Mobile video’s growth is astronomical. Today mobile video is not just for watching, creating stories with your tablet and smartphone is is changing both creation and distribution. Over the past year Paolo Tosolini and I have been working with folks to get the most from their smart devices. We are passionate about the possibilities of leveraging the tools, accessories and apps available for your tablet and smart phone. One request we hear is for a shopping list of all the gadgets, gizmos and tools we demonstrate. So culled from StoryGuide’s “Video Tools that Work” Pinterest board, and applications we use from the iTunes store, here is a catalog where you can pick and choose what works best for you.
Please let us know if you find something you think needs to be added, or if you have any questions.
Apps
The applications we demonstrated are all exclusive to the Apple iOS. Unfortunately, most are not available in alternative operating systems like Android or Windows Mobile. This is particularly true for video editing applications. It appears developers prefer the predictability of Apple’s walled garden where they only have to write code for a single device or system. As the market changes we should see more applications in the Android space, but for now there are few options for video production.
 FiLMiC Pro
FiLMiC Pro turns your mobile device into a broadcast worthy, High Definition video camera. It gives you full control over focus, exposure, white balance and frame rates including a host of slow motion and fast motion options. Additionally, FiLMiC Pro has additional professional tools such as audio meters, and aspect ratio overlays. |
 Avid / Pinnacle Studio
Pinnacle Studio for iPad replaces Avid Studio. This editing application is the most powerful and easy-to-use video editing tool for the iPad. When Avid sold its consumer division to Corel, support for the Avid app went away and Corel moved their efforts to the Pinnacle Studio 2.0. Pinnacle studio is being upgraded with support for 1080 and voiceovers. No matter what they call it, for $12.99 it is the best investment you will make on your iPad. You can find a great user guide to the software here |
 Broadcast for Friends (BFF)
Ustream‘s Broadcast for Friends app lets users broadcast live directly within Facebook so that their friends can watch in their Timeline and News Feeds. |
 Ustream
Broadcast live and watch live video on your device – anytime, anywhere! Ustream powers live interactive video that enables anyone to watch and interact with a global audience. |
 Animoto
Turn your photos into videos, complete with music and text, with Animoto. Choose your photos, video clips, music, and video style. Within minutes, you’ll have a video slideshow you can save and easily share. |
 Eyejot
Eyejot is simply the easiest way to create and send video mail to friends, family members and business colleagues. It can be used from any web browser running under Windows, OS X or Linux, as well as directly from mobile devices such as the iPhone or iPod Touch. |
 Microsoft Tag
It’s a Tag-eat-QR jungle out there, and the Microsoft Tag mobile app is accounting for a significant slice of the global market. When you create a tag (for free) using Microsoft’s Tag Manager you can choose a resulting behavior when the tag is scanned. For example, when a user reads the tag that is created using the “Free Text” method a text message pops up on their screen, “Dialer” enables the client to call a number, the” vCard” option presents an online business card, and the “URL” delivery method leads the user to a landing page of your choice. QR codes are everywhere, but MS tags are prettier. |
 PixLive
Pixlive is an iPhone app that brings images to life. All you need to do is take a picture of an object and add a music file, a personalized video, text or graphics. It can be sent in an e-mail or shared on social networking sites. The receiver opens the file in the app, points the phone’s camera in the direction of the original object and the associated elements are instantly displayed on the screen. The uses are endless from virtual reality engagement at the point of sale, to Drew’s favorite, a VR treasure hunt for his kids. |
 Book Creator
The simple way to create your own iBooks, right on the iPad. Read them in iBooks, send them to your friends, or submit them to the iBookstore. Ideal for children’s picture books, photo books, art books, cook books, textbooks, and technical multimedia manuals. |
 Prompterous
Prompterous will guide you during presentations, lectures, broadcasts, interviews, sermons, reviews, podcasting, selling, acting or pitching. Import any type of document for both online or offline reading. Prompterous is the only application, of its kind, to support 24 formats including popular DOC, TXT, PDF, EPUB. |
Accessories: Audio
Audio is always a problem with Apple devices. The in-device mics are useless for video production. While the jack on your iPhone or iPad appears to be a standard mini-jack, it is not. It requires something called a 3.5mm 4 conductor TRRS jack. As a consequence, there is an entire ecosystem of accessories that has blossomed around overcoming the audio limitations of your phone.
 This $25 cable from KV Connection is a must if you are using an external mic with your Apple device. Be it iPhone, iPad or Touch you can’t simply plug in a mic and have it work. It needs an adapter to connect with Apple’s proprietary socket on the device. |
 The Pearstone OLM-10 Omnidirectional Lavalier Microphone is one heck of a bargain. This $25 investment, paired with the KV connector, will make a significant difference in your video. If you audience can’t understand your story they will leave. A mic like this will keep them listening to your video.The Audio-Technica ATR-3350 lav microphone is a very cost effective solution for good audio when shooting an interview or talking head… especially when using a small format pocket camera like the Kodak Zi8 or Zi10. At $24-$30 it is very affordable. |
 This accessory significantly improves the sound quality of iPhone 4/4S videos. The Fostex AR-4i Audio Interface for iPhone 4/4S & iPod touch 4G gives you great quality stereo audio recording using the dock connector and built-in AD/DA converter. The device features LED input level metering, gain control and headphone monitoring. As it will only work on the iPhone 4-series devices, the prices are dropping now to about $90, a bargain if you plan to use your previous generation phone for another year. |
 The KV Connection adapter (see above) is adequate for attaching consumer-grade mics, but often I am in a situation where I would like to leverage one of my professional mics. Most require something called phantom power (a low voltage external power source) and the KV cable won’t cut it. IK Multimedia has a solution, the iRig Pre, a small preamp that connects your XLR microphone to your device (Android or Apple). It has 48v Phantom Power using a 9v battery and runs only $36. |
 At $400 this solution is not cheap, but if you expect to be in a variety of difficult audio situations a great pre-amp is worth its weight in gold. The juicedLink RA222 Riggy-Assist Dual-XLR Preamplifier has both phantom power and an audio meter. Designed for use with DSLRs, it works great in the small form factor of mobile production when paired with the KV cable. I would expect for you to be shooting often to justify the expense, but it will save you from bad production over and over. |
Brackets and Holders
 The Adorama Heavy Duty L-bracket (w/ 2 Shoe Mounts) costs less than $8. A bargain. You want at least two shoe mounts on your bracket. One for an accessory light and the other for attaching audio (mixer, wireless receiver, shotgun mic, digital recorder.)There are plenty of L-brackets available in the market, ranging in price from $6-25 dollars. The price variation is for better hand grips, adjustment options and number and placement of shoe mounts. Find one that works for you. |
 Joby makes a solid and reliable mount for attaching your smartphone to a tripod or bracket. For less than $20 the Joby JM1-01WW GripTight Mount is one of the better solutions out there. |
 For flexible tripods my favorite is iStabilizer’s Flex. At $30 it is a little more expensive than competing flex-pods, but it will last you twice as long. It is not susceptible to heat, will grip tightly to small cylinders like tree branches and hand railings, and has a grippy exterior that feels like a wet suit.
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 While shooting video with an iPad is somewhat like “pressing a toaster oven to your face”, the tablet is a great way to shoot, edit and distribute your video from one device. The Makayama Movie Mount for iPad 3 gives you a hot-shoe mount for a mic or light on the top. And a tripod mount. |
Lenses and Lights
 I use the Photojojo Phone lens series all the time. The telephoto is not all that great, but the macro and fisheye lenses are a life saver. You can capture compelling wide shots and captivating close-ups with the macro lens. The fisheye is great for creating shots that demand attention. Besides, pulling your lens kit out of and Altoids box is always memorable.I have also used the oloclip on my phone and found their optics to be good. Either is a recommended solution for your mobile production kit. |
 LED dimmable lights are a must-have component in your mobile production accessories. I have been very happy with my low-cost Neewer light, and it was only $36. You can’t light a room, but they are critical for adding sparkle and illumination when shooting an interview. This light is far from indestructible, as you would expect from the price point. But I have used mine for two years and it still works.If you need something closer to the top of the LED light food chain I would consider an instrument like Litepanels LP Micro Compact LED Camera Light or the GiSTEQ Flashmate F-198C LED Video Light. |
@drewkeller @tosolini #RaganDisney
© 2013 StoryGuide | Drew Keller
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