 Hi everyone, my name is Bennett Grazer and I run a YouTube channel where I talk all about smartphone filmmaking. In this video I partnered up with Ulanzi to show you the best mobile filmmaking vlogging setup. Vlogging has become very popular and is a great way to share your story with the world. Smartphones can capture high quality video which makes it perfect to use it as a vlogging camera. The reason why I like to use smartphone for vlogging is because it's always with me and I can easily access it. Let's now look at the equipment you need to create high quality videos for your vlogs. It's recommended to invest in some basic equipment to get the most out of your videos. The first thing you will need is a smartphone that is capable of capturing video. I assume that you already have a smartphone that can record video so that would be covered. I use the iPhone 12 Pro Max which I'll be using throughout this video but you can use any other smartphone since a vlogging setup is compatible with most smartphones. The next thing you will need is a mini tripod. A tripod allows you to hold the camera in a comfortable position to easily frame yourself when vlogging. The footage will also be steadier compared to handheld shots. Here's the difference between using the mini tripod versus handheld. So I'm now using the mini tripod walking at normal speed and the footage probably shouldn't look that shaky and I can also keep the camera further away from me using the tripod and this is what it looks like. So this is how it looks like going handheld. I'm walking at normal speed and as you can see I can't keep the camera further away from me and with a mini tripod I can do that more easily and also vlogging like this over a long period of time takes a lot of energy. As you can see with the mini tripod I can hold the camera further away to fit myself more in the frame and I can record steadier vlogs. You can also use the mini tripod to rest it on a flat surface which also makes it great to get static time-lapse shots. When shooting b-roll or secondary footage that you add on top to enhance your story using the mini tripod will give you smoother results since you have a better grip and adds more weight to the camera. The tripod I use is the Manfrotto mini tripod which costs around $20. What I like about this tripod is that it has a ball head that allows me to angle the camera in any direction. By simply pushing the button I can unlock the ball head and once that's released the camera will stay at its position. Now Ulanzi also offers a variety of affordable tripod accessories. The one I recently discovered that has a 2-in-1 function is the Ulanzi MT16 extendable tripod that comes with a ball head for around $20. This tripod is lightweight, intuitive to use and easy to carry around. The advantage of using this tripod compared to the Manfrotto mini tripod is that it can extend allowing you to be even further away from the camera when vlogging. This way you will have more in the frame and don't have to worry being cut out. This also saves you money not having to necessarily buy an add-on ultra wide angle lens which I will talk about later in this video. This feature is quite useful as I can also place a tripod on the surface and adjust the height to properly frame myself. With the Manfrotto mini tripod you are limited. I also like the built-in cold shoe mount for mounting different accessories such as the LED light. I would say that the Ulanzi tripod is more cost effective as you get the 2-in-1 functionality as well as the integrated cold shoe mount. To mount your smartphone on the mini tripod you will need a tripod adapter like the one I got for $10 from Ulanzi. This way I can easily slide my iPhone in, secure it by twisting the knob and mount it onto the mini tripod. You will also notice that there is a cold shoe mount on top that allows you to add different accessories. The next thing you will need is light. If you just started making videos light can be challenging especially when filming indoors. Smartphones generally don't do well in low light situations. That's why it's always a good idea to use some kind of light source to improve the video quality such as standing close to a window or turning on a lamp. I like to use artificial light when filming indoors. This helps brighten up the subject resulting in a much cleaner image. By filling in the shadows on the subject's face it also allows the viewer to focus the attention more on the subject. Here's the difference between using an external light versus without in a dark environment. So I'm currently filming in my studio and I think this is a great example because when filming indoors it can be quite challenging with the light. Now the first thing you would do is obviously open up the blinds to let more light come in but I just wanted to prove to you that there's no window available or you don't have any additional lights to turn on. Having an external light can immensely improve the image quality because smartphones generally don't do well in low light situations and the more light you can add the better the image quality will be. So this is how it will look like without the LED light on. I'm going to turn it on right now and this is how it looks like with the LED light on. You'll probably notice a difference in image quality and that is the reason I always bring an LED light with me in case I have to film in a dark environment. As you can see using an external light can immediately improve the image quality. The light I'm using is the Pocket VL49 LED light by Ulanzi which costs $16. It produces a nice soft light in which you can control the intensity. You can change the color's temperature making it more bluish around 5600 Kelvin or orange which is around 3200 Kelvin. The Pocket LED light comes with three cold shoe mounts that allows you to add even more accessories. One of the most important accessories that will make your vlogs more enjoyable to watch is audio. The built-in microphone on smartphones do produce decent audio quality but when facing windy conditions the built-in audio captures a lot of wind noise that will distort the audio and distract the viewers. The built-in audio on most smartphones also capture audio from all direction which results in unwanted ambient noise. I prefer using a shotgun mic which is a directional mic and capture sound from where you point it at. I'm using the Siren VMQ1 mic which costs around $30. As you can see I mounted the mic on to the cold shoe mount of the light. Using the Siren mic allows me to attach a windshield when shooting outdoors. That will help block wind noise. Here is the difference between using the shotgun mic versus without. Alright so this is a mic test. I'm currently using the internal mic on the iPhone 12 Pro Max and you might hear some wind noise. It's a little bit windy outside so that will probably be noticeable when filming with the internal mic on the iPhone 12 Pro Max and in that case if it's very very windy outside I prefer using an external mic which is the Siren mic that I'm about to plug in right now so that you guys can hear the difference. So this is how it sounds like with the Siren mic plugged into the iPhone. As I said there is wind passing by and I have the windshield attached on it so it will block the wind noise which produces a much cleaner audio. So yeah my voice is probably also more present than using the internal mic so whenever I go out and vlogging I always use an external mic just in case it gets very windy outside but otherwise if the weather is clear and there's not much wind going on you could go with the internal mic. As you can hear the shotgun mic produces a much cleaner sound than the built-in mic. For vlogging the shotgun mic is a great tool since you're close to the camera. The further away you are from the mic the more ambient sound it captures. So try to be as close as possible to the mic to get the best results. To connect the microphone to your smartphone make sure to use the included phone cable that comes with the Siren mic. Since it has a 3.5 millimeter jack output I will need a lightning adapter to plug it into my iPhone. If you're using an android you will need a type C USB adapter. Once plugged in you're ready to record. Now as a bonus you might consider getting an ultra wide angle add-on lens. For vlogs adding an ultra wide angle lens to your camera will allow you to fit more into the frame because not all of you might have a built-in ultra wide angle lens. The ultra wide lens I use is from Zenvo that costs around 60 dollars that also includes a macro lens and is compatible with most smartphones since it has a clip on system. This can be useful if you want to show the viewer more of the surrounding. This also ensures that you won't be cut out of the frame when vlogging. So let me now show you how that would look like using the ultra wide lens. So I'm currently using the standard lens on my iPhone 12 Pro Max and as you can see the field of view is quite small and if you're using something like an ultra wide angle lens that you can attach on the standard lens you can enlarge in the field of view and have more in the frame this way you don't have to worry about being cut out. So pretty nice. The quality you get out of it is great and can be very useful when filming in tight spaces. So there you have it that is the gear I use when vlogging with a smartphone. I always keep changing my vlogging setup but I guess for starters this is a great vlogging option that you can also adapt for yourself. Keep in mind that vlogging does take a bit of work and by using these tools you can easily improve your video making your story more compelling and engaging to watch. Hopefully this video gave you a good understanding of how to set up a vlog using the right gear for your smartphone. If this video helped you make sure to leave a like also subscribe to this channel so that you don't miss out on other tutorials. Thank you so much for watching stay creative and have fun creating your next vlog.