How to record professional movies with an iPhone

Tips for recording professional videos

To record professional videos, you not only have to have a suitable equipment for it, but you also have to take into account a series of fundamental points when you start recording. In this way, before going into a full discussion of certain accessories or applications that will be great for you to get the most out of your iPhone’s cameras, we want to give you some basic tips to be able to record cinematographic videos.

• Stabilization in a video is key. Fortunately, the latest iPhone models have a stabilization that is a real wonder, however, having a stabilizer or gymbal is always a good idea.
• Lighting is essential when making a video, so whether you are going to shoot outdoors or indoors, make sure that the image you are going to capture is well lit. Outdoors, the hours around sunrise and sunset tend to provide the most attractive light. On the other hand, indoors you will almost certainly have to rely on artificial lighting.
• Correctly focuses the image. Whether you want to focus attention on a subject or a landscape, doing this focusing process correctly is what will help the viewer really know where the important part of the video narrative is.
• The sound is fundamental, in the end a video is an audiovisual content, and the image has as much importance as the audio of it. Again, the latest iPhone models have a great capacity when it comes to recording sound, however, for a truly professional result, the ideal is to have external microphones that you can connect to your device.
• The framing of the video is also very important to do it properly. For this, it is very helpful that in the application with which you record, you activate the grid, since in this way you will be able to have a much clearer reference when it comes to being able to frame any situation that you want to record.

Necessary Accessories

As you have seen, many of the tips we have given you require the use of an accessory to improve the quality of the video you are going to record. Therefore, we leave aside the tips and go with the different gadgets that, without a doubt, will help you record videos with professional quality.

tripods

One of the accessories that can never be missing from the equipment of any filmmaker, whether they record with a professional camera or with an iPhone, is a good tripod. Some of the shots you will surely have to record in motion, but there will also be many others that will be static shots, and to get the image completely stabilized, the best option you can opt for is a good tripod.

Amazon Basics – Lightweight Camera Tripod

This option that we give you from Amazon itself has a really good quality/price ratio . It is a very basic tripod, but surely to start in the world of video recording it is more than enough to be able to obtain a stable and static image in the vast majority of situations.

As we said, it is a very basic tripod, in fact the maximum height it is capable of reaching is 127 cm . It has a 3-way head that can be tilted as well as rotated, and gives you the option to adopt a vertical or horizontal position. Its legs have a locking lever and 3 different sections to be able to adjust the height without any problem. It has a weight of 450 grams .

Neewer 2in1 Camera Tripod Monopod

We go from a very basic option to a tripod that is made for professionals, both to take photographs and to be able to record video without any problem. It has a central column that is fully rotatable and can even be used both vertically and horizontally , giving you a large number of options to be able to place your iPhone in practically any position and thus obtain different points of view.

It features totally premium construction and stability, with 28mm diameter magnesium aluminum alloy tubes and load capacity up to 15kg. In addition, its feet are non-slip to provide that extra security when recording. It can reach a maximum height of 184 cm , and a minimum of 65 cm.

stabilizers

Tripods are totally necessary to be able to have a static and stable image, however, on many occasions the comfort provided by the static image will have to be set aside and movement will be the protagonist of the video. So that the image can be stable and that the viewer can really look at what is happening in detail, it is essential to have a stabilizer.

DJI OM4

Without a doubt, if you ask the vast majority of users about a good stabilizer for the iPhone, the vast majority of these will come to mind the one offered by the DJI company, and the reality is that they have earned that good reputation . The DJI OM 4 is one of the most popular gymballs that you can find for the iPhone thanks to all the functions that it allows users to carry out.

In the first place, it stands out for the way in which it allows you to dock the iPhone, and that is that it will be totally magnetized thanks to the new dock that this DJI Osmo Mobile 4 presents. However, what is truly striking about this gadget is the number of possibilities for manage your iPhone it provides. In addition, it has ideal dimensions to be able to transport it with total ease.

ZHIYUN Smooth 5

One of the most specialized brands in the manufacture of stabilizers for both smartphones and cameras is Zhiyun, and obviously, one of its many options had to be in this compilation. In this case, the Smooth 5 is one of the best options that you can find on the market, in fact we could classify it as one of the most professional gymbals for iPhone that exist on the market.

It has a very compact size , which, added to the 3 axes and the motor on the back, provides recording coverage that extends to all angles you can imagine, avoiding any blockage that may occur. In addition, it is very easy to use thanks to the intuitiveness of the panel that it incorporates in its body.

Ulanzi U Rig Mobile Stand

One of the most peculiar accessories that are often used to record video with the iPhone are stabilizers or handheld supports . From the outset you have to take into account that at the stabilization level, these are less effective than those mentioned above, however, they are also much cheaper and in many cases their use is more recommended than that of a gymbal.

One of the most favorable points of this type of gadget is the possibility that they give you to be able to adapt other accessories to the same structure that are also very important when making a video recording, such as the microphone and even spotlights. reduced size. Therefore, assess the type of recording you are going to make, because this accessory may come in handy for many occasions.

Glasses

The iPhone has a limitation that professional cameras do not have, and that is that they have a limited number of lenses. In the best of cases, you will have a telephoto, wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle lens, which, although it is sufficient for many recordings, there are times when other types of lenses are required, and that is why it is in these cases in which you have to take into account the external lenses that you can use with the iPhone.

Apexel – 11 in 1 Phone Camera Lens Kit

This kit of lenses is one of the best options that you can find for a really cheap price, since it offers up to 11 different options to be able to vary the type of image that you are going to capture with your iPhone. It features an ND32 filter , a kaleidoscope lens, a CPL filter, a star filter, a four-color fisheye lens, a 140º wide-angle lens, and a macro lens.

It’s hard to find a more complete kit than this, with so many options when it comes to playing with your iPhone’s cameras. Graduated color lenses give you that possibility to play with creativity, the shooting angle and, above all, to be able to vary them depending on the light at each moment of the day.

Selvim Mobile Phone Lenses, 9 in 1 Kit

Of course, if the alternative provided by the Apexel brand was good, this one from Selvim is not far from the wide range of possibilities that this kit adds to everything you can do at the camera level with your iPhone. Being able to play around with lens type is something that will greatly enrich the shooting opportunities that come your way.

In this case, you can count on a lens clip, a 25x macro lens , a 0.62x wide angle lens, a 235º fisheye lens, a 22x zoom that you can use as if it were a telescope. In addition, each of the lenses comes with a cover that is intended to prevent dust or dirt from affecting their use.

microphones

When we talk about videos we have to keep in mind that we are really referring to a document or audiovisual content, and as its name suggests, not only is the visual part of great importance, but also the audio part. So, in order for you to get quality audio, here are the different microphones that you can use with your iPhone.

Compact Directional Microphone RODE VideoMic Me-L

RODE is without a doubt one of the brands that works best at the audio level, in fact, it is not very strange to see content creators using these microphones to generate all the videos or podcasts that they carry out within their internet projects. Among all the options that you have available, we want to talk to you about this one that has a great quality/price ratio and that, in addition, has been the one that RODE has designed and manufactured exclusively for Apple devices.

As we said, this VideoMic Me-L is exclusive to record audio with the iPhone and some iPad models , since it has the Lightning port. It has a really small size, in line with the iPhone, so that comfort both when transporting it and using it is a hallmark. In addition, it includes the furry shield so that the wind affects the recording as little as possible.

RODE VideoMic GO II

Upping the ante a little bit, but staying on RODE, you have this VideoMic GO II which is an absolute marvel of a microphone . The value for money of this device is really unmatched, as it offers a sound quality typical of totally professional microphones, but at a much lower price than what a microphone of this type could cost you.

It is a compact, lightweight and easy-to-use microphone, however, to connect it to the iPhone or iPad you will also have to purchase an adapter that allows it. Versatility is another of the points in favor of this VideoMic GO II, and it is that it has both a USB-C connection to use it with computers, or other devices, as well as a 3.5mm TRS output to use it with video cameras.

spotlights

One point that is not taken into account when starting to record video is lighting, and if we said that audio is important, at the same level we have light, since it will be the one that marks how good or bad the image will look. Without adequate and sufficient lighting, the entire video will go to waste, because the viewer will not be able to appreciate what is really being shown. Therefore, pay close attention to how your image is lit.

NinkBox LED Light Camera

One of the most common options when recording video with the iPhone is to do it with one of the accessories that we have shown you previously, the hand support. Well, together with it, this type of LED lights are very common, since they form an ideal combination, both for what they are capable of offering and for how comfortable it is to use them.

This LED Light is fully dimmable, so you can adapt it to your needs without any problem. It has a temperature range between 3000 and 65000 K , in addition, the color rendering index is higher than 95. Its battery is 4000 mAh , giving autonomy that reaches up to 2 hours and 15 minutes with a brightness of 100%. , a color temperature of 6500K, so if the conditions are different, the autonomy will be even greater.

Neewer 3 Packs 530 RGB LED Light

Raising the level and thinking, above all, of those users who want to record indoors , this pack of three LED lights is a real hit, although yes, the price is considerably higher than the alternative we were talking about earlier, but it is that after all we are talking about a professional lighting kit.

It comes with three 530 RGB U-bracket LED lights and three Barndoors, three white diffusers, three power adapters, three power cords, three light stands, and a large carry bag to fit everything in without any hassle. In addition, you will also have the opportunity to control these three lights through your iPhone, iPad or any Apple device, since it is compatible with HomeKit .

Applications

You already know what are the accessories with which you can record amazing videos using your iPhone or iPad. However, you can still get more potential from your device’s cameras, since the native camera app doesn’t allow you to modify certain parameters that, if you handle them well, you can be the king of video with your iPhone. Next, we will talk about certain apps that will come in handy for this.

ProCam8

One of the most popular applications in terms of photography and video is ProCam 8. Its very name indicates what function it comes to solve, and that is to turn your iPhone camera into a professional camera with the possibility of being able to modify certain shooting parameters so that you are the one who has total control over what you are recording.

With this app you can manually control the focus , exposure , shutter speed, ISO and, of course, the white balance, in addition, all of this in a very intuitive and easy way, you just have to touch the screen with your fingers to take control. In short, if you want to record video and control all the parameters of a camera but on your iPhone, this app is very worthwhile. Yes, it is paid.

FiLMiC Pro

We can’t talk about applications that transform your iPhone into a professional camera and not about FiLMiC Pro, surely the most complete app to record video that you can find in the entire Apple app store. In the same way as the rest of the apps that we mentioned in this post, this one is also paid, but beware, you only have to pay once to be able to use it whenever you want.

It has been awarded several times with the prize for the best video camera app for iOS, and in fact, it has been used in several high-level video projects by very prestigious directors. It features different dual-arc sliders to control focus and exposure manually. It has live analysis that includes Zebras, False Color, and Focus Peaking , as well as being compatible with Dolby Vision HDR, all this among many other features that will help you get the most out of your iPhone’s camera.

ProMovie Recorder

ProMovie Recorder is a fantastic alternative for all users who, from the outset, don’t want to pay a euro to try to get the most out of their iPhone’s cameras, because although it has payment elements within it, its download and use basic is free . The functions that it offers have little to envy the rest of the applications, which is why it seems like one of the best options to get started in the world of professional video recording with the iPhone.

In addition, not only will you be able to control all the usual parameters of the image you are recording, but you also have the possibility of having control over everything related to the sound that the iPhone itself is capable of capturing. You will be able to control the exposure and focus point separately, compensate the exposure and control the ISO or shutter speed.

Pro Camera by Moment

Moment is a brand known mainly for the manufacture of lenses for iPhones and other devices, but it also has an application that, without a doubt, stands out for its clear , minimalist and careful interface . This is why it differs from the rest of the alternatives, and without a doubt it is the most visual and attractive that you can find in the App Store.

Feature-wise, it obviously has everything you could hope for to turn your iPhone into a professional camera . You will be able to control everything from exposure, ISO, shutter speed, focus point to more sophisticated functions such as Focus Peaking or Zebras. In short, a very complete app that you have to keep in mind yes or yes.

What is the best combination?

Whenever we make this type of compilations, we like to give you our point of view and tell you which of all the options that we have put on the table is our favorite. In this sense, you have to keep in mind that we are not talking about the best, but simply about the one that most convinces us, which may or may not be the same as yours.

• Best Tripod: Neewer 2in1 Camera Tripod Monopod
• Best Stabilizer: DJI OM 4
• Best Lenses: Selvim Cell Phone Lenses, 9-in-1 Kit
• Best Microphone: RODE VideoMic GO II
• Best Lighting Set: Neewer 3 Packs 530 RGB LED Light
• Best App: FiLMiC Pro