Smartphone filmmaking makes filming easier by allowing journalists to quickly film and edits a video on the go. Learn how to maximise your smartphone filmmaking from these mobile journalists and smartphone filmmakers who gave tips, tools and techniques on how to capture a compelling story.

1.) Bianca-Maria Rathay was the first woman in Germany in 2014 to specialise entirely in video production with a smartphone. Rathay says she enjoys taking away the fear of technology and the camera in others. For Rathay, it is not just about the device itself or which camera you use to take a picture, but about which ideas and stories you tell and how. As a trained TV editor, she knows how moving images work and what they can do.

Image: Provided

What are the key techniques or tools that mobile journalists need to master smartphone filmmaking?

It is very useful to know how the smartphone camera behaves in different situations, i.e. at night, on a sunny day, or inside. The key is to practice a lot to get better at sequencing and to become faster. To do that it is also important to film from different angles and use a variety of different shots. That’ll also help with the edit. It’s also essential to know what platform shall be addressed (I always vouch for landscape but if you only produce for Instagram portrait makes much more sense of course), which audience you’re aiming at and what you want to achieve with your video. A decent external microphone is a key tool for smartphone filmmaking as this is one of the shortcomings of filming with a mobile.

How can one tell a compelling story using a mobile phone?

Be aware of the points made above but also make sure to have a shot list and keep in mind what the viewer shall learn, know or do after the video. Only address a single idea in a video. Mobile phones are extremely versatile so make use of the lightness and the fact that it fits into different places. It’s also helpful for interviews as interviewees are used to mobiles on a daily basis.

What video and editing apps would you recommend?

LumaFusion, Kinemaster, Adobe Rush, CapCut, Videoleap, Quik (by GoPro) and InShot

Do you think that social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram have made smartphone filmmaking more mainstream? 

I would say that is true as it has democratised the video space as such as everyone is able to create content nowadays. Storys are short forms of video production and some influencers put lots of work into them. Their working tool is the smartphone. The platforms have also helped certain creators to become more popular and also let them earn money with it. I wouldn’t say the platforms have helped much towards mobile journalism as many news outlets still haven’t grasped the value of mobile phones as much as they should have in my eyes.

Even though smartphones have evolved and have become better over the years – there are still some limitations to them such as storage capacity, a limited camera and audio. How can mobile journalists work around these limitations?

I always pledge for a smartphone with the highest storage capacity on the market as a working tool if you use it much (albeit with high costs). If you can’t do that think about upgrading your cloud storage (iPhone) or an external (mini) SD card (Android). There is also a device called SanDisk with which you can transfer footage via WiFi. To avoid running out of battery too quickly use flight mode and do not disturb and also bring a power bank with you. For better footage, you can use an ND filter to be able to adjust the shutter speed. If you know your camera well it shouldn’t limit you to producing high-quality content. Other can be said about audio: always use an external microphone if you haven’t got one with you get as close as possible and know where your internal microphones are in the first place.

Is smartphone filmmaking the future? Will more people be using their smartphones to film or make documentaries/videos?

I’ve been doing this since 2014 and I’ve always hoped mobile journalism and mobile filmmaking will be embraced by more and more people. Despite the fact that Hollywood directors such as Steven Spielberg use smartphones and FilmicPro to produce movies or singers produce music videos there, it hasn’t been an overarching effect on the whole industry, unfortunately. Nevertheless, it has its place in the industry and lots of people still want to learn how to use their mobile phones for content creation properly. I still believe in its future but can also think of new innovations taking over such as wearables.

What do you think this means for more traditional filmmaking?

Traditional filmmaking will continue to experiment with it but I don’t think everyone will see the benefits.

What advice would you give to mobile journalists?

Every journalist should be trained as a mobile journalist as this is the fastest and best way to create content quickly. My advice would be to practice as often as possible in order to set up a workflow that suits you and your work. You’ll get quicker eventually. Be creative and get inspired by short content videos to create your own style of video. Also, practice your compositing by taking lots of photos. Embrace the smartphone as a producing studio with all its abilities. Go live, produce an audio cast, interview lots of people, film a video, and edit on different apps to find out which one you like best – and most of all have fun!

2.) Wale Ajayi is a chief lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication at the Lagos State University of Science and Technology. Ajayi teaches digital media related courses and practicals such as multimedia/ online journalism, digital cinematography, online broadcasting/webcasting, new media technologies, the foundation of digital media as well as digital photography.

What are the key techniques or tools that mobile journalists need to master smartphone filmmaking?

Essentially the mobile (digital journalists) need:

• Operational knowledge of video cameras and related accessories
• Have know-how in producing various shot types and their symbolic meaning as components of “visual/film grammar”
• Understand and able to compose and frame shots for visual aesthetics
• Knowledge of basic audio capturing devices and how to capture clean and clear audio
• Knowledge of the principles and skills in basic visual editing practice
• Understand how lights affect and contribute to the overall quality of the film
• Basic knowledge of Cinematic storytelling techniques

How can one tell a compelling story using a mobile phone?

• Identify and know your audience
• Develop and “script a “character/story-driven” narrative
• Start with a compelling and engaging intro/opening
• Use relevant video shots/audio (dialogue, SFX, narration, etc.) to drive the narrative
• Edit the footage to make a compelling, engaging “character/story driven”

What video and editing apps would you recommend?

• iMovie (for iPhone)
• KineMaster (iPhone and Android)
• Filmic (iPhone and Android)
• LumaFusion (iPhone and Android)

Do you think that social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram have made smartphone filmmaking more mainstream? 

Absolutely, yes, social media platforms have emerged to become a major medium for distribution of “smartphone filmmaking content” and audience engagements by “social media only” content producers. In Nigeria, we now have “skit makers” such as Sabinus whose major delivery platforms are mainly social media platforms and with huge followers’ engagements/views on Twitter, TikTok and Instagram.

Even though smartphones have evolved and have become better over the years – there are still some limitations to them such as storage capacity, limited camera, and audio. How can mobile journalists work around these limitations?

(a) Understand and recognise these limitations of working with smartphones
(b) Acquire relevant accessories such as a small rig. micro stand, smartphone lens extenders, and filters to enhance the functionality of the smartphone as a filmmaking g device.

Is smartphone filmmaking the future? Will more people be using their smartphones to film or make documentaries/videos?

Smartphone filmmaking will inevitably be mainstreamed into the core of the film production process in general which means more people will get to adopt smartphones as a major device for film making especially as accessories become widely available and affordable.

What do you think this means for more traditional filmmaking?

• One of the possible consequences is the likely convergence between traditional filmmaking and smartphone filmmaking
• The possible gradual extinction of the traditional film distribution media like cinema and TV screen and the mainstream of mobile devices/social media platforms as the primary film medium

What advice would you give to mobile journalists?

Regardless of the nature of mobile journalism, mobile journalists are primarily journalists and as such must always adhere to the basic tenets and values of journalism as their guiding principles

3.) Geertje Algera has worked for the Dutch Public Television for over 10 years mostly as a reporter and director for television. In 2014, shortly after she became a mother, she discovered she could make use of her iPhone to make reports for TV. Algeria said that “it changed the course of my life and you can say I found my mojo”. Since 2016 she has been running her own company as a content creator and smartphone video trainer from Utrecht, The Netherlands. She has trained over 4,000 people to use their smartphones as a professional camera. In March 2022 she published her first book, in Dutch, about filming professionally with your smartphone device. Currently, the second edition is being printed and will be out in (online) bookstores in September.

Image: Provided

What are the key techniques or tools that mobile journalists need to master smartphone filmmaking?

I call it the mojo mindset: creative, flexible mind and flexible attitude. Don’t stop at the first problem, just solve it and go on.

How can one tell a compelling story using a mobile phone?

First: have a great story. Then make some kinda script. Then film your story & edit. Make the most out of your smartphone by getting intimate with your shots and your questions. Mobile stories should be up-close & personal.

What video and editing apps would you recommend?

I like iMovie and InShot the best.

Do you think that social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram have made smartphone filmmaking more mainstream? 

Yes! Nowadays it’s normal to shoot and edit on your phone however, some people still view smartphone filmmaking as non-professional and/or inferior. To me, it’s about the story, not about the camera. There is also such a thing as TikTok journalism.

Even though smartphones have evolved and have become better over the years – there are still some limitations to them such as storage capacity, limited camera and audio. How can mobile journalists work around these limitations?

You have to be a problem solver by nature. Yes, there are limitations, but you can work around them. I would recommend a clip-on lavalier microphone. But even without a microphone, you can get good quality audio by getting close and minimising background noise. The cameras are getting better each year. My iPhone 13 pro max has 3 lenses and I don’t feel any limits. I wouldn’t shoot in the dark, but I wouldn’t do that either with a regular camera.

Is smartphone filmmaking the future? Will more people be using their smartphones to film or make documentaries/videos?

It’s not the future. It is already mainstream. I think everybody will end up filming somehow in the next 10 years.

What do you think this means for more traditional filmmaking?

I think they will co-exist. Traditional filmmaking will also evolve with more complicated cameras and lenses and they will have different possibilities.

What advice would you give to mobile journalists?

Watch a lot of other work and then find your own style. There are a lot of stories out there.

4.) Cassius Rayner is a mobile filmmaker, cinematographer, and lecturer in smartphone filmmaking. Rayner has been in the film and video production industry for over 20 years. He first started as a camera operator working on documentaries and then was offered to direct his own first feature documentary for Britains’s Sky. As a smartphone filmmaker, he experiments and develops projects using technology, and tells stories from the streets. Over the years he has trained, mentored, and supported hundreds of disadvantaged youth in filmmaking, bridging the gaps in the industries and allowing young people from poor backgrounds the opportunities to work. In September he will be training students and teachers in Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo) for nine days in all aspects of storytelling and using mobile gear to shoot the best content possible.

What are the key techniques or tools that mobile journalists need to master smartphone filmmaking?

The BBC mobile journalists use the Filmic Pro app to record and I would say you need to master the app – there’s a lot to it and it produces amazing results but it’s also easy to make mistakes with it. Audio is essential and investing in high-quality directional mic and wireless mic kits.

What video and editing apps would you recommend?

Filmic Pro app for video recording, LumaFusion or KineMaster for editing.

Do you think that social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram have made smartphone filmmaking more mainstream?

No, I don’t think social media platforms such as TikTok or Instagram have made mobile filmmaking mainstream because it generally feeds a different type of audience, brand videos, promos, travel videos, music video and video content on mobile gear has become very popular but this is different to shooting films using mobiles. Mainstream is, for me, a negative term because it implies that mobile filmmaking is a subform of industry-standard film production. I’d like to point out that top filmmakers like Steven Soderberg, Sean Baker, Zak Snyder and now Steven Spielberg have shot films using mobile phones. A good story is what matters, not the tools you use to make it.

Even though smartphones have evolved and have become better over the years – there are still some limitations to them such as storage capacity, limited camera and audio. How can mobile journalists work around these limitations?

Those limitations are not really an issue now. There are a variety of ways to store footage from external hard drives (plug into your mobile), you can get an iPhone 13 with a 1TB storage, Sony Xperia has kept the SD card slots for their phones and using Filmic Pro app you can sign up to frame.io and send footage directly to a cloud drive. You can plug any professional microphone into a mobile phone now and record professional sound as well as wireless mic options and Bluetooth options (Bluetooth is limited with the signal but it’s an option). As for cameras, the Sony Xperia pro-1 has a 1-inch sensor which works great under low light, iPhone continues to improve the lenses and other brands are advancing their lenses because all manufacturers realise the importance of the camera capabilities. In situations where the telephoto lenses don’t produce the results, you can buy great external telephoto lenses from companies like Beast Grip and Moment.

Is smartphone filmmaking the future? Will more people be using their smartphones to film or make documentaries/videos?

Many documentaries and independent feature films are already using smartphones. Smartphone filmmaking isn’t the future but it will be a present, important, alternative that is advancing (technology) faster than standard camera systems. Sony Xperia predicts that the DSLR technology will be fully built into smartphone phones with optical lenses within a few years. The key point is that it’s an additional tool, an extra option, for filmmakers and journalists. The BBC academy trains their journalists in smartphone production from filming, sound and editing – this is standard.

What do you think this means for more traditional filmmaking?

Depends on what you mean by traditional filmmaking! I trained in 35mm, 16mm, and digital formats before moving to mobiles. The training, the skills needed, the experience and the knowledge do not change – smartphones just offer filmmakers a choice. Traditional filmmaking is not impacted by this because there will always be a need for different types of cameras for different types of shoots.

5.) Ethan Storm is the creative director of Seen, an international media company at the forefront of the mobile content revolution. Before joining in 2021, he honed his craft working on award-winning narrative and documentary projects for Netflix, Red Bull and some of South Africa’s leading networks and producers. His wide range of expertise in visual storytelling and production makes him a dynamic force – bringing equal measures of creativity and technical know-how to projects designed to go viral and reach millions of viewers.

Image: Provided

What are the key techniques or tools that mobile journalists need to master smartphone filmmaking?

For mobile journalism, the only tool you really need is one that you are walking around with every day which is your phone. It [mobile phone] allows you to get access into areas that you couldn’t necessarily get into with larger equipment. How you use that phone is where the techniques come in – the first thing you need to consider is what is your concept or idea. It is important to have a planning stage – where you write down what the structure of the video will be. From the scripting phase you move into storyboarding, you start to visualise environments or locations that would be ideal to line up with your script and tell a really great story.  Your phone is two things: it’s a microphone and a camera. Microphones capture audio, the less interference and background noise – the better, and your camera is a light capturing tool – the quality of light is hugely important. Just ensure that your image and audio are as good as they can be.

How can one tell a compelling story using a mobile phone?

We are living in an age where everything is on a feed and everybody’s scrolling quickly, and you only have a second or two to grab someone’s attention. Firstly, you need an opening hook combined ideally or alternatively with a strong opening visual. What we have found works well at Seen is a scene that is mid-action and something’s about to happen and we cut right before that moment of impact or before the moment is revealed. The first opening lines and the framing of a story are pivotal. 

What video and editing apps would you recommend?

LumaFusion, Splice, iMovie, VlogNow, and for graphic creation – Canva. 

Do you think that social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram have made smartphone filmmaking more mainstream? 

Yes, especially after Covid, we saw an acceleration of a trend that was already happening – the pandemic accelerated the idea of user-generated content. When we were confined to our homes, we realised that we could use our phones to tell our own stories.  What we do at Seen is try to empower communities to learn how to tell their stories and we have trained over 20,000 storytellers in over 140 countries. 

Is smartphone filmmaking the future? Will more people be using their smartphones to film or make documentaries/videos?

With the technological advances and democratisation of filmmaking, for a long time, it was this elite club where people couldn’t make films or documentaries because they didn’t have the gear, connections, and money. But now people can shoot content using their phones and it is about reframing an existing mobile phone that we already use into something that can be used for journalism. 

What do you think this means for more traditional filmmaking?

Yes, I think this was always going to happen, but it was accelerated due to the pandemic. It has taken a while for the industry to catch up. Brands are beginning to realise that maybe a more effective marketing strategy is through user-generated content and remote direction. At Seen, we did 43 videos with 43 children in 43 different villages around the world and we didn’t go to one of those places. We remote directed them, we scripted and storyboarded them, and we gave them the tools and the training so that they could tell their own stories, which I think is valuable. 

What advice would you give to mobile journalists?

Have a plan, good idea, or concept that can hook your audience. Be conscious of trends for example with hashtags don’t always go for the biggest trending hashtag, go for a medium hashtag that has a smaller flood of content which means you could penetrate a little better into people’s feeds – use optimal hashtags. The two most important aspects are authenticity and humility – you need to be willing to take constructive criticism as this is an ever-changing industry and you need to be able to adapt and take on feedback and not view it as a personal attack. Be authentic, talk about stories that you care about. 

Want to stay up to date with the latest journalism and media innovation news from the African continent? Subscribe to our newsletter.