Tips for recording video

Published by at

Riffing off a Nokia Conversations promotional piece for the 808, Jay Montano has put together a useful bullet point 'how to' list to help out when shooting videos of concerts and other live music on the Nokia 808 PureView, though it's also partly applicable to shooting video on other smartphones. See his list below, along with some of my comments. See also my own original AAS tutorial on a similar subject, from last year, before the Nokia 808 had been announced...

From Jay's lists, and I've added emboldened notes of my own where appropriate:

  • Don’t cover microphones with your hands (easy to avoid on the 808 in particular, but get to know where the mike holes are on your phone)
  • Use tripod or handheld stabiliser (particularly important when using the PureView zoom, since any hand movements will be amplified)
  • Don’t change focus if moving around – wait until you stop and then focus.
  • Try and stay within 50m of the stage. This will apparently affect video due to reduced lighting (though we have seen PureView’s zoom assist here in bringing the action closer).
  • Nokia 808 PureView has spotlight scene for greater contrast. Use this if someone is standing underneath a spotlight.
  • If you’re moshing, put your phone on a wrist strap in case it falls off your hand (never done this, but I'll regret not doing it one day, I suspect!)
  • Pan slowly. This will ensure your video is clearer (the number one rookie mistake - panning too quickly. Aim to pan THREE times slower than you think you need to.)
  • Use the LED/turn it off when appropriate. Close up open mics, the LED light might help otherwise, keep it off.
  • Building on the tripod tip, use this to get some unusually high view points.
  • Watch out for your battery! Video recording eats up more juice. Think about bringing a spare battery (because the batteries are interchangeable on the 808) or even better, bring a portable charger so you can have continuous recording.
  • If you have other cameras, use them to (make your friends do some recording) as least get some different view points that you can mash later in a video. You can trust yourself to keep the best video and audio on your 808. If you’re lucky, your other friends also have 808s.

A good tips summary for shooting concert video all round, I think, even if you don't own the 808. 

As an example of what can be achieved, here's a recent video from 808 PureView Music Recordings, a good feed to follow to see what others are capturing music-wise with the 808. It's 'Ruby Jane Show' at Rauma Blues festival:

Source / Credit: My Nokia Blog