Why you don’t need a filmmaker (but probably should use one)
Wayne Sables
Director / Filmmaker / Projection Mapper @ Self-Employed | Film Production, Community Engagement
OK firstly we need to acknowledge the elephant in the room. Why is a filmmaker saying you don’t need a filmmaker? Good question and I’ll definitely get to that. I’m guessing that you are either reading this on my website (and as you’ve probably seen is in part a filmmaking website) or i’ve posted it on social media, which means you already know me or know someone that does or I’m sharing the hell out of this.?
So why is a filmmaker saying you don’t need a filmmaker to make films? I’m nice like that.
Isn’t he doing himself our of work? Probably but money isn’t everything
If I can do it myself then why would I pay him?? You wouldn’t and in a few pages you wont need to, boom.
If you have a newish smart phone you have a pretty powerful device in your pocket that is capable of making decent quality films. If you have a bit of storage you’ll be able to download a few apps that will help you with the pre and post editing process (I’ll add some links further down).
Now if you are wanting to make films for your business, obviously I would recommend using a filmmaker but this blog is called Why you don’t need a filmmaker so I’ll crack on.
Firstly think about your audience. Who are they? And how will they find your films? For example?If you are going to host the films on your website then the audience already knows of you and your business so you probably don’t need to pepper it with company information etc, Or if you plan to put the films on social media and drive people to your website?then you will want to add information on how people can find you I.e your website and web links in the post. I’s assuming you probably know this so I will move on.
You need to think of the length. People’s behaviour online has changed over resent years and people are looking at things for less time. If you are posting to social media 1 minute is your maximum really (instagram cut you at 1 minute). Be careful when you cross post mind as not all hashtags work on all platforms and if you tag someone with their handle they may not have the same handles across their social media channels.?
Right we’ve sorted your audience and the length of your film. I’m assuming you already know what you're going to say? Cause you have duh sorry I shouldn’t have mentioned it. Let's move on.
OK you have your smart phone in hand ready to be the next Edgar Wright (Baby Driver, Hot Fuzz). You’ll need to script the film.
I have an iPhone so the links will be for that but I assume Google / Samsung will have the same or similar apps.
I use Celtx Script it’s free I think on iPhone /iPad. (https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/celtx-script/id381536091).
Next you’ll want to shot list the film (this makes it easier when you begin shooting). I use shotlister, it costs ￡9,99 I think (https://shotlister.com/). You can get a free template online.
Film scripted - check
Film shot listed - check
Onto the fun bit - filming. Have you decided if you’re going to shoot portrait (phone vertical) or landscape (phone horizontal). Most people shoot vertical for Instagram. I personally prefer to shoot everything horizontally to keep my social media accounts consistent. I’m funny like that. Social media is a whole other bag and I will do a blog post on that later.?
The lenses on the iPhone are awesome, especially the new iPhone 11/pro. Portrait mode gives you a good interpretation of depth of field (its called bokeh effect)
Honestly this will be fine if you’re just starting out. Just make sure you have good lighting. If you are interviewing put your subject under a light and next to a window. Basically you are trying to get an even coverage of light across the face. Unless you are going for something arty.?
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Basic lighting?
I explain lighting in another blog but for now just get good coverage.
Where the iPhone falls down is audio. They are designed to do so much they can’t be great at everything. One solution is if you are still lucky enough to have a phone jack you can buy a lapel mic and put it straight in. Or an external audio recorder like a zoom h6n and record into that. You will have to have a file storage system like iCloud or google drive as you will need to sync the visuals and audio if you record on an audio recorder. I will be doing a blog post about dual audio / visual recording at some point.?
If you want to push your phone filmmaking further you could buy an external lens. I’ve heard great things about Moment ( www.shopmoment.com).?
They also have an app that lets you shoot raw (https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/moment-pro-camera/id927098908) It is nearly six quid mind.
Right you’ve scripted, shot listed and shot your film, what now? You need to edit it. Again this can be done on the phone. iPhone have iMovie which is free and will do what you need it to do. Android will have their version. I don’t use iMovie but here is a pretty cool tutorial
A couple of other things.?
Filming by hand is tricky phones don’t deal well with camera shake you may want to think about investing in a tripod or stabilisation. Theres loads to choose from have a google. They all pretty much do the same thing so its really about your budget.
The best way is just to go out and film stuff you will see what works for you and your technique will improve. Make mistakes and then learn from them.?
You're all set. Job done. If you have read this blog and it has inspired you to make your own films id love to see them. All my social medias are @waynesables look me up and hook me up.?
Are you still here?
Disclaimer: making films on your phone is very empowering but the quality will never be as good as a purpose build film camera. The question is do you need that quality??
There are loads of fantastic resources here’s a few.
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