NISI Filter Kit for Smartphone Filmmaking
Apple have recently uploaded another ShotOniPhone movie to their YouTube channel.
“American Samoa – ‘Football Island’ – produces athletes that are 56 times more likely to play in the NFL than Americans from anywhere else. Photographer and Director Steven Counts presents a portrait of Eddie Siaumau, a 17 – year old athlete who has just accepted a full ride scholarship to a D1 university.” Apple
Now, one thing to note is these films are starting to get some backlash from the filmmaking community. The claims are that the films are raising the expectations of the ordinary iPhone owner and are nothing more than commercials to sell the phone. And presumably the reason why the comments are closed on this video.
With this video, it certainly does not look like a small production. And the credits are listed as:
- Director: Steven Counts
- Director of Photography: Eric Kuzma
- Executive Producer: Heather Zara
- Assistant: Harrison Smith
Well, they list them so they’re not trying to hide the fact. However, I guess most people don’t check the description of the video. They just see it’s shot on an iPhone and (Apple hope) go “wow”, then run off to order the latest iPhone.
Interesting to note the director is a photographer himself, but has a dedicated DoP to operate the camera. Well, here it is. What do you think?
The equipment list
Shot on iPhone XS, with the aid of: DJI Osmo Mobile 2, FiLMiC Pro, Joby GripTight PRO Video GP Stand, NiSi Smartphones Filter Kit.
So no extra lenses used. We know about the DJI Osmo and FiLMiC Pro. We’ve looked at grips and tripods. But how about filters?
Filters for your smartphone camera
What are filters? Many of us are used to Instagram filters which apply a set colour style to your video or photograph. Originally they were designed to give your 2010 smartphone pics a Polaroid-style effect to make up for their low quality. And they were an “instant” hit.
Since then, many other photo and video editing apps and programs now include a form of this feature. But these are a totally different kind of filter.
What are Filters and Why Should You Use Them?
The filters used in the video are thin layers of glass or plastic that you mount over the front of your camera lens.
Why do we wear sunglasses? Well, apart from making us look like rock stars… they help you see better in intense light, help you bump into people in low-lit bars and reduce glare.
Filters do a similar job for our smartphone eyes. They can help reduce reflections, protect your lenses from knocks and scratches, reduce the amount of light that enters the lens in various ways and can even enhance colours.
So which filters do you need?
Well, there’s a huge range of different kinds.
Some people swear by ND filters (Neutral Density) for video in situations where the light is very bright and you have no control over it. ie: daylight on a sunny day. The problem bright light causes is it forces us to increase the shutter speed too high, which then removes motion blur and makes the image look harsh.
By placing a ND filter over the lens, you reduce the light and thereby allow slower shutter speeds.
ND filters come in different strengths measured in “stops”. The NiSi P1 Prosories Smartphones Filter Kit used in the above video comes with filter holder and filters designed to be used with all smartphones. It includes “Circular Polarizer Filter, 3-Stop Medium Grade Filter, Filter Holder, Phone Clip and Soft Storage Bag.”
Both filters are made of photographic – and therefore high-quality – optical glass with a nano-coating, while the holder itself is made of aluminium to keep the weight low. The clip is also compatible with most smartphone models. Users can rotate the filter on the mount. Plus you can use a polarizer with the filter, if necessary.
Polarizing filters
These filter out “polarized” light and can dramatically reduce reflections. They can also enhance colours and increase contrast. Polarizing filters are typically circular, allowing for easy control of the effect of polarization.
Polarizing filters are often used in landscape photography. A CPL (Circular Polarizer Filter) blocks scattered light from entering your camera lens. As you rotate the filter, you are choosing which light block, depending on the angle it is hitting your lens at.
The effect can be quite subtle or quite dramatic, depending on what you are filming, the filter and how you use it.
You’re really just using this filter to make a choice on cutting out some light whilst allowing other light through (which is essentially what all filters do).
By playing around with the CPL filter you can decide to block out some of the light which is glaring off water or a window, meaning more of the light coming from behind the window or water is picked up by the camera sensor.
The CPL filter will also reduce light, to a certain degree. So in bright light situations, they can also help out reducing light. But in low light situations, they can cause you problems by reducing the light too much.
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