Life is full of these small moments! Moments that may be silly or insignificant to others but are important to you. I’ve found over the past few months that my favourite way to document these small moments that is fun and creative is by creating these small films.
Some of these films are more complex, longer in length, and require more planning like my cinematic gender reveal video. While other’s I create on the go, they’re short at 30 seconds long and I make it up as I go along.
No matter their length, complexity, or the gear that I use what’s important is that they document the moment and tell a story.
In todays post I want to share with you how I create these small films on my phone!
What is the film about?
Before I even create the film I take a minute to think about what the film is even about. For example, in my cinematic gender reveal film it was about revealing our baby’s gender to our friends and family.
In the film we are creating today it was about attending our prenatal class!
Getting the clips
As I said earlier, some films I spend more time planning what clips I want to get, and really think through the sequence of the story. However, with this film I was creating it on the go.
I do find if I am travelling somewhere I like to get two types of shots: (1) transportation shot and (2) establishing shot.
Transportation shot: This kind of shot in the storyline shows that I’m travelling somewhere. It could be a shot showing that I’m getting in the car, driving somewhere, walking somewhere, etc.,
Establishing shot: This kind of shot shows my surroundings (where I am) once I arrive.
Because I was filming this story on the go, once I arrive I’ll get whatever small clips I see that I feel will add to the story (this is where having a clear definition of your film comes in handy, especially if you’re creating without a plan).
When I’m filming these clips a few things I consider:
Frame Rate: I film these clips in 60 FPS so I can slow any of them down by 50% in post
Movement: I’ll add as much movement as I can (moving the camera side to side, up and down, moving into the subject and back, etc.,)
Horizontal vs. Vertical: If I know I want to post the film to Instagram Reels I will film the clips vertically. However, every other time I’ll film horizontally.
Culling & Color Correction
After I have all my clips, my next step is to cull - select the shots that I want to edit and insert in the film. If I filmed the videos on my phone I’ll favourite the clips that I want to edit.
After I have my clips selected I’ll color correct. Again, if I am filming and editing on my phone then I’ll color correct using either the software in my photos app or within the editing app.
Editing in CapCut
Once color correction is done I’ll start editing in CapCut. CapCut is the editing app on my phone that I prefer to use for editing phone films because it’s got a lot of functionality and it’s easy to use.
Step 1: Importing the Clips
The first step is importing the clips into the app. I prefer to import the clips in the order that I would like to see the film. This way I don’t have to spend a chunk of time re-arranging the clips afterward.
Step 2: Rough Cut
After all the clips are imported and in the correct order I’ll rough cut the clips. I’m essentially, shortening each clip to the most important part and slowing down any clips by 50%. Doing this step makes the film more manageable to work with.
Step 3: Add Music
By preference I like to sync the clips to the beat of the music. I’ve really been liking the online source Uppbeat for my copyright free music needs. After I know what soundtrack I want I’ll add the track to the app and cut the clips down to the beat of the music. This step normally takes the longest!
Step 4: Add Text
This is optional. Many films don’t have text overlaid, however, I find if there are no talking or voiceovers I like to add some text for context as to what is going on in the film.
Exporting
Once I’m happy with the edits I’ll export the film!
Creating these small films has been my favourite way lately to document small and big moments! If you’re looking for a way to document moments without taking away from them in a creative format I highly suggest giving this a try!
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Beautifully Wander | Robynne MacLeod