The concept of the vlog has exploded in recent years all over sites like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Everyone seems to have a good camera in their pocket that’s capable of taking rather good footage, so why not use that tool to film your world? In a recent trip to Raleigh, North Carolina, I put my iPhone 13 Pro to the test and brought it along to film a vlog of my adventures.
In early January, I embarked on a solo journey to meet with some friends in North Carolina. I decided to film my adventures to make a video that I could share with them to look back on our memories together. Everything in the video above was filmed exclusively on my iPhone except for the one closing shot at my desk.
I was thoroughly impressed with the iPhone’s performance in the various situations I was filming. Switching between the three lenses mid-clip was especially helpful when I needed to quickly change the perspective of the entire shot. This can be seen during the shots at the bowling alley when filming a ball flying down the lane.
Image stabilization on the iPhone was also incredible with very little editing required. Most of my shots were entirely handheld with just a few using a motorized gimbal. To help with the stabilization, I used a mechanic’s grip, allowing me to keep a steady hand while filming. This technique has been useful for me over the years with many different cameras since it uses your whole arm to stabilize the shot instead of just your hand.
The editing process took me longer than usual with some technical setbacks, but the footage married well with Adobe Premiere and I was able to create a cohesive timeline for my video. Scott & Brendo offer some great vlog-style music that came in handy to set the soundtrack for my video.
As we talked about a couple weeks ago, using an app to organize and store your photos and video can be extremely helpful. Google Photos came in handy when isolating a couple hundred files into one album that I can look back on my trip with my friends. Google Photos helped me to easily select the best shots that I used in my video.
“NC or Bust” was a learning experience for me, especially since I really don’t vlog all that much. There have been times where I take out my camera and film myself doing something to publish later, but not in a vlog style like this. This video was also quite lengthy to cover several days of footage. Your mileage may vary with longer form videos.
The one piece of advice that I would like to offer to anyone looking to make a vlog is to keep filming as much as you can. You don’t want to sit down to edit and realize that you’re missing a huge piece of the story. Keep that camera going as much as you can!
Have you ever filmed a vlog before or considered filming one? Let me know down in the comments below!
JT Creative 