Publishers of technology books, eBooks, and videos for creative people

Home > Articles > Digital Photography

How to Use Your Video Gear: Tips from USA Today's Talking Tech Host

Jefferson Graham takes a quick look at how to use your gear for video—mobile phones and devices, point-and-shoot cameras, video cameras, or digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras. There are a few good apps and some hardware he'll recommend along the way.
This chapter is from the book

NOW THAT YOU have an idea of your video gear options and what might work for you, you’re eager to get started, right? Let’s take a quick look at how to use your gear for video—mobile phones and devices, point-and-shoot cameras, video cameras, or digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras. There are a few good apps and some hardware I’ll recommend along the way. If you already know the basics about your camera, feel free to skip over this chapter.

The iPhone

So you want to use your iPhone as a video camera? No problem, but you’ll need an iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S—the two models with the improved camera—and a few dollars to spend for a handful of creative apps that will take your videomaking to the next level.

Here’s the iPhone 4S advantage: You get an excellent 8-megapixel camera that rivals any point-and-shoot—and it’s always with you. Be sure to shoot in decent light for best results. You’ll also want to stabilize the iPhone in some way (see Chapter 3). Whether it’s the Owle mCAMLITE or the Studio Neat Glif iPhone Tripod Mount, it doesn’t really matter. Just be sure to keep the camera as steady as possible.

Simple Steps for Shooting with the iPhone

Let’s go through the basic steps of shooting a video with the iPhone.

  1. On your iPhone’s home screen, select Settings then turn on Airplane mode (Figure 4.1). That way, no one will bother you with a call, text, or status update while you’re shooting.
    Fugure 4.1

    Figure 4.1 Set the iPhone to airplane mode so you won’t be interrupted during shooting.

  2. Open the Camera app on the iPhone. Slide the Camera icon to Movie mode.
  3. Hold the camera horizontally. This is crucial. Shooting vertically is one of the biggest mistakes I see. Because the video plays back in a horizontal orientation, you’ll lose the sides of your video and have annoying black bars and a teeny image in the middle (Figure 4.2).
    Fugure 4.2

    Figure 4.2 Make sure to shoot with your phone in a horizontal position. As you can see, when the iPhone is vertical, the sides of the image are cut off.

  4. Click the red Record button at the bottom of the screen to start recording video. Click the button again to stop recording.

    When shooting, try to keep your hands as steady as possible if you’re not using a tripod mount. Also, hold the camera as close as possible to your subject (if you bypassed the microphone option) to do your best to pick up sound.

When the take is finished, the clip will go directly to the Camera Roll area of the iPhone, where photos and videos are stored.

Simple Steps for Shooting with the iPad

Shooting video with the iPad is just as easy:

  1. Tap the camera icon on your iPad’s home screen.
  2. On the bottom-right corner you’ll find a toggle. Tap it to switch it to the right, on the video icon.

    You’ll also see the button that switches between the front, FaceTime camera, and the rear, iSight camera.

  3. In the middle of the right side of the screen (and next to the home button) you’ll see the record button. Tap this to start recording. Tap it again to end recording.
  4. To watch the video you just recorded, tap the thumbnail in the lower-left corner. You can also find the video in your Camera Roll area.

Apps for the iPhone and iPad

Numerous apps on the market let you tweak the image results from your still or video camera in the iPhone or iPad. There are just as many if not more apps that are available to assist you in your productions. I’ll cover just a few of these here.

Filmic Pro

One big drawback of shooting video on the iPhone is that you can’t adjust the exposure as you can with a “real” camera. There are no f-stop or shutter-speed settings. That’s where Filmic Pro comes in (Figure 4.3). With this $3 app, you can tweak exposure slightly, opt for variable frame rates, and get audio-monitoring levels and focus options that you wouldn’t have if you just zapped open the Camera app on the iPhone. For the exposure, it will never be as accurate as a camera with f-stops. Instead, you get a selective circle that you place over a section of the image to make it darker or lighter. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than nothing. Beyond saving the project to the Camera Roll, you also get presets to upload it directly to a variety of sites, including Vimeo, YouTube, Dropbox, and Facebook.

Fugure 4.3

Figure 4.3 The Filmic Pro app for the iPhone is essential for anyone shooting with an iPhone.

Almost DSLR

As with Filmic Pro, with this $2 app you can adjust and lock focus and exposure, plus tweak white balance, adjust frame rate, and click on a self-timer (Figure 4.4). I recommend this app for anyone who has an iPhone and wants to shoot short films.

Figure 4.4

Figure 4.4 Almost DSLR is a great app for locking focus and exposure, setting white balance, adding GPS data to pictures, and much more.

DollyCam

It’s hard to keep any camera steady without a tripod, and the iPhone is no exception. There’s no grip to grab onto the device, as you have with a camera, and every twitch and itch shows up loud and shakily clear when you’re shooting video. So we welcome the DollyCam app with open arms (Figure 4.5). It’s not an expensive mount, or a slider to drool over, like the $130 iPhone Mobislider, but for $3, DollyCam turns your iPhone into a steadicam by stabilizing your image, and it does an amazing job. You start off by shooting your video the normal way—trying to keep it as steady as possible—and then, when the take is finished, you process it, which can take a few minutes. Once it’s complete—voilà, the video actually looks as if it was shot on a tripod. It’s that steady. I love this app.

Figure 4.5

Figure 4.5 Use the DollyCam app for extra stabilization.

8mm Vintage Camera

For just under $2, you can add many arty and really cool looks to your videos, from rickety 1920s (like an old silent movie) to faded-color 1960s, saturated 1980s, and moody black-and-white noir (Figure 4.6). If you use the 8mm Vintage Camera app, be sure to go to Settings in the app and save your processed video in the Camera Roll section, so you’ll be able to find it later.

Figure 4.6

Figure 4.6 The 8mm Vintage Camera app is one of many that gives you an old film look to your videos.

Silent Movie Director

Similar to 8mm Vintage Camera, this $2 app turns your preexisting videos into vintage productions, with scratchy 1920s and 1930s looks, sepia, and faded color (Figure 4.7). If you’re a fan of Hollywood’s Golden Age, as I am, you’ll love this app. A cute image of Charlie Chaplin pops up while you wait for your video to be transformed into something that resembles a relic of yesteryear. A cool speed control icon lets you make your footage really, really fast (think Keystone Kops) or slow. So if you’re into these kinds of special effects, Silent Movie is probably the better choice for you than 8mm Vintage Camera. Once you get into the app, you’re encouraged to buy more goodies, such as Silent Movie title cards and Silent Movie fonts.

Figure 4.7

Figure 4.7 Silent Movie Director is another fun app for videomaking.

Clapperboard

Big-time movies usually begin their productions with a clapperboard, which gives the sound engineers the sound they need to sync up the audio with the visuals. Should you want to mix iPhone footage with footage from another video source, or shoot one angle and mix it with another, one of these apps—and there are several in the iTunes App Store—will get you that slate and clapper sound. A basic clapperboard can be as inexpensive as $.99. MoveSlate costs more at $24.99 but it has a great interface and is an all-in-one digital slate, clapperboard, shot log, and notepad (Figure 4.8).

Figure 4.8

Figure 4.8 Use a clapperboard on the iPhone to sync up your audio.

iMovie

The iPhone app version of iMovie, Apple’s popular video-editing software for computers, has been slimmed down to let you do basic edits on your iPhone and iPad footage. You can also add graphics, titles, and preprogrammed music.

The iMovie app is a must for “run and gun” footage—video that has been shot really quickly—and for doing a zippy edit with titles at the beginning and end, and the app can be used with the iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad. But be warned: Getting the hang of making precise edits with the app takes some getting used to—you have to pinch the clips with two fingers—and the cuts are nowhere near as smooth as with a mouse.

Peachpit Promotional Mailings & Special Offers

I would like to receive exclusive offers and hear about products from Peachpit and its family of brands. I can unsubscribe at any time.

Overview


Pearson Education, Inc., 221 River Street, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030, (Pearson) presents this site to provide information about Peachpit products and services that can be purchased through this site.

This privacy notice provides an overview of our commitment to privacy and describes how we collect, protect, use and share personal information collected through this site. Please note that other Pearson websites and online products and services have their own separate privacy policies.

Collection and Use of Information


To conduct business and deliver products and services, Pearson collects and uses personal information in several ways in connection with this site, including:

Questions and Inquiries

For inquiries and questions, we collect the inquiry or question, together with name, contact details (email address, phone number and mailing address) and any other additional information voluntarily submitted to us through a Contact Us form or an email. We use this information to address the inquiry and respond to the question.

Online Store

For orders and purchases placed through our online store on this site, we collect order details, name, institution name and address (if applicable), email address, phone number, shipping and billing addresses, credit/debit card information, shipping options and any instructions. We use this information to complete transactions, fulfill orders, communicate with individuals placing orders or visiting the online store, and for related purposes.

Surveys

Pearson may offer opportunities to provide feedback or participate in surveys, including surveys evaluating Pearson products, services or sites. Participation is voluntary. Pearson collects information requested in the survey questions and uses the information to evaluate, support, maintain and improve products, services or sites; develop new products and services; conduct educational research; and for other purposes specified in the survey.

Contests and Drawings

Occasionally, we may sponsor a contest or drawing. Participation is optional. Pearson collects name, contact information and other information specified on the entry form for the contest or drawing to conduct the contest or drawing. Pearson may collect additional personal information from the winners of a contest or drawing in order to award the prize and for tax reporting purposes, as required by law.

Newsletters

If you have elected to receive email newsletters or promotional mailings and special offers but want to unsubscribe, simply email ask@peachpit.com.

Service Announcements

On rare occasions it is necessary to send out a strictly service related announcement. For instance, if our service is temporarily suspended for maintenance we might send users an email. Generally, users may not opt-out of these communications, though they can deactivate their account information. However, these communications are not promotional in nature.

Customer Service

We communicate with users on a regular basis to provide requested services and in regard to issues relating to their account we reply via email or phone in accordance with the users' wishes when a user submits their information through our Contact Us form.

Other Collection and Use of Information


Application and System Logs

Pearson automatically collects log data to help ensure the delivery, availability and security of this site. Log data may include technical information about how a user or visitor connected to this site, such as browser type, type of computer/device, operating system, internet service provider and IP address. We use this information for support purposes and to monitor the health of the site, identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents and appropriately scale computing resources.

Web Analytics

Pearson may use third party web trend analytical services, including Google Analytics, to collect visitor information, such as IP addresses, browser types, referring pages, pages visited and time spent on a particular site. While these analytical services collect and report information on an anonymous basis, they may use cookies to gather web trend information. The information gathered may enable Pearson (but not the third party web trend services) to link information with application and system log data. Pearson uses this information for system administration and to identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents, appropriately scale computing resources and otherwise support and deliver this site and its services.

Cookies and Related Technologies

This site uses cookies and similar technologies to personalize content, measure traffic patterns, control security, track use and access of information on this site, and provide interest-based messages and advertising. Users can manage and block the use of cookies through their browser. Disabling or blocking certain cookies may limit the functionality of this site.

Do Not Track

This site currently does not respond to Do Not Track signals.

Security


Pearson uses appropriate physical, administrative and technical security measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, use and disclosure.

Children


This site is not directed to children under the age of 13.

Marketing


Pearson may send or direct marketing communications to users, provided that

  • Pearson will not use personal information collected or processed as a K-12 school service provider for the purpose of directed or targeted advertising.
  • Such marketing is consistent with applicable law and Pearson's legal obligations.
  • Pearson will not knowingly direct or send marketing communications to an individual who has expressed a preference not to receive marketing.
  • Where required by applicable law, express or implied consent to marketing exists and has not been withdrawn.

Pearson may provide personal information to a third party service provider on a restricted basis to provide marketing solely on behalf of Pearson or an affiliate or customer for whom Pearson is a service provider. Marketing preferences may be changed at any time.

Correcting/Updating Personal Information


If a user's personally identifiable information changes (such as your postal address or email address), we provide a way to correct or update that user's personal data provided to us. This can be done on the Account page. If a user no longer desires our service and desires to delete his or her account, please contact us at customer-service@informit.com and we will process the deletion of a user's account.

Choice/Opt-out


Users can always make an informed choice as to whether they should proceed with certain services offered by Adobe Press. If you choose to remove yourself from our mailing list(s) simply visit the following page and uncheck any communication you no longer want to receive: www.peachpit.com/u.aspx.

Sale of Personal Information


Pearson does not rent or sell personal information in exchange for any payment of money.

While Pearson does not sell personal information, as defined in Nevada law, Nevada residents may email a request for no sale of their personal information to NevadaDesignatedRequest@pearson.com.

Supplemental Privacy Statement for California Residents


California residents should read our Supplemental privacy statement for California residents in conjunction with this Privacy Notice. The Supplemental privacy statement for California residents explains Pearson's commitment to comply with California law and applies to personal information of California residents collected in connection with this site and the Services.

Sharing and Disclosure


Pearson may disclose personal information, as follows:

  • As required by law.
  • With the consent of the individual (or their parent, if the individual is a minor)
  • In response to a subpoena, court order or legal process, to the extent permitted or required by law
  • To protect the security and safety of individuals, data, assets and systems, consistent with applicable law
  • In connection the sale, joint venture or other transfer of some or all of its company or assets, subject to the provisions of this Privacy Notice
  • To investigate or address actual or suspected fraud or other illegal activities
  • To exercise its legal rights, including enforcement of the Terms of Use for this site or another contract
  • To affiliated Pearson companies and other companies and organizations who perform work for Pearson and are obligated to protect the privacy of personal information consistent with this Privacy Notice
  • To a school, organization, company or government agency, where Pearson collects or processes the personal information in a school setting or on behalf of such organization, company or government agency.

Links


This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects Personal Information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this web site.

Requests and Contact


Please contact us about this Privacy Notice or if you have any requests or questions relating to the privacy of your personal information.

Changes to this Privacy Notice


We may revise this Privacy Notice through an updated posting. We will identify the effective date of the revision in the posting. Often, updates are made to provide greater clarity or to comply with changes in regulatory requirements. If the updates involve material changes to the collection, protection, use or disclosure of Personal Information, Pearson will provide notice of the change through a conspicuous notice on this site or other appropriate way. Continued use of the site after the effective date of a posted revision evidences acceptance. Please contact us if you have questions or concerns about the Privacy Notice or any objection to any revisions.

Last Update: November 17, 2020