 Now, everyone watching this video right now probably has a phone in their pocket. And I find myself always whipping it out to record videos for capturing quick moments. But I've seen some amazing cinematic videos shot with just their phone. Now watching them has inspired me to level up my own mobile video making and show you how I did it. So, I challenged myself to shoot and edit a video with nothing but the phone that I'm holding right here. No stabilizers, no paid apps, just this electric powered PopTart that I use for everything except make phone calls with. By the way, hi, it's Herman here with Artlist. And for a long time, I would use the excuse of not being able to make great videos because I couldn't afford expensive equipment. But technology has come such a long way to give us new tools. And one of which is a Swiss army knife in the palm of our hands. I fix things with it. I cut butter with it. But I have never shot and edited a video entirely on my phone before. The rise of social media has also created demand for video content like a fish needs water and platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube shorts is the new television of our generation. So instead of murdering our wallet with this and that, why not create videos with the same device people are watching it with? Today, I'll be sharing my journey as if I had no camera, no computer and no money. But I want to create a professional looking vertical video for Instagram. Now, this could very well happen if I were to ever lose my luggage on a flight or I get my car broken into before I shoot. Real stories, by the way, but hasn't happened to me personally yet. Knock on wood. This isn't wood. No matter what phone that you're using or what situation you're in, I'm going to take you through my entire process and share the things I believe are the most important to pay attention to. So make sure to stick around and watch the final edit. But another reason to stick around is because we have an awesome giveaway at the end of the video that you don't want to miss. So right now we're at the rooftop of Vancouver Central Library. It's a very beautiful location with this amazing view. And this is where we're going to be doing our first shot. We have a lovely Tom over here who will be our talent. He's going to be the talented cardist doing the cardistry. And he's basically going to make this video kickass while I'm shooting everything in my phone. And hopefully the phone video will complement the badassness of the cardistry. Don't know if badassness is a good word, but that was pretty cool. And behind the scenes right now, we have Jansen. And I'm going to see if I can do a nice little video of him. All right, we're going to shoot that with our phone. And see how it turns out. Now, the first thing I looked for was to have manual control over my phone camera. Now, if the phone is a bowl, then I've got to be the matador. Because if my shot suddenly goes out of focus or gets brighter all of a sudden, my client would just ask their grandma to shoot a video instead. Unless this is their grandma. The settings I want to bend to my will are the resolution, the frame rate, shutter speed, ISO, focus and white balance. Now, I know this is starting to look like a grocery list, but if you already have some shooting experience, you'll know what each of these settings do and how they affect one another. But the vanilla settings I recommend for most scenarios is shooting at least 1080p at 24 frames per second with a one over 50 shutter speed. And then you just adjust your ISO and your white balance depending on your scene. Now, I recommend shooting in at least 1080p because HD has been the standard for a while and anything below that can start looking blurry or pixelated. 24 frames per second has been the standard in cinema for various reasons. But the main reason I recommend it for mobile video is to create some weight to your video. If you film in 60 frames per second, for example, and play it in real time, any motion becomes very fluid, which isn't what we're used to seeing when we watch movies. Having your shutter speed at one over 50 is to match your frame rate of 24 frames per second so that you can capture motion blur in a way that copies what we see with our eyes in real life. The general rule is to double the number of your frame rate to get your shutter speed. Before you start judging me for not knowing basic math, one over 48 isn't as common as one over 50, which is the closest to doubling 24 frames per second. This is the most math I've done out of high school. Now, depending on your phone, you may already have manual control over your camera settings. Now, I'm using the Samsung S20 FE, which isn't the latest phone available, but it does have a built-in pro video mode. If your phone doesn't have something like that, there are a lot of camera apps available that give you manual camera control. Because I don't want to spend a penny in this case, I went with a free camera app called Pro Cam X Lite, because going through the app store for free apps can feel like walking down a sketchy alley. But this app felt like a brightly lit up 7-Eleven that was safe to walk in. Again, with the weird analogies. There are always limitations to free camera apps, but I'm only using them for shots that my default camera can't accomplish. Now, I encourage you to try the most popular ones for your device and see which ones check all the boxes for you. All right, we're just going to switch to pro video mode and we're going to see what it looks like on camera. Can I have you take your steps to your right? Just so you're aligned to the pillar in the back. Oh, that's great. All right, 5600. We're going to make sure the focus is on him. And three, two, one, action. Although this isn't specific to filming on your phone, it is crucial to think about your camera angles. One of the mistakes I made at first was always filming at eye level, because it was my default pose for a zombie away on my phone. Different camera angles convey different emotions, and using a variety of them make your videos more visually interesting. I think the biggest advantage to filming on a phone is how easy it is to change your angles on the fly. So instead of lugging around a camera on a tripod, you are as free as a bird to move your phone wherever you like. Low angles, tight spaces, thrown into the air. This is true freedom to create. Speaking of freedom, it's also easy to add camera movement when you're shooting with your phone. Movements like pushing in on your subject, orbiting around them, or going from side to side, helps create more dynamic shots. Oh, this is way more interesting. I shouldn't push in. I should be doing this. Just parallax like this. Yeah. When I was pushing in like this, there was some parallax, but it just wasn't enough, I think. And it's also hard to get steady. But if I just kind of move and shift my body weight back a little bit, it's a lot easier. Learning something. I'm learning as I go. Remember that you're not taking photos, so make sure there's something moving in the scene if it's not going to be your subject. Stabilizers are a fantastic option for making it look like you strapped your phone to a chicken head. But remember, we're using nothing but my phone, so I am the stabilizer. But how would I get buttery smooth camera movement when I can barely walk without tripping? The answer for me was Brandon Lee. Ivan following his work for a while and what he does with stabilizers is so magical, I'm convinced it's witchcraft. But thankfully, this magician reveals his secrets because he made a video that teaches how to get smooth handheld movements when shooting with just your phone. I encourage you to watch what he covers, but the broad strokes of what I took away was having one hand holding the phone in a stable manner, having your other hand as a support, bending your knees and walking like a ninja from your favorite anime, but at a constant speed. If your phone camera has the option to shoot slow motion, you can sprinkle in some slow-mo shots to emphasize certain moments and add variety to your video. Notice that I said sprinkle in, because a cake wouldn't be a cake if it was entirely made of sprinkles, just diabetes on a plate. The same thing goes for your video, if everything is filmed with speed ramps or slow motion. Unless that's the theme of your video, I believe no shots stand out if a certain technique is overused. But when you capture fast movement in slow motion, it becomes a surreal experience that we're not used to seeing in real life. I'll usually check what the highest FPS on my phone can shoot in and then go with that, but make sure to film slow-mo in a well-lit environment, preferably outdoors, so that you don't get flickering lights that look like you're filming everything at a rave. One of my favorite features that phones have started incorporating recently is including a wide lens. Shooting on a wide lens can give your scene a larger-than-life atmosphere and it feels more dynamic when you also add camera movement. Just like sprinkling in slow motion shots, I also recommend not abusing the wide lens just because everything may look cooler on it. I try to only use it when I want to show off more of the environment or capture a unique perspective. After filming everything on my phone, it was time to get into my favorite part, putting it together in the edit. At least that's how I feel when I'm editing on a computer, but on a phone it's a little bit tricky when I tend to fat finger everything and rely on auto-correct to convince people I'm not a toddler. Just like camera apps, there are a lot of free editing apps available. Capcut, InShot, and VM Video Editor are a few popular ones, but again, find the one that feels right when you're walking down that sketchy back alley. Now, I went with Premiere Rush just so I had some sense of familiarity in the foreign world of mobile editing. As expected, it was a bit tricky having to tap things with my finger instead of clicking. I also didn't have access to tools that I'm used to relying on, like keyframing, blending modes, or scopes to color grade with. Although these sound like drawbacks, I did enjoy the simplicity of just editing with essential tools. It's a great way to surrender perfection and rely on the content I shot. For videos that upload straight to social media, I can see this being an efficient workflow for the job. Now, no edit is complete without audio, and music is the best way to compliment your visuals while setting the overall mood. Finding the perfect cinematic song can be a huge challenge, especially if it's royalty-free music options that are free. But just like the free coffee that they give out at office waiting rooms, something about the taste is just always a bit off. Music is personally the last thing I will compromise on, so what I did was browse Artlist on my phone and downloaded the track I wanted to edit with. It was surprisingly really easy considering how I usually hate using mobile websites, and I just don't download files or edit with my phone. Now, I know I'm not supposed to spend any money in this case, but just like how I already have my phone, I already have a subscription to Artlist, so it's up to you to find the best option for yourself. Well, those are all the steps I went through when learning how to create a video entirely on my phone. So, let's check out the final video I made after incorporating everything that I shared. Being a creator, I've always been stubborn about a few things, like learning to edit on my phone or making vertical videos. It just felt like I wasn't staying true to my craft and adapting to these new trends was like learning Zoomer Slangs, like Bussin'. But this wasn't a Bussin' mentality. That's not how I use the word, is it? But change is inevitable, and as I mentioned earlier, tools are improving to make our lives easier. That's why I'm always willing to challenge myself to step out of my comfort zone and at least try these new tools that are available to us. Just like trying new food, you'll never know how it tastes before you put it in your mouth. It's like when I tried eating snake once. That example, because I'll never eat it again. The hardest part for me has always been finding out what to do. But with the steps that I shared with you today, I encourage you to just go out and try creating a video on your phone if it's something that you've always thought about doing, but you just weren't sure where to start. This is your sign to start now. See? And make sure to share the video you create in the comments below so that others can check it out as well. I always think it's important to share your work so that others can watch it and also be inspired to create. Thank you all for watching and as I promised earlier in the video, there is an insane giveaway. We're giving away three yearly creator pro subscriptions to Artlist. For your chance to win, comment with your best tip for creating cinematic videos on your phone or your favorite tip from this video. And we'll be announcing the three winners next week on our Instagram Stories, so make sure to follow us there. The links are in the description. If you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to the Artlist channel for more videos like this and the bell notification helps you never miss the next one. That's all for now. So until next time, I'll see you in the next video.