There's been a continuing fad of using smartphones as a filmmakers tool, but is it really the correct tool? Some of you may disagree with me on this subject, but that's the point of discussion right?
I could start off with the cons of the situation right off, but let's dig into the pros first. First big benefit of using your phone to film and edit is the fact that it's literally all you would need. You wouldn't need to spend tons of money on equipment and software because all you would need is an imagination and a video editing app such as PowerDirector or Lumafusion. Record the videos, click to add the videos in your timeline, add some music and some voice overs and filters if you want and presto! You have a very simple edited video and you can share it with friends and family.
That's a cheap alternative to what the professionals use, but the benefit is also the downside. No matter what level you are at in video editing, you are limited to what you have. There's plenty of options out there for the free stuff, but in order to get the good stuff, you have to pay something. Even if you pay to have the cool extras, you're still stuck with what you have. You can't change any lenses out, you can't adjust you're settings correctly and you can't get clear audio unless you spend more money to get the lens adapters and microphones you would need to accomplish that.
Think of it this way, if you add up the amount of money it would take to get all the extra stuff you think you need and the amount of money you will spend when you realize you should have got something else, it would be more beneficial to save your money and upgrade your computer to run the software and you'll have way more freedom than you would on your phone. Now you may be saying, I can't afford (Adobe, Final Cut, Avid, etc.). You don't have to get those, there's cheaper alternatives in that field as well. I personally started out in Sony Vegas Pro. I made Youtube videos and even produced DVD's straight from there.
There's ways around the expensive stuff. You know the old saying, Work with what you got. That option may be to use your phone to record videos, but I wouldn't expect to get a whole lot of attention with those videos unless you really know how to make the phone camera work for you. If you want to use your phone, keep in mind that you are limited to your phone in all aspects of filming and editing. If you want to step up your game, save your money and go for the real software and really step your game up.
-Adam
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