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1. Get the lighting right Proper lighting could make or break video imaging. If you get it right, you would be amazed at the image quality you can get. Don’t be afraid to play around. Trial and error is the best teacher! Smartphones have small image sensors and lenses, and therefore you need as much light as possible. Shooting outdoors is preferable. The African sunlight between 10h00 and 16h00 is very harsh, and once you reach lunchtime, it is directly from above. You will end up with unnecessary shadows – which on a face is very unflattering – and could result in overexposure on a product. By shooting in the shade you could solve that, but be very aware of the background. Standing under a tree is fine but the bright light behind your subject will flare up, and you will end up with only a silhouette. Aiming towards the sun would have the same effect and will result in unusable footage and could cause lens flare. Lens flair could be a very interesting effect only if it were intentioned. Shooting after daybreak and at sunset is the best time of the day. The sun is low, and the light is warm. Your smartphone should always be between you and the light source. To eliminate shadows, say on a face, you could use reflected light. Reflector boards are available but could be quite pricey. Create your own! There are many types of reflective surfaces under your nose. Polystyrene boards are commonly used on professional film sets. You could test any white surface ranging from paper or board to even stretched cloth. However, it should be stabilised. Play around with silver or golden fabrics. A professional reflector board is in fact nothing more than that. Coloured fabrics could create an interesting effect. Mirrors are not favourable since it would blind your subject. But it could, however, be very useful as back-lighting when filming a product. The same applies to aluminum foil. Aluminum foil has two sides. The dull side is very usable. If you would like more reflection from the shiny side of the foil, crumple it up and then flatten it again. The results with foil will give your subject a silver tinge and illuminate shadows. The foil is not always ideal for darker skins. Use a golden fabric and you will be amazed at the warmth and glow it adds to a dark skin. TIP: Buy a cheap plastic hoop from a toy shop – many supermarkets carry them as well - and pin or sew the stretched fabric over it. The smartphone’s image sensors do not favour dramatic contrast and will overcompensate. Therefore: Shoot dark skins against dark backgrounds or else you will only see eyes and teeth. Film light skins against lighter backgrounds. Filming indoors: Lighting should be stable and steady; the image sensors in most smartphones do not react to dramatic changes in lighting very quickly. Try recording a nighttime video on your phone, and you'll be disappointed. And even shooting indoors with lights on can be problematic, with white balance and other issues to contend with. The problem with shooting indoors is that normal bulbs are rarely enough. Apart from that it is mostly from above. Supplement it by using table lamps - set on eye level – or reflectors boards (as above) to compensate for shadows. Avoid bright light behind the subject. If the light is still making it tough to shoot your video, try and work with back-lighting and white balance settings if your phone or app provides them. Filming in low-light will make it difficult to maintain focus. Most phones offer “touch focusing” in the event your camera is focusing on the wrong area of your composition. After setting the focus on the most important aspect of the video, the automatic exposure control will have an easier time making small adjustments if lighting condition begins to change. If shooting indoors, by day, set the camera up sandwiched between the window and the subject.
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