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Shooting video on your phone doesn’t have to be complicated, and there are a few simple things you can do to create quality mobile videos to draw in your audience. This is especially relevant for on-scene reporting, including breaking news videos for social media and live stand-ups.
Here are a few pointers from NBCU Academy’s guide to filming the news using your phone:
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Invest in a few pieces of equipment, like a phone stabilizer, a wireless mic, and a few other tools. These items will help you take steady, professional-grade videos from your device without drawing a ton of attention while you film.
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Film vertically for mobile videos (Instagram reels, TikTok, Snapchat) and horizontally for platforms like YouTube and LinkedIn.
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Zoom with your feet by getting closer to the action (but be safe!). Digital zooming, while sometimes necessary, is limited in quality.
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The rule of thirds is key. Imagine your camera lens shooting on a 3-by-3 grid. Most smartphones feature a setting that displays this grid on your screen while you film. Aim your lens so your subject is one of the lines or at the intersection of a vertical and horizontal line. This practice creates more visually interesting footage.
Now that you’ve collected video footage, it’s time to upload it to Canva where you can edit and publish the video quickly on deadline, all from your phone.
Uploading video
Add original video into Canva’s editor by going to the “Uploads” menu and dropping your file into the lefthand panel. Most file types are accepted in Canva (including MOV, GIF, MP4, MPEG, MKV, and WEBM files.) The max file size for videos is 1GB.
All video, images, and audio you’ve uploaded into Canva will appear in the “Uploads” menu unless you move it to another folder or the trash.
Let’s do this together:
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Download a video file here
- Open Canva
- Click “Uploads” on the lefthand side of your window
- Drag and drop the video file anywhere within the panel
More on editing video directly on your phone using the Canva mobile app:
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