Get a Grip - 5 Ways to Get Steady Handheld Footage
One of the best ways you can get more cinematic footage on your phone is to be aware of how you’re handling the phone. We’re going to look at five methods I use to film handheld on my phone and how they can improve the quality of footage you’re capturing!
Stability on your phone can completely change the quality of your footage. Unless you’re on a tripod, you’re most likely filming handheld. As a result, you’re going to have small movements that can distract the viewer from the story you’re trying to tell. Often called “microjitters,” these small movements are improved by the phone’s onboard stabilization. But anytime you jump into those tighter lenses, you’re going to be having an even harder time eliminating these.
The biggest way to improve the movements are to get a better grip on your phone. There are countless tools on the market, but today we’re going to look at the five main ways I capture handheld footage. I’ll throw links in the description to all of the gear I discuss if anything catches your fancy!
NAKED PHONE
I don’t want to make it sound like I always use extra gear to capture footage. One of the best advantages to using your phone as a camera is that you most likely always have it on hand. Inspiration hits while you’re strolling on the beach? You can quickly pull out your phone and grab some footage. The key is to make sure you have a solid grip on the phone so you can get the most stable footage possible. I usually try to have two hands on the phone, and keep an awareness of the position of the phone as I shoot. You want your arms to move in more of a synchronized manner, working to keep the phone from wobbling.
Another trick I’ll do is I try to find something in the environment to help stabilize the phone. Sometimes that’s sitting my hands on a nearby rock or ledge, almost just using my hands as a sort of tripod. Or, if I want it to be a moving shot, I use that platform as a way to keep my movement stable. It keeps my movement stable on a single axis, so I’m not moving left to right while also drifting up and down. You just want to find something that allows you to frame out your shot, then work to make the platform serve the shot.
The thing you want to keep an eye on is not wobbling the phone while you move it. You want your movement to be intentional and consistent. This helps to keep the shot looking a bit more “cinematic” and less hectic! The less you’re needing to float your arms and hands in the air, the less chance of unwanted movement.
SMALL GRIP
If you’re wanting to just supplement your phone’s grip, you can take a look at some of the smaller grips on the market. These can vary in price and features, but the very least is that you want it to give you a more comfortable grip on the phone. On the lower cost end, you have something like the Ulanzi camera grip. This is just a basic clamp style phone mount, so it will work with a wide variety of phone sizes and makers. The appeal of this is that it gives your phone a bit more of a traditional camera grip, allowing you to have a more solid grip on the phone.
If you’re an iPhone user and want something with a few more features, Shiftcam offers the SnapGrip, which connects to your phone via Magsafe. It also have a built in charger, so it gives you a bit of a battery boost throughout the day. If you’re out filming on a hot day, though, you’re going to want to use the charger sparingly as using a charger while also filming can sometimes overheat your phone. Just use the charger between shots or as you’re traveling to locations, and you’re going to be good to go!
Both options offer a remote trigger so you can start and stop your recordings from a touch of a button, keeping your fingers off the screens just a bit more.
CAGE
Another option is to utilize a cage for your phone. Cages come in all shapes and sizes, but I’ve been using the Smallrig Phone Cage. It’s a very solid piece of gear that gives you all sorts of options for rigging out your phone. It’s loaded with cold shoe mounts for things like audio or hard drives, plus numerous 1/4 inch attachment points. You could throw side handles on it if you wanted an even more solid grip. This cage does offer a very solid magsafe mounting system, but I actually opted to use a locking phone mount as the ND filter system I previously used connected via Magsafe. You can easily rig this cage up to have a hard drive, audio system, and anything else you need so that when you’re heading out to film you just attach the phone and plug it in.
The biggest downside I’ve personally run into with this is that the current case I use, the Polar Pro, doesn’t allow me to use my ND filter mounting system if I’m on this cage. The Polar Pro ND mount calls for a 67mm filter, and the Variable ND filter I use is just ever so slightly too large for the mount. If I use the locking mount, I can barely get the phone onto the rig, but it’s hardly a quick process. I could definitely fix this inconvenience, and if I’m in an environment where I don’t need an ND filter then it’s not an issue in the slightest.
Regardless, the plus side of the cage is that you get an even better two handed setup for holding and maneuvering your phone, while also getting quite a few mounting points to add accessories as needed. Kinda hard to throw this into your pocket, but I’m usually using a sling so it’s not hard to just throw it in.
GIMBAL
The gimbal is a great tool to get more stable shots, but it’s going to take some training to master. For those that aren’t aware, a gimbal uses a set of motors and gyroscopes to keep your camera stable while you move around. It offsets the movements of the gimbal to eliminate some of the extra hand and body movements that may happen. If you don’t have a gimbal handy, just grab a chicken. Same idea.
The issue with a gimbal is that they take some learning. A gimbal is only effective if you properly balance it beforehand. The motors can offset movement, but if it’s not balanced then you are going to put extra strain on the motors. Too much of that, and it’s just going to burn them out and not work effectively. You also need to know how to maneuver the gimbal, or you’re still going to have some unwanted movement in the shot. One way to simulate a gimbal is by using “action mode” on an iPhone. This emulates the same type of stabilization, but at a visual quality loss.
ZACUTO SMART Z-FINDER
Finally, you can use something totally out of left field like the Zacuto Smart Z-Finder. Zacuto was kind enough to send one of these to demo, and I’m going to do a full run down and deep dive into it in my next video. This gives you an entirely different type of grip on your camera, but one that can yield incredibly stable shots with minimal setup.
I wanted to close by saying thanks to those who’ve reached out over the past few weeks while I was away from the channel. For those that are unaware, I lost my father unexpectedly back in November after he passed away peacefully in his sleep while on a sailing trip in the Atlantic. Thus my absence from the channel - I stepped away for a bit while we processed the loss and focused on family.
My love of filmmaking began when I was a kid and saw both he and my grandfather making silly videos, and I started to create my own in High School. Little did I know that these videos would lead to a career, but it would have never started if it wasn’t for his inspiration. He even jumped onto Youtube before me, creating recaps of some of his sailing trips. I’m going to share a link to his channel in the comments, but wanted to honor him with the traditonal way that sailors signal the end of watch - eight bells. Thanks for everything, dad.
