iPhone Filmmaking: The Touchscreen Media Revolution (Article/Tutorial)

Posted by on Aug 8, 2013 | 3 comments

[Editor’s Note: While not every need for a filmmaker can be found through an iPhone, Narendra’s assessment—and work—proves that a lot more could be done with these multimedia devices than are currently being done by most of us. –JH]

Film ExampleMaking an independent film, with a low budget is most easily possible through the iphone. While Droid devices may have some of these options, for my money, only the iphone replaces all my technical equipment needs for making films.

And its use as an image acquisition device isn’t restricted to Indie films; iphone video clips were used in the Holly wood movie, THE AVENGER, and even some Oscar-winning documentaries were shot entirely with an iphone. In this article, we discuss: “HOW TO MAKE A PROFESSIONAL FILM USING ONLY AN iPHONE? ”

TECHNICAL DETAILS

First , let’s go through some technical details about the most recent iPhone,

The iphone 4 was the first to give true HD footage, with full 720p output. The next models—the iPhone 4s and the 5 took it up a notch to provide full 1080p HD output .

Along with the increased resolution, Apple introduced advanced lenses and much improved light processing. Together with a hugely improved built-in stabliser, this device soared in popularity worldwide.

Native Camera AppFor new iPhone filmmakers, the native Apple video camera, one tap will automatically adjust your focus, white balance and exposure. It is worthwhile mentioning that, for more advanced users, there are other apps such as FiLMiC Pro 1 and FiLMiC Pro 2 which allow you to manually and independently adjust your focus, white balance and exposure, giving you much more control over the look of your video. This is great for some really creative control in your filmmaking and we’ll go into that more next. However, in my opinion, it is better for beginners to use the native apple video camera.

FilmicPro AppFor the more advanced users, I’ve found the app, FiLMiC Pro, to be the most advanced video recording app I’ve used, with a bunch of cool features on top of those mentioned earlier. As well as being able to lock the focus, white balance and exposure control, it is also possible to change the frame rate, starting from 1fps to 30fps so recording in 24fps is now possible with this app which is a more cinematic approach.

ACCESSORIES

The Slingshot is an example of one of the inexpensive iPhone stabilization devices on the market.

The Slingshot is an example of one of the inexpensive iPhone stabilization devices on the market. (It was actually funded through Kickstarter, giving it a lot of commonality with our readers films.)

To improve your videography with an iPhone, it’s a good idea to use a stabilizer. There are many options for this, from hand gyro-stabilizers to simple items like iPhone tripods and the Goby gorillapod. If you’d prefer not to buy one, you can make your own stabilizer at home , instead.

IPHONE POSITION WHILE FILMING

Correct Placement of iPhone

Correct Placement of iPhone

Always hold the iPhone in landscape position while filming, as this is how HD footage is displayed correctly.

APPS FOR EDITING

iMovie appThere are a few good editing apps available and iMovie is the best one I’ve used. It’s based on a cool interface which will look familiar to you if you use iLife on a Mac , since it was developed by Apple for iPhone filmmakers .

The excellent iMovie app allows you to import video, photos and music from your iPhone. Along with a host of other basic tools including trimming and cropping, there are some great themed presets and a newly added trailer feature. The Trailer feature works by permitting you to simply drop your clips into a storyboard and add some character names. Then iMovie does its magic by trimming your clips to fit and then adding transitions, titles and special effects.

iMovie Initial Layout

iMovie Initial Layout

EDITING IN IMOVIE APP

iMovie with Overlays

iMovie with Overlays

Clips are added through the ADD MEDIA option, and they are spliced , trimmed & added to the timeline. Our dialogue can be recorded with RECORD AUDIO option and sound effects can be added next to recording files by using the ADD MEDIA option again. Spliced video clips , recordings , special effects , and background music can be arranged in the time line.

APPS FOR COLOR GRADING

Blux Movie AppColor grading is the process of altering and enhancing the color of a motion picture, video image, or still image either electronically or digitally.

Well, you might think, ‘Color grading on an iPhone ?? Impossible!’ However, yes, it is possible on an iphone because of the versatility of its hardware. For color grading, blux movie is the best choice I’ve found for film makers. Blux is designed for 1080P footage and offers a wide array of color filters and tweaking options.

COLOR GRADING IN BLUX MOVIE

Color Grading in Blux.

Color Grading in Blux.

BLUX MOVIE app has manual control so you can make your own filters. This permits you to to have the control to give a polished and professional look to your film.

All of these shots were color graded in Blux Movie.

All of these shots were color graded in Blux Movie.

The previously mentioned apps are available in itunes app store. Start with the native iMovie camera and edit in something like iMovie. Once you’re proficient, move on to something like Filmic Pro for shooting and a color grading option like Blux Movie.

Before I conclude, I would like to recommend two more apps which are used for editing audio/music files & data sharing from pc to iphone. Best of all, they are free from the app store.

HOKUSAI APP

Hokusai Audio Editor AppIn this app we can edit music and audio files & export directly in to imovie or save them as .wav files to a computer or Dropbox.

In the HOKUSAI app , you can cut , copy , trim any part of the audio file easily , and even reverse the entire audio. You can also record your own audio and/or songs.

Hokusai Interface

Hokusai Interface

USB DISK

Usb Disk App

This app may appeal more to new iphone users, who’ve discovered it is very easy to transfer data from iphone to your pc , but you can’t transfer from your pc to iphone. This app allows you to transfer stored video footage from your pc to iphone easily, which is then saved in your camera roll.

USB Disk Interface

USB Disk Interface

Ok, now take out your iPhone ….open the iPhone native camera & become an iPhone film maker.

Narendra Palacharla is a filmmaker leading the push for iPhone filmmaking in India. You can view his film, One Rupee, which he shot ,edited,dubbed, mixed & colour graded entirely on an iPhone 4S . He was a student of Regency Institute of Technology in yanam , pondicherry , India. he currently holds the position of ceo & founder at "dino productions" in india. You can check out his Facebook page.

    3 Comments

  1. Very well done by Narendra Palacharla! The short was emotional and very well done by a first timer..I wish him a very good luck to his future

  2. Nice article, can I re-use this on my website. I am still building though, I am sourcing for filmmaking content for indie filmmakers

    • Hey Oladapo,

      That’s fine. Our content is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical-Sharealike (BY-NC-SA) license. Our preferred attribution is “Reprinted from Microfilmmaker Magazine (link), by author Narendra Palacharala.” [The (link) would mean turning the magazine title into a link to the general site.]

      Thanks.

Post a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *