/product-p/100161.htm

  • http://www.admarco.net rmarkgibson

    Remarkable quality and you make the points well. Most people overkill on the camera technology and under whelm on lighting and sound.

  • crlvideo

    Thanks for the suggestion Tim! We’ll try to cover backdrops and lighting techniques soon in the Wistia Learning Center. Cheers!

  • http://savagethoughts.com Chris Savage

    Good idea Tim!

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=827113814 Rob C. Watson

    Exactly what I needed, right when I needed it. Thanks!

  • bamboohr

    Another great post Wistia!

  • AlekHartzog

    Awesome video!

  • Kevin

    The lighting we can see in the video, is that all the lighting you use? What lights are those? I hate ‘trying’ out stuff (buy it, bring it home, test it, don’t like it, return it) to see what it looks like when I can see what looks nice already. :)

  • Charles

    Well done guys!!!

  • Mark Gustav

    I’m afraid to ask, because I’m sure it’s pricey, but what is that ring light thingy you’re using, and what are you using for a hair light? (And while you’re at it, what kind of light are you using to illuminate the black background material to get that suweet glow?)

  • http://twitter.com/TimMacc Tim Macchi

    Nice!

  • David Dixon

    How did you mix the audio from one iPhone to the other iPhone containing the video?

  • http://jeffvincent.posterous.com/ Jeff Vincent

    I mean, if some lady wants to drop tasty pretzels off at your office, you gotta shoot a video – even if you don’t have the equipment – right? :)

  • crlvideo

    Hi David. Great question! We used Final Cut Pro to edit the video and synced the audio with the video through the software.

  • http://jeffvincent.posterous.com/ Jeff Vincent

    Hey Mark, Chris is going to cover everything lighting in a future Wistia Learning Center post. What I can tell you (because I know it) is the light behind the subject that illuminates the background is just a cheap wide desk light! It’s all about knowing how to use it and diffuse it!

  • http://jeffvincent.posterous.com/ Jeff Vincent

    Hey Kevin – I promise Chris is going to cover this stuff in a future Wistia Learning Center post. These are Chris’s secrets from years of practice, so I have to warm him up first to get him to share it :)

  • http://jeffvincent.posterous.com/ Jeff Vincent

    Epic Rob!! Good luck shooting your video, and I hope you’ll share the results (and lessons learned!)

  • crlvideo

    Hi Jess! Thanks so much for sharing…EPIC POST!

  • http://jeffvincent.posterous.com/ Jeff Vincent

    +1 on that – this is great stuff, with good points on timelapses and using iMovie too. If you are getting started with video editing, it’s got great tips!!

  • Jon Hollenberg

    Your videos make my day!

  • Kevin Pakos

    way to keep a simple process simple. nice work.

  • Jeremiah

    I would love to see your lighting setup. Please hurry :)

  • http://hubze.com/ David Foster

    Now, I saw a light that you were using on your tripod…what was that??

  • crlvideo

    Hi David. The light was actually in front of the tripod on its own stand. That’s a ring light! Stay tuned for more lighting information. Cheers!

  • Angel Anderson

    thank you for the video and I also hope to see a post about the lights soon ;)

  • http://brendanschwartz.com/ Brendan Schwartz

    Upvoted for rhyming at the end of your comment.

  • http://www.facebook.com/adrianne.meldrum Adrianne Meldrum

    Love it! You guys are so creative. I shoot okay video using my dslr. But the audio stinks. So are you implying that I could use my i phone to pick up better audio?! That is so handy. Any ideas on how to make a home made boom mic?

  • http://www.superfastbusiness.com/ James Schramko

    love it. It has never been easier to self publish.

  • http://www.surajsodha.com/ Suraj Sodha

    Great post, thanks for the tip about Filmic Pro!

  • Kath Dawson

    Love this video, I have an iPhone and an iPad but no mac or final cut pro. Can I sync audio from a second iPhone through the filmic app or do I need something else? Would love to film on phones and edit on iPad.

  • http://www.facebook.com/chadrickmcgriff1 Chadrick McGriff

    This was an amazing post guys! I have been dying for someone to make a video telling me how to use my iPhone for great recording! You guys know how to read our minds!! Hustle on!

  • crlvideo

    Hey Adrianne, if you are recording in a quiet enough room, or don’t mind picking up a lot of ambient noise, using an iPhone as a sound recorder could be a great option for you. Try a wooden dowel from home depot as a boom pole! We’re hoping to post a bunch of DIY information about tips and tricks like this in the near future in the Wistia Learning Center. Stay tuned, and thanks for the kind words!

  • Benjamin McCormack

    Lighting was my next question. Excellent job on the videos! (In addition to showing lighting techniques with equipment from around the office, I’d also be interested in what kind of lighting equipment is worth buying).

  • http://www.chriskurdziel.com/ Chris Kurdziel

    This is a fantastic video/post.

    Have you guys tried Filmic Pro 2? Looks like it just came out 2 days ago. Curious which one I should pick up. :)

  • Shazapp

    Awesome thanks so much and looking forward to more!! :) Can you tell me where you purchased that cool circular light and possibly cover an inexpensive lighting setup?
    Thanks again Wistia Rocks!!

  • Ezra Fishman

    CRL – the people want to learn about lighting!! This is definitely moving up on our priority list… keep your eyes peeled on the blog or add your email to the form above!

  • http://twitter.com/Fitrilla Fitrilla

    Legit! Love the tips keep them coming.

  • http://techhusband.com/ Forest Linden

    So awesome to see the Wistia Learning Center about to launch! Lay it on us, Lavigne!! Lighting and dual camera shoots and color corrections in post production!! Can’t wait!!

  • http://jeffvincent.posterous.com/ Jeff Vincent

    Upvoted for upvoting my comment, and noticing the rhyming.

  • http://www.petemay.com/ petemay

    There are lots of apps that do it automatically but they didn’t have “apps” when they did it in Hollywood from the late 1800′s until the late 1900′s! They used a clapboard – you know, that iconic black and white striped board with a hinged bar on top. Just start everything recording, then do an audible slate. Now, clappers (clapperboards, clapboards) are great and super cheap but there are alternative. There are several iPad apps (search clapperboard) that do a great job but there’s a really cheap way to go too. Clap your hands! The point is to have a visual and auditory sync point. You can then line thing up in any edit program or, if your edit program will show waveforms of audio, do it visually! As much as everything regarding lighting and shooting and audio has changed over the last 125 years, not much has changed at all. The same tricks apply. The same “language of film” applies. Good luck.
    If you’re interested in tips and tricks and the language of film, write me.
    Always enjoy hearing from folks.
    pete@petemay.com
    Pete

  • http://www.petemay.com/ petemay

    The wooden dowel idea is good but, if you’ve ever been challenged to hold a can of corn out at arms length for two minutes you’ll remember how heavy even something “light” can become. You’re probably better off thinking cafe curtain rod or, my favorite, one you might even have at home! There are extendable rods made to change light bulbs in recessed ceiling fixtures. The beauty is that the way the rod grabs a light bulb with a suction cup mounted on the end and a suction cup is exactly what you need to grab an iPhone! You can get an 8′ telescoping pole for less than $10 at Lowes and the grabber suction cup attachment for another $7. Be sure to get the phone as close to the person speaking as possible and that will be remarkably close. Unless the shot is very wide or you’re leaving too much head room at the top of the shot, you should be able to get within 12″ or so of the person speaking. Here are two more tips. If you’re holding a boom (called a fishpole in the business), extend both arms over your head (kinda like you’re the “Y” in the song YMCA). Lock one elbow and use that hand to hold the pole. Use the other hand to raise, lower and turn the iPhone’s mic toward the person talking. Always turn the mic toward the person talking! It’s usually best to come in from above the frame for two primary reasons. First, you can get closer to someone’s mouth from above. Also, most extraneous noise is above you – outdoor that might mean trees and passing planes. Indoors that might mean HVAC vents. Final tip. OK, this is going to sound a little odd and I wouldn’t do it if you’re going to have clients around. They’re going to think you’re nuts. Frankly, I’ve never had the need to try it myself but I saw it demoed by a professor back in film school years ago. As mentioned in the very excellent Wistia video above, an iPhone is an omnidirectional mic. I pics up sound from all directions. Most professionals use a shotgun or unidirectional mic. A shotgun has a pickup element mounted in the bottom of a long tube. The tube rejects audio coming from the side and concentrates audio coming from directly in front of the mic. If you fashion a tube out of posterboard and circle the iPhone, you can reject some of the sound coming from the sides! Don’t make the tube too long or it’s going to sound as though the person is in a barrel. The best thing to do is just what it says on the back of a Frisbee. Not the “flat flip flies straight, tilted flip curves.” The last word – “experiment!”

  • http://savagethoughts.com Chris Savage

    Hey Tim, while this isn’t a lighting post we did just put together a post on low-fi no-edit screen recording. You can check it out here: http://wistia.com/blog/screenr/

  • http://www.facebook.com/blakehammerton Blake Alexander Hammerton

    I learned SO much about lighting and video quality just now. Great video! I have an Android phone instead of an iPhone. Do you have an app suggestion for an alternative to FilMic?

    I love the ring light and softboxes. I am picking some of those up soon!

    Thanks!

  • http://twitter.com/heryandotus Ryan H

    Any pointers on shooting video of an iPhone screen with an iPhone? I seem to get lines that show up.

  • http://www.facebook.com/jetleee Jet Lee

    I would also like to know if there’s an android alternative!

  • http://www.petemay.com/ petemay

    I”ve never had that problem but I’ve had a similar problem in other situations. When there’s a line it’s usually something called a scan line and it’s the result of conflicting scan rates. The way to solve the problem is to use the shutter to adjust the lines away. It may not work entirely. Sometimes all you can do is minimize the lines. That’s because in order to overcome some scan conflict problems you need the ability to choose fractional scan rates and on most of todays cameras, that’s just not available.

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