(dramatic music) - [Narrator] This is a watch, told in a cinematic way. (dramatic music) SWISS MILITARY by HANOVA. (upbeat music) - How's it going everyone? And welcome back to another How to Shoot a Product Video at Home using an iPhone. Now, I've created a product
video of a watch in the past, and that video hit over 100,000 views. A lot of you guys got inspired by it and even created one for your own. Now, in this video, I'm
gonna cover the gear I use, my camera settings for
producing high quality video, and behind the scenes on how to create that dramatic lighting effect, and a quick editing
breakdown of the video. By the end of this tutorial, I'm certain you will be able to create your own product video at home using whatever product you like. All the gear mentioned will be in the video description below as well as a timestamp if you want to skip or go back to a particular
par of the video. All right, let's get started. Let's talk about the gear I used to create this fake watch commercial. Almost everybody nowadays carries a smartphone in their pocket that has the ability to
shoot high quality video. And when done correctly,
people wouldn't even notice that it was shot on a smartphone. For that reason, I shot the whole thing on my iPhone 11 Pro Max using FiLMiC Pro, which is the most advanced cinema video camera app
out there for smartphones. The reason why I like to use FiLMiC Pro, is because it allows me to have
more control over my camera, but we're gonna dive deeper into it later. The next thing you will need is a tripod. I use the basic Amazon
tripod that cost $26, very lightweight with
adjustable height legs. Really great for its price,
still impressed by it. Next, you will need a phone mount. The one I got is from Ulanzi
that costs around $15. This way I can mount
my iPhone to my tripod. The mount has a Cold Shoe adapter on top that allows me to mount a
microphone or a video light. The lights I use are the
Ulanzi VL‑49, that costs $19, and the Vijim R316,
which is priced at $89. Both lights were sent
to me by Ulanzi to test, so thank you very much. The Ulanzi VL-49 is a portable
LED and RGB pocket light, which is especially great for vlogging. I might make a separate
video using this pocket light for my new gimbal vlogging setup. Now I didn't use this light
that much in this video, it would have definitely worked to create those awesome light patterns. So instead I used the Vijim R316, which is a foldable LED
and RGB video light. It has a unique design to it with dual LEDs that are connected,
which both can be folded. This makes it really
great to carry around. What's cool is that with
this dual LED system, you can choose to have either
one of the panels on or both. You also get built in light effect modes, and similar to the pocket light, the Vijim R316 has a color cycle going from zero to 360 degree, that you can use in creative ways. You can also adjust the color temperature. Both lights have built in
batteries that can be recharged. For product shots, I find good
video light really valuable. I suggest you have at
least one good video light for your product video. What I also used is a
black backdrop from Neewer that costs $75 with the stand. I placed the backdrop behind the object to create a seamless background. If necessary, you might want
to steam iron the background to get rid of any wrinkles. So that's the gear I used for this video. Let me show you how
I've set everything up. So for the first scene, I've
hung the watch on a boom stand. You don't necessarily need one, there are certainly other
ways to mount your watch so that it hangs in the air. I used a thin black thread, and made sure that the watch
would stay still in the air, because you don't want to shoot
while your watch is moving. Also make sure to clean your watch to remove unnecessary fingerprints. We want to make it look like
it's straight out of the box. After that, I placed my
tripod close to the object and centered it in the frame. Next, I darkened the room so
I can work with one light. Now, let me show you my camera settings for getting the best
quality out of my videos. As I've mentioned before, I use FiLMiC Pro to
shoot all of my videos. If you're not familiar with FiLMiC Pro, I have a bunch of tutorials that you can check out to get started. I will leave a link somewhere up here. But basically with FiLMiC Pro, you get the full manual
control for exposure, ISO, shutter speed, focus, and zoom. So the first thing I do
when opening up FiLMiC Pro, is choosing my camera. I went with a tele-lens because especially when
filming product videos, you want to get those nice
close ups or detailed shots. If you can attach a
macro-lens, even better. I also like switching
between wide-angle lens and tele-lens to get more dynamic shots. For the resolution, I shoot in 4K using the FiLMiC Extreme codec. 4K has more detail, and
allows me to crop in, in post production. This way, I can also use key
frames to create movements. As for the FrameRate, I
will be shooting most of it in 25 frames per second. Since I won't be using the audio, I will set it to video only. And because my iPhone is on a tripod, I turned off image stabilization. Next is to set my ISO. I leave it at its lowest so that I won't introduce
noise into my image. My shutter speed is set
double my frame rate, which is 1/50 of a second. I make sure my shutter speed is locked so that I can only adjust
the ISO if I have to. As for my white balance, I've set it to 5,500 Kelvin, since the lights I'm using
is set to that temperature. I make sure I lock it so that no color shifts
will occur during the shoot. My picture profile is set to log, which gives me more flexibility
in post to color grade. And last, I set my focus and lock it. On smartphones, you don't get a lot of shallow depth of field because of their fixed aperture. But since I want everything
to be in focus anyway, this wasn't an issue. So lighting your subject
really depends on the product. I personally think that
this watch works well for moody or contrast scenes because of its reflective black metal. So I decided to use
more of a focused light so that the audience can
focus their attention more on those highlighted details. To create that dramatic effect,
I use the foldable light. I've set the light to 5,500 Kelvin, which represents daylight. And the output is at around 30%. I simply move the light over the subject from different directions,
and played around with it to create these interesting
reflections on the watch. So I go from complete darkness to highlighting certain
parts of the watch. I preferably like to do this slowly because I can always speed up the video during post production if I want to. Experiment around with
it and see what works. I really liked the effect where I swung the light behind the watch. It sort of reminds me of Star Wars. Another effect that worked really well, was of the watch flashing really quickly. The way how I did this in FiLMiC Pro, is that I've set the
camera to time-lapse mode with a shooting interval of one second. So again, I moved the light
in different directions to highlight certain areas. In post, I cropped in added
key frames to add movement, put in some sound effects,
and there you have it. For the next scene, I placed my watch on an acrylic black backdrop
that I got from Amazon for $18. This backdrop is great
for smaller products, creates beautiful reflection,
and adds depth to the subject. I make sure to clean the surface to remove any dirt or dust particles. I placed the watch in a way
that will look appealing, and started recording. For my last scene, I took
out a pot from the kitchen, filled it with water, and
used the black backdrop to make the water pitch-black. As for the camera settings, I changed the resolution to 1080p so that I could shoot in
240 frames per second. Normally I would set my shutter
speed double my FrameRate, but since I wanted no motion
blur while dropping the watch, I've set it to around 1/940. Now for this shot, I
needed a lot of light. So I used the small pocket light with the foldable light at 100% output, and also increased the
ISO a bit, around 100. I then dropped the watch slowly, did that a couple of times
until I was satisfied. Moving on to the editing part. I first imported all of
the clips from iTunes into a folder on my desktop. I don't recommend AirDropping
the clips from your iPhone since it takes longer
and you can lose quality. In my project, I took the best parts out and rearranged the clips so that it fits with
the pace of the music. I personally like to
edit in Final Cut Pro X. I went for a more cinematic tense music, and because it's a commercial, I shortened the music to 20 seconds. A big part of it is adding sound effects, which makes a video more professional. By the way, I got all of
my music from Artlist. If you sign up now, you'll
get two months for free. There will be a link below. By adding some atmosphere,
impact, rises, and whoosh sounds, you can instantly grab
your audience's attention and keep them engaged. (dramatic music) So really take the time to
layer your sound effects to make your product come more alive. For the voiceover, I used
a site called the TTSMP3, where you easily can
convert your written texts into natural sounding voices. I thought this would work great and makes the commercial
feel more extraordinary. On both ends of each clip, I added a fade ins and fade outs so that the transition
looks more smoother. As I've mentioned previously,
also in every shot, I digitally added
movement using key frames. As for the color grade, I added contrast, increased a little bit of the
highlights and saturation. For the look, I created
an orange and teal look to make it pop more. And to spice up your shot a bit more, you can add a lens flare to your shot to make it even look more epic. In the end, I added a title, which is the brand name of the product. And there you go. As you can see, you don't
need a lot of expensive gear to create a high quality video. So hopefully this tutorial
was helpful for you guys. Really keep in mind to find ways to make your product look interesting, because unlike filming a person, a product doesn't show any emotions and can look boring really quickly. Use this dramatic lighting effect. You can use any product. See what's laying around at home, and start creating your own product video. I would really love to see
what you have come up with. Now, hit that subscribe
button if you haven't, this way I can keep creating
these videos for you guys. Follow me on Instagram at @benettgraezer. And if you want to learn
more about mobile filmmaking, here are two videos that you have to watch which you certainly won't regret. Until then, I wish you a pleasant day. Take care, and I will see
you in the next video. (upbeat music)
