Wes is CEO, professional filmmaker, and proud owner of Boris! Wes’ entire career has been in film production, from working with Australian production companies, client freelancing, and now Tap Edit Go! You can count on Wes for all the smartphone accessory advice you need. If he is not testing out accessories, or making a video, you can find him down by the coast of Coffs Harbour surfing with good old Boris.
A microphone will make your video sound more professional very quickly it’s picking the right type of microphone that is the key. First, let’s show you why you need a microphone.
Your ears are a very powerful type of microphone that can tune out background noise. Your smartphone microphone is at the base of your phone and picks up audio in a 360 perspective. As you move the phone away the sound becomes more hollow like when someone goes on the loudspeaker. The microphone on your phone is designed to be less than 10cm away from your mouth. So to capture the best audio in your next video you will need to replace the phone microphone with one of these accessories and put a microphone close to your mouth. We have a range of different options to make sure you capture clear audio for your next video.
The Lapel Microphone (Rode SmartLav+) is the best microphone to capture audio with. When you clip in on to your clothing it put the microphone back to where it should be, near the mouth. We recommend you also get the SC1 – 6m lead so you can have that extra distance away from the camera.
The Directional Mic (VideoMic Me) allows you to pick up audio in a specific direction. Think of it as a torch. You shin a torch in a direction to light something up, and these direction mics point in a cone shape like a torch would. But remember if you are too far away it will still sound hollow and empty. There are two different versions, one with a headphone connection, and one with a lightning bolt connect. We use the headphone jack with the extension lead as a reporter’s microphone.
WATCH DIRECTION MIC SAMPLE AUDIO
WATCH DIRECTION MIC USED AS INTERVIEW MIC
Finally, we have a wireless microphone. This is an amazing option if you need to be a long-distance away or have the flexibility of being cable-free. It will replace the extension lead but will cost a lot more and is a more tech advance set up. To work with your phone, you will need to add a converter (2 rings to a 3 rings set up) CLICK HERE to understand a bit more.
Lenses are an amazing way to alter the image of your video. Even though your smartphone has up to 3 lenses already built in these clip-on lenses will give your smartphone even more variety.
Our 5in1 kit is the best lens kit to start off with. With the Fisheye, wide-angle, zoom, macro and CPL filter it is the perfect kit to get you started with adjusting your look and having a variety of options to choose from.
Our HD 8mm Fisheye lens makes your phone look like a GoPro. With is high-quality curved glass the lens will take the limiting look of your selfie videos into a super-wide fisheye view. See every corner of a room, or even have the ability to get your whole body in shot when doing a selfie.
Lighting is hard, as every video situation is going to be different for your lighting set up. The one thing you need to remember is the more light you have on your face, the better quality the video will be. If you can’t use natural light you will need to use artificial light. We have a great light that will mount to your phone.
The Commlite will be perfect for all those times you need a light directly on your face when doing a selfie video. It works up to 2m away from your face and will always have a consistent light hitting your face.
Tripods make a stable and professional looking with our smartphone videos. We have two different types of tripods that will work perfectly for almost any situation.
The flexible legged tripod is great to hold in your hand for those stabile but handheld looking shot. You can also adjust its legs to mount onto selves, poles, trees, fences, etc. This is great for time-lapses or to be hands-free in almost any location.
The mini tripod has a professional fluid head for all those smooth shots. When it is compact is almost the same size as the flexible legged tripod, but fully extended it goes up to 1.2m tall. This is the best compact tripod to take around with your smartphone.