Your phone and tablet are the top filmmaking and photo accessories
Table of contents
Smartphone cameras may be making impressive progress thanks to computational photography and plenty of innovation in sensor technology, but they’re still not usually chosen for shooting professional photos and videos like we see in themovies we rent and stream. Dedicated cameras with large sensors and top-tier lenses remain the obvious choice at that level, but smartphones and tablets have been creeping into the production process. Gear makers are regularly inventing new ways to turn our pocket-sized gadgets into indispensable accessories for photography and filmmaking.
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Object tracking
Hollywood has been using gimbals for a long time, but for most of their history, they have only been used to minimize shakes and maintain a level horizon. However, smartphone gimbals are responsible for evolving new features that have transitioned back to larger gimbals.
The first is based on object tracking, a staple feature found in almost all modernsmartphone gimbalsfrom companies like Zhiyun and DJI. This has become a handy feature for solo vloggers that enables them to move around while the gimbal continuously reorients to keep them centered in the frame.
This capability found its way into larger gimbals intended to hold DSLR cameras, particularly the Weebill line from Zhiyun. However, instead of relying on the main camera to perform object tracking and communication with the gimbal, a smartphone is mounted on top of the camera to perform that role. As the gimbal moves to keep the smartphone pointed at the subject, the main camera is along for the ride and keeps the subject in the frame.
This gadget allows a camera to be positioned in dangerous or hard-to-reach locations without requiring the operator to be physically involved with pointing it at the actors, a car, or anything else that may be the focus of the scene.
Freeform motion control
Another similar gimbal-based capability evolved alongside object tracking, but this one doesn’t involve mounting a smartphone on top of a camera or anywhere on the gimbal. Instead, an app on a smartphone tracks its orientation and direction based on the internal sensors. The app communicates those movements to the gimbal so that they can be mirrored. This has become a popular feature in Zhiyun’s Crane and Weebill line and the DJI Ronin gimbals.
Much like object tracking, this makes it possible to put a camera in places that aren’t easily accessible, like atop a tall pole or sticking out the side of a moving car. The camera operator can be stationed nearby and out of harm’s way while they twist a phone around in the air to control the camera’s orientation.
Automated sliders, jibs, and more
Gimbals aren’t the only robots used in filmmaking. Sliders, jibs, heads, and assorted other contraptions have become smarter, more precise, and highly programmable. Many of them are operated by an app on a smartphone.
For the last few years, companies like Edelkrone and Rhino have been making sliders, jibs, and other devices designed to move a camera in specific ways. They’re often used to repeat a camera motion, so they can capture two identical movements for special effects like cloning a person or making a person vanish from a scene.
Precision movement is also important for shots that require perfect timing because they are expensive to reproduce or can only be done once. This is fairly common when controlled explosions or props have to be destroyed in a scene.
There are plenty of more powerful and elaborate robots used in Hollywood and advertising, but most of those are controlled by software on a laptop. However, we’ve seenMKBHD operate one with an Xbox controller, so we’re probably not too far away from seeing phones controlling these.
StageCraft
Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) is highly regarded for creating the special effects in famous movies and series. The most famous of its recent creations is StageCraft, a sound stage set encircled with walls and a partial ceiling made of high-resolution LED panels that can dynamically change backdrops and lighting. This has been used extensively during the production ofThe MandalorianandBook of Boba Fett, along with several others.
The scenes are developed on computers in 3D modeling software and rendered using Unreal Engine. The detail that often falls under the radar is that most on-set operations are done using iPads. Almost everything that needs to be managed during filming can be done on lightweight tablets that aren’t physically tethered to anything. This enables the filming crew to quickly change the angle of the digital environment and reposition some objects while freely walking around to assess camera angles. And since they’re using an off-the-shelf product, it’s low-cost, scalable, and easily replaceable.
Controlling lights
StageCraft is an impressive example of using tablets on set, but there are more accessible examples of remote control hardware in consumer-grade gear. The most common among these are lights.
There are several examples, but Aputure may be one of the most recognizable thanks to its investment in its control system called Sidus Link. The app allows users to control the intensity and color temperature (or colors in an RGB light) of any connected light or a group of lights. The capabilities are similar to that of household smart bulbs, likePhilips Hue, LIFX, and others. Aputure’s lights are higher power and higher quality.
Much like the advantages in some of the previous examples, the connectivity allows a cinematographer or DP (director of photography) to make changes to the lighting while standing behind the camera or staring at a monitor rather than relying on assistants to manually change settings on each light individually.
Monitors and remote viewing
One of the more obvious and straightforward ways to use a smartphone or tablet is to put them to work as wireless camera controllers. Almost every modern consumer digital camera on the market offers wireless connectivity with iOS and Android through apps that can see a live feed from the sensor and control basic functions and settings. However, the typical app experience is limited in functionality, leaving room for tools that can achieve significantly more.
Within the area of architectural and real estate photography, the Cam Ranger has become one of the go-to tools for capturing shots remotely. This is a fairly simple device that plugs directly into a camera and transmits a live feed to a smartphone or tablet. What sets it apart from the manufacturer’s standard app are several advanced features and automations for things like exposure or focus bracketing and timelapses. It typically has much better range and optimizations compared to most cameras, so it should outperform them at a distance.
Some cameras rely on another device to act as a viewfinder. Some of these, particularly action cameras like a GoPro or DJI Action, have either very tiny displays or no display at all. As a result, framing a shot can only be done using another device that can connect wirelessly to see a live video feed.
Audio recording
While not technically part of capturing an image, audio is an important and often overlooked part of producing good video. There are a few solutions for capturing audio on set, but field recorders are almost always the obvious choice when you need something small and portable to connect to the other end of a microphone cable.
Most field recorders offer features for modifying with standard filters or applying special effects, but they’re generally used to record. The majority will only be attached to a single mic, where they travel with either an actor or a boom operator. However, filmmakers on a budget sometimes use smartphones as a no-cost alternative to a field recorder. Earlier this year, wereviewed a few microphones from RODEusing only smartphones as field recorders.
This requires the use of a microphone with a digital output or a decent analog-to-digital adapter. Since it’s a digital signal by the time it reaches the USB port, it generally won’t matter if it’s an older phone repurposed to take on this job. Any necessary functions of a standard field recorder can be accomplished through a good recording app, and the audio processing will be done on a computer during editing.
The new filmmaking accessories
Professional cameras aren’t going anywhere for a long time, and many of thebest video streaming servicesmandate the use of specific cameras. However, our smartphones and tablets combine high-resolution displays, wireless connectivity, powerful processors, and numerous sensors to enable near-limitless interactions with other gear. With the addition of some clever software, it becomes possible to re-engineer the high-end gear to make it cheaper, easier to work with, and more effective.
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