The biggest asset we all have is our cellphones! Am I right?!
Regardless of your skill level or what kind of equipment you have, there are so many ways to learn how to create your own movies – without the hassle! Watch the professionals online and read this article for some quick tips to help you get started:
1. Simple Light Setup
No, you don’t have to go buy a bunch of expensive light equipment with your credit card!
Light is such an important part of any video (or picture!). Look at this light. There are so many tools you can use to make your video have the right amount of light and you can set it up to go where ever you want in the room. Using natural light is one of the best things you can do but if the natural light in the scenery isn’t coming out how you expect it to then you can use affordable light setups to help you out.
If that isn’t an option, go to the room with the best light in your house, adjust a phone flashlight on your subject and film that moment! You’re in control and can make the best movie there is with just a few tweaks and adjustments.
2. Understand & Implement The 180-Degree-Rule
A big part of filmmaking is understanding where your characters need to go for the scenes to flow right. The same thing can apply for an image.
If they’re standing across from each other and the camera moves all over the place when it turns around them, the entire scene can feel wrong to the viewer. The camera should stay within the 180 degree so that the characters look like they’re staring right at each other, intensifying the scene.
This video will break down the rule in a quick way. It’s all about giving the viewers a movie that makes visual sense to them and doesn’t plan on confusing anyone.
3. Find The Perfect Location
Are you shooting an event, music video, skateboarding lesson?
Think about what kind of scenes you want your movie to show and which locations work best in the background. Whether it’s outside or inside, you need to plan out how the scene will look and how your characters will be able to interact with the space. This video will give you eight tips to scout and managing locations. It’s a way simpler task than you think!
4. Keep A Nice & Clean Background
My #1 tip is try to avoid bland white walls. It can make the person look terrible in front of the camera as the light can mess with the background and reflect off your actors.
Depending on your location, the background can tell a lot about your characters. Try to make the background a reflection of your character’s lives and their interests. The more personal it is, the more viewers will feel like they identify with them.
5. Create A Script Before Filming
I know, I know. You’d rather take some spur of the moment footage but listen to this, it will just make your movie sound like an incoherent mess.
If you want a coherent and good flowing movie, you must create a script. It doesn’t have to be done to the last word. Most people are VERY good at ad-libs and can go with any situation so try to include that in your script if you can. Although this video is specifically for Youtube, it brings up a bunch o good points that can be directed towards the making of your movie.
If you feel like you need more help getting there, check out Fro Knows Photo for a quick guide that will jumpstart your film career! In his guide, he covers a variety of tools that require a professional DSLR camera but if all you’ve got is your phone right now, use your phone! The basics are the same, the equipment is just different. If you want to shoot music videos, Youtube content, movies, sports games, or literally better videos of ANYTHING, give this guide a try.
Let me know if you’ve ever made a movie with your ONLY your phone! I’d love to watch it and subscribe to your Youtube channel if you have one 🙂 keep making movies, you never know where it’ll take you.
A friend of mine brought up this idea of creating movies with our phones. I thought he was joking but he said he had watched a movie online where they only used a phone but a phone with a good camera I guess. I came here to learn a few steps to make mine. It’s good that you can help with your tips. I would most definitely give it a try. Thanks for the tips here. Very helpful I must say. I will but them all in mind and show it to my friends too. Thank you and best regards!
Thanks! Please let me know how it goes:)
This is unimaginably simpler than I could have ever thought it would be. Creating videos using a cellphone actually seem very cumbersome to me when I saw the headline first but after reading it, it is rather simple and only requires to know a little tweaks that can be added to it and boom! The video is simply ready for shot. Wow! Very great to know of and I’d definitely give it a go
Definitely! It’s all about the tweaks and what works best in front of your cellphone camera! Please let me know how your video comes out 🙂
Wow it is great to know that you dont need the most expensive equipment to to create your own movie.This post has really given me some insight in reagrds to that.However you cant just use any phone to film a good quality clip can you?What would be the best phone to create such movies or alternate phones to do so?
iPhones are typically better in quality but I’ve heard great things about the newer Samsung phones. Do your research on image quality in the cellphones you’re thinking of getting.
I don’t know why i kept smiling as I was reading through this post but seriously, it’s indeed fascinating to learn about. Movies makes everyone relax and happy and as a matter of fact it units people together. Now the idea of making a movie with your cell phone is super nice. Following these steps you have given, one can make a movie to depict an event that has happened in the family in time past just to remind them of fun moments. Its really nice to have learned how to do it. Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome! So many people think they need the newest digital camera to build the greatest film ever but it’s completely possible on your phone!