Some organisations want you to believe that you have to invest in specialised equipment to create in-house training videos or spend the budget on expensive services – this isn’t the case. Everybody has the ability to create video and it’s more than likely in your pocket!
Prior to the release of his film, Unsane, Steven Soderbergh explained that using smartphones to shoot a film is “a game changer”.
Soderbergh puts his device rigorously through its paces, exploiting its small size and distinctive angles – propping it on a bar, for instance, or inside a car boot or sending it sky high with a drone, to capture exterior shots.
Extract taken from Mobile Motion Film Festival.
Dazed Digital shared a wonderful article in March 2018; How to a shoot a movie on your phone, according to Steven Soderbergh. They sat down with the Oscar-winning director to learn the secrets of smartphone filming.
STICK TO WHAT YOU KNOW, THEN PUSH IT TO ITS LIMITS
EXPERIMENT, EXPERIMENT, EXPERIMENT
TURN FLAWS INTO FINE POINTS
Because sometimes you think something is a problem, but when you embrace it, it turns out to be a really interesting anomaly that you can take advantage of.”
GET YOURSELF THE RIGHT GEAR – IN MINIATURE
“Although we shot on an iPhone, we still all had the typical things that you would usually have on a movie – tripods, panheads, a handheld stabilisation device – but smaller versions of them. We had three phones in total. The fanciest piece of gear we employed was the drone for the shots of the hospital.”
MAKE THE MOST OF ADD-ONS
I used some really nice lenses that you can attach to the phone. And then there’s an app called FiLMiC Pro that enables you to control what the phone is doing with greater ease than if you used it as it comes out of the box; you can set exposure, focus, colour temperature, frame rate, resolution, and so on.
DON’T BE AFRAID TO TAKE RISKS
ENJOY THE LESSONS IN LIBERATION
Right away I could see the benefits that this technology and this approach were bringing to the film.
Video Walks
I have created Video Walks so individuals can use their smartphone to create any kind of moving imagery and share it using #VideoWalks. It aims to create an online space where individuals can share videos, experiences and their journey into discovering the wonders of smartphone videography.
Only through experimentation will Learning & Development professions feel confident to propose smartphone training videos as a learning solution and I hope Virtual Video Walks provides an opportunity to share knowledge and promote video production skills using equipment freely available.
If you’re thinking of creating training videos using a smartphone, but are unsure where to start on your video learning journey, I can help. contact me to see how I can support you at any stage.
The views and opinions expressed in the resources shared are solely those of the original authors and other contributors. These views do not necessarily reflect those of Focus ‘n Develop.
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