The Power of Media is in Our Hands!

Our cell phone cameras are changing history

By: Rick Clear, SCLC Staff Videographer

The power of the media is in our hands.... Literally!

Whether we are a candidate for office, trying to convey a message, or fighting a worthy cause, the power to engage the public at large is on our desktops, laptops, iPads, and most importantly today, on our phones!

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. knew very well the power of the media in his day, and he made use of the media very strategically. Media was a most important part of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950’s and 60’s. Today, in our pockets, most of us carry the most powerful form of media ever known in history... the cell phone camera!

Journalism is known to be the “first draft of history.” And in 2023 we are those journalists recording history everywhere we go!

In recent years we have witnessed the power of cell phone video in our national news. Dramatic cell phone video has been a decisive contributor for justice in the brutal slayings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Aubery, Tyre Nichols, and others. These are the kind of events no one wants to be present to witness. And, thankfully, most of us will never confront such horrific moments. However, most of us can be powerful contributors to society by using our personal media resources in very engaging ways.

We are comfortable using our phones to take “selfies” or short clips of family and friends. We should begin to think about using our phones' video capabilities for more serious endeavors. With just a little thought and practice we can be the next generation of professional video journalists using only our cell phone cameras.

It might just be you, who would enjoy taking a leading role in your organization's efforts at providing higher quality video presentations using your cell phone. Video recording or livestreaming meetings, interviews, promotions, or newsworthy events could make an enormous difference in your organization's community engagement. This article will share some simple techniques and inexpensive accessories that will make your cell phone videos look and sound professional.

Where Should Videos Be Posted?

Most of our videos will find their way to social media platforms. Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter are by far the best places for public engagement. Each site has its own incredibly special audiences, and it is best to post to all of them if possible. If we had to choose two sites on which to share our videos, we could assume YouTube and Facebook or Instagram would be best choices. YouTube is referred to as an “evergreen” site. YouTube videos are always in place on your organization’s YouTube Channel. YouTube videos hold a permanent location on YouTube. In contrast Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are constantly moving. A video post made to these sites will engage your friends and subscribers, but the video will constantly be moving down in their timelines.

Vertical or Horizontal Camera Angle?

Holding a phone camera horizontally will give your audience a more natural way of watching your video. Horizontal videos give a wider view of the subject matter. Horizontal will look very professional. YouTube and Facebook will post horizontal videos as a full screen presentation. This makes your video more appealing to an audience. YouTube and Facebook both now have new types of posts called “shorts” and “reels”. These are short video clips that are shown as vertical videos. Keep in mind that you can always make a full screen horizontal video into a vertical video but making a vertical video into a horizontal video will not present a desirable outcome.

So, always shoot horizontally with your phone and you will have the most engaging video.

Use A Phone Tripod—Steady Video Is a Must!

Using a tripod of some type will improve your video quality. No one wants to watch a shaky video. Steady video shots are necessary. Tripods and Tripod Phone Adaptors are not expensive at all. Small tripods, for $10.00 or less, can be set on a desktop or tabletop. Full sized tripods which are very compact and lightweight can be purchased for less than $20.00. These tripods will create all the difference in making your videos stable and watchable.

Where Should I Position Myself When Shooting Video?

Remember our audience does not see things on video the way we are seeing them in person. Nothing is worse for a viewer than when a camera is in the back of a room and the subject at the front of the room is so small, they are not recognizable. It is always best to keep the camera zoomed all the way out. Then, you move your camera forward to capture only the subjects in the frame. Zooming in with a phone camera will cause the picture to become more pixelated and be of less quality. So, always zoom all the way out and move the camera in to frame the shot.

If doing an interview with one or two people, have them stand close together. And again, move your camera in to fill the frame with the subjects. Being within one to three feet of the subject will also allow proximity for the camera microphone to pick up quality audio.

Achieving Best Audio Quality!

Even the best video is not engaging if the audio is of inferior quality. The simplest way to achieve great audio is to be near the subject. However, if we are in a large room with no external microphone, how can we get the best audio with our video? If the event is using a public address system, look to where the public address system speakers are located. Moving the camera and tripod closer to the speaker system and recording the presenter from an angle is acceptable and will give the video much clearer and understandable audio.

The best audio is achieved by having an external microphone attached to the phone camera. All current cell phones accept external microphones with appropriate adaptors. Adaptors can be purchased online very inexpensively. These adaptors will allow a variety of microphones to be plugged directly into the phone camera.

Today’s phone cameras produce extraordinarily high-quality video. Many phones are now capable of recording in not only full HD (high definition) but also in 4k and 8k (ultra-high definition). With the addition of an external microphone, near network quality can be achieved.

Media is Powerful.

We can create powerful, engaging, professional videos using the very media we carry with us every day.

The Power of Media is in Our Hands!

Rick Clear was a public educator specializing in video production for 33 years. He currently is the staff videographer for the National Office of the SCLC and is a producer for the Atlanta Video Network (AVN).

1929-1968