3 Essentials for Mobile Movie Making

Ok, you can definitely make great videos with your smartphone alone, but if you want to take your filming up a notch some basic gear will help. Not much. Just a few investment pieces that will you will love and use until they fall apart from working so hard for you. And it’s going to make a WORLD of difference to your filming! Oh my, you don’t even know how good it’s going to get. I’ve rounded up the three bits of essential kit I can’t shoot without. Are you ready?

Are you dying of boredom? Stop. Seriously, this is no ordinary tripod. Yes, you can use a standard three-legged one and it will be better than going handheld, but I am talking about something else. A bendy tripod. Uneven surface? Bring it! Bumpy ground, you’ve got this. Plus its red rubber feet give it outstanding grip. The bendy legs also wrap around almost anything. I’ve attached mine to handlebars, fence posts, trees, pipes. Or hold the legs together to create a mini-selfie stick. It gives you filming opportunities you never knew existed! But it’s also got some cool, unsung features. A super-swivel ball head means it can point in almost any direction, and there’s also a spirit level, so you can check you are bang on the horizon and eliminate wonky shots forever. Game changing!

Ok, so you’ve got the incredible tripod of dreams. Now you need something to attach your mobile it to. A regular mobile mount will do the job, but if you are flipping between shooting for Insta stories and video content for your website you need something that’ll let you switch from vertical to horizontal in seconds. This one works with all standard tripod mounts, but gives you the option to change your orientation on the fly. Also, it hugs my phone. While many other mounts are just glorified rubber bands, this clamps around your mobile to keep it in position, so you can shoot any angle with confidence.

Have you ever heard the audio your phone records? It’s terrible. Why? Because it’s trying to pick up sound from everywhere! It’s like recording in an echo chamber! If the sound matters at all to what you’re filming, get yourself an external mic. This baby is my fave. It comes with a short little cable, which is great if you’re filming yourself on camera, but you’ll need a longer cable if you’re using it for interviews. Yes, it’s pricer than other mics, but it’s a fantastic brand and the quality is fab. If you don’t notice a difference immediately, you need your ears checking.

What’s on your list? Have you got any mobile movie must-haves? Please share and let me know if there’s any gear I should be checking out!

Lottie
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