You don’t need expensive cameras, studio equipment or years of experience to create engaging videos.
According to CAE teacher and video production specialist Mark Bluett, today’s smartphones can capture high-quality footage and achieve professional-looking results.
“The quality you can capture on a mobile phone these days is just very, very good,” says Mark.
Whether you’re creating social media content, promoting a small business or simply exploring filmmaking as a creative outlet, a few simple techniques can dramatically improve your results.
Here are five easy ways to elevate your next smartphone video:
1. Make natural light work for your filming
Good lighting can improve your footage more than expensive equipment. When filming outdoors or near a window, look at where the natural light is coming from and how it falls across your subject.
A professional reflector can be an affordable addition to your kit that helps redirect light.
But you can also achieve surprisingly effective results with simple materials you already have at home, like a sheet of cardboard. A light-coloured piece of cardboard can bounce light towards your subject, while a darker piece can help block an overly bright light source.
“If you’re shooting a scene… you might be getting the light coming in through a window or something like that. If it’s too strong, you just come in where that light direction is, hold up that cardboard and block a bit of the intense light coming through.”
Take a short test clip and check whether your subject is evenly lit. A small adjustment in your position or lighting can save you from trying to correct your footage later.
2. Capture more angles than you think you’ll need
One of the easiest ways to make a video more dynamic is to avoid filming everything from a single position.
Mark recommends capturing a variety of shots, including wide shots to establish your setting, medium shots to focus on your subject, and close-ups and extreme close-ups to highlight expressions and details. Recording scenes from different distances and perspectives also gives you more options when editing.
Having a variety of shots to choose from can help you control the pace, improve cutaways and keep viewers engaged.
3. Think in 360 degrees
Similarly, many beginner filmmakers stay in one spot and point their camera at a subject. Mark encourages his students to do the opposite.
“It’s getting them to think that they’re in a 360-degree sphere.”
Whether you’re filming a person, object or landscape, experiment by moving around it.
Look for opportunities to shoot from above, below, beside and behind your subject.
Exploring different viewpoints can help you identify stronger compositions, more effective lighting and unexpected visual details.
You can also use this approach when creating a storyboard. Planning several possible viewpoints before filming can help you create a more varied sequence and identify the range of shots you want to capture.
4. Pay attention to the background and check the entire frame
A great subject can be ruined by a distracting background.
One of the most common mistakes that beginners make is overlooking what’s happening elsewhere in the frame.
“Sometimes they’re so focused on the actual actor or subject, that they miss what’s going on in the background.”
Before you press record, scan the entire frame. Look for clutter, unexpected movement or colours that draw attention away from the story you’re trying to tell.
5. Build your technique before upgrading your gear
Many beginner videographers assume better equipment will automatically improve their videos, but Mark sees it differently.
He recommends developing your skills before investing in new cameras and accessories.
Use your smartphone to practise working with light, composition, movement and different shot types. Explore your phone’s slow motion settings and experiment with sequencing to tell a clear story.
As your skills develop, you’ll gain a better understanding of the strengths and limitations of your current setup – and you’ll be able to make smarter decisions about future upgrades.
Mark says there’s no reason your phone can’t remain your primary recording device.
“There are actually a lot of award-winning movies that use mobile phones… There are a lot of different ads and music videos and things like that that are [shot on] mobile phones.”
Call ‘Action’ and take your smartphone skills further
In Mark’s ‘Short Video Creation on a Smartphone’ course, you’ll learn how to use your phone as a practical filmmaking tool.
Whether you’re producing content for work or creating videos for fun, you’ll develop techniques to plan, film and edit videos with greater confidence.