The video capabilities of smartphones are improving all the time, and the iPhone remains the most-used camera on the planet. Most of us are not trained videographers, however, so we often end up with shaky, blurry video and poor sound quality.The tips provided in this post will help you shoot better looking and sounding videos!

1 – Tilt that phone

The eyes in our noggin are oriented horizontally, as are the displays on our televisions and computer monitors. We are used to holding our mobile phones vertically, though, and you know what happens next… vertically oriented video. Oh nooo! We all make this mistake at least once, and it’s a doozy, because you can’t “fix it in post” unless you want to cut off two-thirds of your video. Just remember – tilt that phone to landscape orientation before you press the video capture button!

And if you need an app for that, Horizon has you covered.

2 – Go to the light

New camera features are added to our mobile phones every year, but one thing remains relatively constant – the small size of our phones. Small phones means small camera sensors, small camera sensors means less surface area to capture light, and that means grainy, blurry pictures in low-light conditions! Have you ever tried to capture mobile phone video in a dimly lit classroom, or in a restaurant? Yeah, good luck! Sure, you can brighten up the video with an editing app, but that will just add more grain to your video. The only solutions are to move yourself and your subject to brighter locations (the preferred option), or to add light to the scene artificially. Some phones have a video light built-in, but those will drain your phone’s battery, and a small, harsh light source like that is not flattering on your subject. Here are a few external LED light options worth considering:

Pocket Spotlight

3 – Mind your audio

Grainy or even blurry video is tolerable for most viewers. Distorted, hissy or unclear audio is definitely not. Just as the size of the camera sensor limits a mobile phone’s ability to work in low light conditions, so does the size of the mobile phone’s microphone limit its ability to capture a wide dynamic range of audio signals. Even in quiet, wind-free environments, mobile phone audio can sound weak and echoey, and in loud environments the audio will be distorted or clip off altogether. Investing in an external microphone is recommended. There are many options, including microphones with their own power source (they take batteries) for producing better sound, and they may connect via the headphone port, the charging port, or via Bluetooth. Small shotgun mics are often preferred choice, but lavaliere mics work better for recording audio from one person… that is, if you don’t mind dealing with a long cable that can get in the way.

Experienced users can record audio with a separate audio recorder and microphone, and then “sync” them together in a video editor:

4 – Steady now

Shaky video that tilts and pans around the scene too quickly is one of most telling signs of an amateur videographer. It is much harder to a hold small camera steady, than it is to hold a large camera steady, and there are no lighter, smaller cameras than those in mobile phones. There a number strategies that will help us capture smoother video, including (a) turning yourself into a human tripod by widening your stance, bending your knees, and leaning against stationary objects, (b) being very deliberate and gradual with your camera movements, and (c) investing in a rig that helps you hold the camera steady.

The Cam Caddie Video Stabilizer

5 – Frame your subject

Another telltale sign of amateur video is poor framing. This includes cutting off people’s bodies in odd places, subjects moving in and out of the frame, or even cutting out the most important part of the scene altogether. The Rule of Thirds is a good technique to start with, which breaks the frame into a tic-tac-toe grid, and states that placing important elements along the lines or intersections of lines contributes to strong composition. For example, it is common to place your subject’s eyes along the top horizontal line. Here are few more framing tips:

Never cut off the top of your subject’s head unless you are shooting an extreme close-up.
If you’re not shooting a full-body-length shot of a person, cut them off in-between their joints, not at the joints. Otherwise, you introduce the visual amputation phenomenon!
If your subject is moving, or not looking directly at the camera, frame the scene so there is more space in front of them, giving them “breathing room.”
Anticipate movement by using your peripheral vision, instead of just focusing on the small screen on the back of your mobile phone.

Bonus tips!

Capture video of the whole scene, including the environment in a wider, establishing shot, then pan and move in closer to capture the details.
Use an editing app to assemble the pieces into a cohesive story that has a beginning, middle, and an end:
How to Create Memorable Mobile Video Content
Lenses for you mobile phone!
- Photojojo phone lenses
- The popular OlloClip lenses
Ultimate Guide to Smartphone and Tablet Video
Photojojo
And if you want to get really crazy, pilot a drone camera with your mobile phone!