Smartphone Video Production - 5 Tips to Improve Your Talking Head Videos

Smartphone Video Production - 5 Tips to Improve Your Talking Head Videos

So here we are, May 2020. Things weren’t supposed to turn out this way and now we all find ourselves in this challenging an unique situation.

Many of us are now temporarily stationed within our homes and trying to find ways of making use of the time. Many of us creatives, freelancers, business owners etc are trying to find ways to scratch the creative itch and take advantage of the time we have. 

One fantastic way that business owners in particular can use this time is to create some photo and video content for our businesses, whether to inform our customers and clients of our current pledge to support them where possible or simply create content to keep us in the clients minds. 

We all have our smartphones at immediate access to create this content so I though this would be a great time to share some essential and basic tips to get the most out of it. First up are some basic tips for shooting video - particularly aimed towards those looking to produce talking head style videos.

1. Film landsape orientation

This biggest “Problem” with using our phones for photo and video is that they are naturally comfortable being used in their normal portrait or vertical orientation. Recently we have become very accustomed to seeing clips online or submitted for broadcast to TV that have been filmed vertically. Whilst most people will consume video content on a mobile device held vertically, that presents its own challenge when this material is viewed elsewhere.

Mobiles and tablets aside, every other screen we see is horizontal, so treat your phone filming in this manner. The camera inside is actually optimised for filming horizontally, it also give you much more image real estate to work with if you decide to add text or graphics afterwards.

Not only this, if you decide to submit your video to a more “traditional” outlet such as TV or use on YouTube for example, your video is in the naturally accepted format and no other adjustments need to take place.

Trust me, I have worked with vertical video footage in projects where all other material was horizontal and it took a few extra steps to get that footage to work seamlessly. Your time and other people’s time is valuable!

2. Lighting 

Use natural lighting where possible. Your best light source is what’s coming through your windows so use this to your advantage. 

Unless the sun is streaming in, generally you are presented with a large soft and flattering light source. Place your phone on a window ledge or if you have a tripod, place your phone in front you here, using the window as your light source. When compared to facing with your back to the window, the differences are rather obvious.

One way to soften any harsh light is simply to close your blinds or if you have thin curtains these are perfect for diffusing the sunlight and creating a more flattering look. Alternatively if you have space and are using a tripod, simply come back from the window by about a metre, where the light falls off slightly. This also just helps keep a soft looking light on your face and means you aren’t likely to squint so much due to the brightness.

You can of course use side lighting as well but this requires much more control to get looking good, so a nice safe option is to use the example above.

When it comes to artificial lighting -  again you are often best to face towards it and use other smaller lights to fill or create depth by having them behind or to the side of you. Most indoor tungsten bulbs aren’t so flattering for lighting the face though, resulting in ugly colour casts.

Artificial lighting using a diffused, daylight balanced ‘key’ light with a subtle tungsten light to the side for accent.

If possible, look to changing your “main” light for your videos to a daylight balanced bulb then use the tungsten lights for adding warmth to your surroundings. This creates a good balance of colour.

Try to avoid fluorescent lights or low quality LED’s as their frequency can cause flickering or strobing effects in the video.

3. Look at the camera not the screen.

Its all too easy when starting out to look at the screen when filming, after all this has yourself as the subject in the frame, but be mindful that this isn’t what your viewers see.

It does look a bit odd when you look at the screen and is often compared to not giving direct eye contact when talking to someone in person. In this case, try to look directly at the lens and not the screen.

If you find it a hard habit to get out of, try filming using the rear camera if it helps. The rear camera is always better quality than the front camera anyway so you are likely to get a better image as a result. 

The only downside to using the rear camera is you can’t easily tap and hold the screen to activate the camera’s exposure and focus lock. Most smartphones use some form of facial recognition to get focus so you shouldn’t have too many issues.

4. Audio.

Good quality audio from your phone’s internal microphone comes from being as close as possible to it. If you have access to one, place your phone on a tripod as any handling of the phone can be picked up through the mic. Also try to film your videos where there is less echo or background noise.

If you wish to take a step further, there are relatively inexpensive options out there for additional microphones to improve the audio quality. Two options are Rode Smartlav+ a wearable lapel microphone or the Videomic Me. With an additional windshield this can use useful for outdoor recordings to reduce wind noise.

5. Don’t be shy.

Being on camera is actually rather nerve wracking especially if you are not used to it. You don’t have to write any scripts, but perhaps write some bullet points of key things to talk about so you keep your videos concise and to the point.

When you find yourself beginning to waffle or go off topic slightly, refer back to these in order to keep your message moving forward. Try to be natural, like you are talking to a friend, be yourself and the more you often you do it, the easier it will become. 

Bonus tips - plug in your phone to a power bank for extra charge while filming. Your filming might go on longer than intended and you don’t want to run out of juice, so plug your phone into a power bank whilst filming to ensure you get the most out of your time. 

Use third party apps for extra control if desired. Some free and paid for third party apps can help you take more control of your camera that the stock camera doesn’t provide. Adjustments such as altering frame rate, manual exposure adjustment and white balance control all help towards a much more polished video. Apps will vary by platform but a couple to check out are MoviePro or Filmic Pro. 

You may also wish to experiment with additional lenses, such as a wide angle if you want to get more in the frame or if you wish to present your video with two people. 

If you want to find out more about filming with your phone or simply have some questions, be sure to get in touch!

Dan