Phone Filmmaking
Shoot, light and edit real films on the phone you have.
Learn phone filmmaking as a beginner
Shoot, light and edit real films on the phone you have. When it opens, this beginner course breaks phone filmmaking into short Steps that each link the best free lessons online, with a small group who start when you do. It begins with a 60-second film with no dialogue and ends with a 5-minute short film.
The path
- 1
Level 1Free when it opens Shots and Light
A 60-second film with no dialogue
15 Steps, about 39 minutes each. Anyone with a phone who wants their videos to feel like films. No gear or editing experience needed.
- Chapter 1: Shots. Film and edit your first sequence, set your phone up like a camera, and learn composition and movement.
- Chapter 2: Light and cutting. Light faces with windows and lamps, shoot at golden hour, and learn the editing rules that make cuts feel invisible.
- Chapter 3: Your 60-second film. Plan, shoot, sound and edit a 60-second film with no dialogue, and premiere it.
- 1Show your groupFilm a five-shot sequenceFive shots of one simple action (making coffee, tying shoes) at five different sizes.
Films are built from shots, not one long recording. A shot is a single unbroken piece of footage, and the size of the shot decides what the audience pays attention to. Filmmakers use a small set of standard sizes.
A wide shot shows the whole person and their surroundings. It tells us where we are. A medium shot shows someone from the waist up. It's the everyday size for watching people talk and act. A close-up shows a face. It's for emotion. A detail shot, sometimes called an insert, shows hands or an object: a key turning, a cup filling. It's for information.
The detail beginners miss is holding still. When you're new, it's tempting to move the phone constantly, chasing the action. Instead, frame the shot and let the action happen inside it. Stillness looks deliberate and cinematic.
Here's an example with making coffee. Wide: the whole kitchen, you walking in. Medium: you at the counter, reaching for the kettle. Close-up: your face as you wait. Detail: water pouring onto the grounds. Unusual angle: from inside the cupboard as you reach for a mug.
Shoot all five, about ten seconds each, holding your phone horizontally. When you watch them back, notice how each size makes you feel something different about the same action.
- 2Set up your phone like a cameraYour phone set to shoot consistent, cinematic video: right frame rate, locked exposure, clean lens.
- 3Compose with the gridTen photos or clips that use the rule of thirds, headroom and lead room.
See all 15 Steps
- 4Move the camera with purposeFour steady moving shots: pan, tilt, push in and follow.
- 5Show your groupEdit your first sequenceA finished 30-second edited sequence of one action, with music.
- 6Light with a windowOne face filmed in four positions by a window, and your favorite chosen.
- 7Light with house lampsA three-point lighting setup using only lamps you own, filmed at night.
- 8Catch golden hourFive shots filmed in the hour before sunset, with the sun behind or beside your subject.
- 9Prove the Kuleshov effectYour own Kuleshov experiment: one neutral face cut with three different shots.
- 10Show your groupShoot a scene across the lineTwo people talking, covered in a wide and two over-the-shoulder shots, without breaking the 180-degree rule.
- 11Plan a 60-second filmA one-page plan for a 60-second film with no dialogue: idea, beats and a shot list.
- 12Shoot itEvery shot on your list filmed, with extra takes and cutaways.
- 13Build the soundRoom tone, two foley sounds and a music track ready for your film.
- 14Edit it yourselfA finished 60-second cut, edited from your plan and notes alone, with no tutorial.
- 15Show your groupPremiere your filmYour film exported, shown to at least one person, and shared with your group.
- 2
Level 2Unlocks after Level 1 Script to Screen
A scripted short with dialogue and sound
15 Steps, about 57 minutes each. People who finished Phone Filmmaking 1, or anyone who can shoot and cut a simple sequence on a phone.
- Chapter 1: The script. Learn screenplay format, write and rewrite a 2 to 4-page script, and storyboard it.
- Chapter 2: The shoot. Record clean dialogue, direct and block your actors, and shoot full coverage over two sessions.
- Chapter 3: The edit. Sync sound, cut dialogue with J and L cuts, color correct, mix and premiere your film.
- 1Show your groupWrite a page in formatOne page of a scene between two people, in correct screenplay format.
Screenplay format looks fussy, but it's a practical tool. It's so standardized that one page reads as roughly one minute on screen, and everyone on a production, from actors to the person holding the sound recorder, can read it the same way.
A screenplay has four main elements. A scene heading, also called a slugline, says inside or outside, where, and when, in capitals: INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT. Action lines describe what we see and hear, in present tense. The character's name in capitals sits centered above their dialogue. Dialogue is what they say, in a narrower column below the name.
The detail beginners miss is what goes in action lines. Only what a camera can see or a microphone can hear. "She remembers her childhood" can't be filmed. "She picks up the faded photo and stares at it" can. If the camera can't see it, it doesn't go in the script.
Here's an example opening:
INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT
MAYA, 30s, scrubs a pan that's already clean. Her brother LEO leans in the doorway.
LEO: You're going to wear a hole in it.
MAYA: Then I'll buy a new one.
Use a free Google Doc with a 12-point Courier font. Write one page between two people that ends on a moment that changes something.
- 2Find your storyThree loglines for a 2 to 4-minute film, and one chosen.
- 3
See all 15 Steps
- 4Hold a table readYour actors read the script aloud, and a rewrite based on what you heard.
- 5Show your groupStoryboard itA stick-figure storyboard and numbered shot list for the whole script.
- 6Record clean dialogueA sound test: one line recorded three ways, and the best method chosen.
- 7Learn to directA list of notes for each actor and a rehearsal of your hardest scene.
- 8Light the locationEach location lit and tested on camera before the shoot.
- 9Shoot day oneHalf your shot list filmed, with sound recorded and synced by a clap on every take.
- 10Show your groupShoot day twoThe rest of the shot list, plus pickups and cutaways, with a behind-the-scenes photo.
- 11Sync and assembleEvery clip synced to its sound, and an assembly cut of the whole film in script order.
- 12Cut the dialogueA fine cut of your dialogue scenes using at least two J cuts and two L cuts.
- 13Correct the colorEvery shot matched in brightness and color, plus one subtle look for the whole film.
- 14Mix the sound yourselfA finished sound mix: clean dialogue, room tone under every cut, effects and music, done from your notes alone.
- 15Show your groupPremiere itYour finished film with titles and credits, screened for your cast and shared with your group.
Where it ends: a 5-minute short film
Questions about learning phone filmmaking
How long does it take to learn phone filmmaking?
Level 1 is 15 Steps of about 39 minutes each, around 10 hours in all, split into 3 chapters. Go at your own speed: one Step a day, or a whole chapter in a sitting.
What do I need to start phone filmmaking?
You'll need your phone, a free editing app and a stack of books. There's nothing you have to buy to start.
Can a complete beginner learn phone filmmaking?
Anyone with a phone who wants their videos to feel like films. No gear or editing experience needed.
What will I have made by the end of Level 1?
A finished 60-second film with no dialogue, shot, lit and edited on your phone.
Is this phone filmmaking course free?
Yes. Level 1 of every hobby on Eras is free, and every Step links free lessons from great teachers online. Eras Plus is an optional subscription that opens the levels after it.
Free lessons in Shots and Light come from StudioBinder, Camp Films, Wikipedia, Metics Media, Tava Kessler, Manny Ortiz, Ryan Rocha, No Film School, The Film Look, Nate Killian, Think Media, Apple Support, YouTube Help, Learn Online Video, The Slanted Lens, MediaFilmProfessor. We link to their work and never copy it.
Cover photo by Amari Shutters on Unsplash