software What do I need to get started?

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WinonaRyder4ever

Hi,

I'd like to start shooting a film. I have a smartphone and am going to get one of those swival holders. Suppose beyond that I need a editing software. Is there one out there folks would recommend?

Also, am I forgetting anything else? I just want to play around at first. Not looking to shoot Avatar out of the gate.
 
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if you have a GPU that can handle it, davinci resolve is free and great for editing.
You want a reflector or bounce board of some kind too for outdoor filming, so you can cheaply add fill light and get rid of ugly sun shadows.

And then something for sound... sound can get really expensive and I'm not an expert or anything on sound to recommend you gear, but recording sound on a cell phone from 10 feet away isn't going to cut it for most viewers. Personally i have a sound devices mm-1 preamp and a audix scx-one for indoor audio, and recommend ntg-3 for outdoor audio.
 
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sfoster said:
if you have a GPU that can handle it, davinci resolve is free and great for editing.
You want a reflector or bounce board of some kind too for outdoor filming, so you can cheaply add fill light and get rid of ugly sun shadows.

And then something for sound... sound can get really expensive and I'm not an expert or anything on sound to recommend you gear, but recording sound on a cell phone from 10 feet away isn't going to cut it for most viewers. Personally i have a sound devices mm-1 preamp and a audix scx-one for indoor audio, and recommend ntg-3 for outdoor audio.
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Thank you for the detailed response. I'll take a look at davinci.
 
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I second DaVinci. It has editing, VFX, color, and sound mixing built into one application. Really is the best value for an indie filmmaker. For sound, a Zoom H4n is pretty cheap, but you'll need two mics and a cable to go with it, plus someone to operate. Why two mics? One for indoors, one for outdoors (in a nutshell).

You can also do ADR for every line of dialogue but speaking from experience, you'll need to do a bomb job in post with your mix to make it work. Looking forward to seeing what you do!
 
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WinonaRyder4ever said:
android, short, just me.
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Okay, so you might hold off on purchasing a whole lot of stuff. You’re shooting on your phone, and it’s just you making these films. The more gear you get involved, the more distracted you’ll be in trying to deal with all of it. That makes for a pretty rough ride and can negatively affect your end product.

At the very least, look for a small tripod and phone clip so you can get your phone set up in the right places. Outside of that, the only thing you might want to deal with is your sound (if you’ll be speaking on-camera). There are two ways to go with this. You can get a small mic that mounts on your phone (such as the RØDE VideoMicro II). If you get a tripod clip for your phone that has a shoe mount on top, you can mount this mic and at least have something with a bit more directional response. Putting the mic on top of the camera is, in the grand scheme, the last place to put a mic for great dialog, but for what you’re doing it may give you enough to play around. This is the most affordable option. Otherwise, you could go for a low-cost wireless mic system like the RØDE Wireless GO II, with which you’ll also want a lavalier mic like the RØDE Lavalier GO. This is a more expensive option, but it allows the mic to be properly placed on you so that the mic is close to the dialog.

99.99% of the time, I’d avoid suggesting a camera-top mic. But we’re not talking about a typical scenario here. This is just you and your phone, and the point here is not to spend a whole lot of money on stuff that might or might not see longterm use.

That’s about it. Honestly, I wouldn’t put much more money into it than that if you’re just dipping your toe in the water to see how you like it. The VideoMicro also means that you have a mic to capture sound when you’re shooting without anyone in the picture, so you get the traffic on the highway or the creek in the mountains or the birds in the trees. And if you start making shorts and realize it’s something you love to do, and you want to get more complex (and have more people involved), then it’s time to look at more tools for the job.

As for editing, Resolve has a free version but know that there’s a learning curve. You might also look at LumaFusion, which now has a version for Android. It’s an editing app for mobile, and it has some impressive capabilities.
 
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There's a trick that realtors use to shoot a house without the video getting all jerked around. Hold your phone horizontally with your main hand, and grab your wrist from the front with your opposite hand, with your thumb and middle finger squeezing around the radial-ulna joint (the small of the wrist), Hold the wrist snugly and move your entire arm to point the camera, trying to not move your hand independently . Want to pan left, you move your arm left (which often means turning your entire body). Tilt up or down by pointing your entire arm up or down. That will eliminate the jiggling and jerkiness normally associated with phone videos. Eventually, you'll get used to moving your camera without having to hold your wrist, and without getting motion sickness watching your own videos.
 
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the first thing i would do is get a tripod. you can find very cheap second hand ones on flea markets. i bought one for $5. i use this cheap one if i have to shoot in places where my tripod could get damaged. for sound i second the previous post. dub the sound in the computer later if the subject is at a distance.
 
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