Should you make your next video on your smartphone? 

Ah, smartphones. You use them for pretty much everything already, so why not your next video project, too? You’ve seen what your eleven year old niece creates for TikTok – and all she’s using is your brother’s crummy Samsung Galaxy from 2016. Surely your brand new iPhone 13 Pro Max can do the trick? 

Look. We’ve no doubt your niece has a gorgeous aesthetic and a seriously steady hand. But please – from one video creator to another. Don’t let her TikTok clips fool you into thinking that a great video can be made with a basic camera phone and a pretty background.

Yes smartphones are getting ..well ..smarter and smarter as the years roll on. That iPhone 13 you’re holding comes with portrait lighting, cinematic mode and can record in 4K. And it all sits in the palm of your hand. 

So we get it. If you want to start making movie magic quick smart, using your smartphone seems like the fastest and most cost effective option available. 

But will it actually generate the results you’re hoping for? This is the big question we’re pondering in this blog post. Let’s dive in and find out if you should make a video on your phone. 

To be fair, sometimes fusing phone footage with professionally shot footage can work wonders 

Don’t get us wrong, your camera phone is an awesome tool. Especially for capturing spontaneous moments, short snippets or everyday life. And you can absolutely work these clips into your video without it dialling down the production value. 

If you’re creating a documentary for example,  including some phone footage from one of your subjects  hanging out with their family can work wonders and really build on the storytelling. 

Just don’t make smartphone footage your whole film. 

Hold on. Doesn’t Apple shoot its TV commercials entirely on the latest iPhone? 

Good question. And yes, you’re right – in theory. 

Apple has ended most of its ads since the early 2010s with the simple line: ‘shot on iPhone’. But you know what doesn’t make it on screen? The fact that the iPhone is  supported by an incredibly experienced director (Ivan and Jason Reitman did the latest), a lighting crew, the best audio equipment money can buy and a team of editors to polish it into perfection.

Oh. And (likely) an unlimited budget for location, talent and all the other ins and outs of a film set. 

Do you have all those things at your fingertips? You do? Well then, this post wasn’t written for you. Please – get to work and make that soon-to-be award winning film on your smartphone. We hope to see it at Sundance or South by Southwest sometime soon. 

Everyone else? Rest assured, there’s absolutely no harm in experimenting with your smartphone. But if you want to make a compelling video that showcases your offering, you should consider speaking to a professional video production house. 

But won’t that cost a bomb? 

Yes, there’s always costs when you outsource. But just like using an accredited accountant to look after your books, hiring a video production agency to film your company or brand video is money well spent. 

Filmmakers and video creators are trained professionals who have invested years into their craft. And tens of thousands of dollars into their camera, lightening and audio equipment. They already have all that complicated stuff – so you don’t have to fork out for it (let alone work out how to use it). 

A video production agency can guarantee clean audio, amazing picture quality and can help you drill down on the exact type of video you need too. Plus they’ll have the tools to edit your video into an engaging piece of content that can be shared across the platform of your choice – like YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn or your company website. 

The more professional looking video, the better the result 

That’s our opinion at least. So to answer the question posed at the top of this post: should you make a  video on your phone? We say: NO WAY.  

And of course, there are some exceptions. If your choices are: create a video on your personal device or don’t create a video at all  – then please. Pull that phone out of your pocket and get to work. We understand that not everyone has the budget or time to join forces with a professional video production company (although you’d be surprised by how affordable and flexible many filmmakers are). But as a rule, if you can avoid filming your entire video on your smartphone, do it. Your audience (and brand reputation) will thank you for it. 

We made the Moonshine Moonshot series to help aspiring video producers like you create engaging content every time you roll camera. Our mission is to eliminate boring videos – so you never make (or see) one ever again. We publish new eps to our YouTube channel every Tuesday. Subscribe over here to know when they land first.