Mobile phone video

shaunyshaun1234

Hi all!

Does anyone on here do a bit of serious video with their mobile phones?

I've got a Huawei mate 20 Pro which has an excellent camera and have just purchased a gimbal to use with it! The actual gimbal movements are smooth but the footage itself blurs and makes me feel a bit motion sick if that makes sense?

Would this be something to with the frames per second? I was shooting at 1080p at 30fps.

I'll upload an example later!! 

Phil_C

Yes

I done my money for nothing cover with my Samsung S10+

1080p 60fps



Make sure you change the quality at the bottom 

shaunyshaun1234

Here's my video! Again turn the quality up and have a look at the blur. Not sure if I just need to slow the movements with the gimbal down about!

Excuse the shots and editing! First time out!! 

Phil_C

Forgot to mention, sometimes a video stability setting may reduce blur if your phone has it 

TeleMaster

You can do a lot with a phone camera but in my opinion it'll always look like you've done it on a phone camera. 

rocktron

@Phil_C : Nice looking "tiger stripes" guitar.

What finish is it - Iced Tea, or Tobacco Burst? 

Phil_C

rocktron said:

@Phil_C : Nice looking "tiger stripes" guitar.

What finish is it - Iced Tea, or Tobacco Burst? 

@rocktron ;

 It's desert burst mate. The bright light makes it look lighter than what it is

https://ibb.co/qWCJxyk

Electro_Ham

I'm pretty sure stabilization works at 16:9 1080p 60fps on the P20 pro

edit - it does, I just checked. Not sure if the Mate 20 pro is the same.

shaunyshaun1234

Electro_Ham said:

I'm pretty sure stabilization works at 16:9 1080p 60fps on the P20 pro

edit - it does, I just checked. Not sure if the Mate 20 pro is the same.

Thanks for that @Electro_Ham.
My only concern is that will the gimbal and stabilization fight against each other? 

Electro_Ham

I'm not sure as I don't really take many vids and dont have a gimbal. You might have a point though. Best just practice, adjust settings and see.

TTBZ

It’s probably the built in electronic image stabilisation doing that blurry/warping sort of effect. If using a gimbal you shouldn’t need any extra stabilisation anyway so turn that off if you can and try it again. For the most natural looking motion always film at 24 or 25fps. Higher frame rates have less motion blur and look weird and jerky and are generally only useful if you’re slowing the footage down afterwards.

Rabs

Yes I would guess at some kind of built in software that tries to stabilise the image.

I shot this on a Pixel 3..  Hated the phone in the end but it took good pictures and video.

RandallFlagg

Have a look at some of Thomas Alex Norman's videos where he gives you tips for using camera phones for cinematic quality shots:

https://youtu.be/wLRnVoi71T4

shaunyshaun1234

RandallFlagg said:

Have a look at some of Thomas Alex Norman's videos where he gives you tips for using camera phones for cinematic quality shots:

https://youtu.be/wLRnVoi71T4

He says "super nice" a lot but some great tips!!

Thanks for the help everyone. Sounds like it's a case of practising with it a lot more! 

ThePrettyDamned

Take off any in-built stabilisation if using a gimbal.

I don't have any issue with higher frame rates, but you'll get a nice look from 24/25fps. Faster is great for slow mo, or for super, super sharp footage if that's what you're looking for. Some people think it looks weirdly too sharp and lacking in blur when filming at, say, 60fps so ymmv. 

RobDavies

TeleMaster said:

You can do a lot with a phone camera but in my opinion it'll always look like you've done it on a phone camera. 

Not so sure.  I have a friend at work who, along with her husband have a travel related YouTube channel with 25k subscribers. Some of their stuff is shot on an iPhone, and it looks pretty good to me (but I'm no expert).

RandallFlagg

Slow down camera pans and move smoothly and slowly

robgilmo

Cinematic quality isnt just about the camera, if it were a mobile phone wouldn't even be in the race, its also about what you do with it, and what you do afterwards.
Imagine painting a wall, none will notice the odd run here and there if the wall was beautiful to begin with and you painted it in stunning colours and made it look great, and no one will care about the paint quality.
Now go forth, capture that wall with thy phone, in stunning cinematic quality!

Roland

Last week I went to a Musicians Union day on making video logs. They advocated filming on your mobile ‘phone, but using the main camera rather than the selfie cam which is often lower quality.

hollywoodrox

There are a few films that have been pro shot on iPhones and you can get a pro type anamorphic lens compatible with Filmora go. You don’t even need a fancy phone as they have been done with as little as a 5s.

i have an SE . I don’t even use mobile phones ,it hasn’t had any credit in since I got it .
I just wanted a useful portable computer with built in video camera and various music add ones available . It’s amazing when you see what can be done with simple iPhones . They even have garage band/iMovie  for free and some great apps like metronomes ,slow downers etc