How to make a travel film on your phone

Usually recording a travel film often means spending hours working with heavy and expensive gear. But you really don't need all that equipment.

The key is what you shoot, not what camera or editing software you own. App stores boast a range of tools that you can use to add effects or captions to fine-tune your edit.

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Besides, phones are discreet, so they're useful if you're travelling to a country where people are put off by big cameras or equipment.

1. Be prepared

Before you head out, make sure your phone is charged and carry an additional power bank.

Filming really drains your battery. Also, ensure you have plenty of room on your phone to cope with storing large video files. Typically, one second of high definition video will gobble up around 2MB of storage.

To aid production quality, it's worth investing in a couple of pieces of equipment: a clip-on microphone (preferably with a wind sock to block out unwanted background noise) will allow you to record audio more clearly, while a small, compact tripod helps with steadying your shots and when doing pieces to camera.

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2. Avoid using your phone's digital zoom

To boost your film's professional feel avoid using your zoom as this can greatly reduce picture quality.

Also take long, medium and close-up shots in each location, allowing you to add variation during editing.

3. Always shoot horizontally

Holding your phone sideways rather than vertically helps you take better photos and videos. Resist the urge to pan and tilt your phone while filming. Wait for the action to come to you or restart your recording at the exact scene of the event.

4. After you're finished at each location, assess the footage you've captured and delete anything you're not happy with. This saves valuable space, ready for the next shoot.

5. Edit away

Add your own voiceovers or music to clips using iMovie. Also, choose how each segment flows into the next to give your film polish.

The best thing about editing on your phone is that you can do it on the go.

6. Uploading

When ready to upload, ensure your Wi-Fi signal is strong. This will allow you to upload Full HD video files, which are often too large to transfer via a 3G or 4G signal.

In the end, your smartphone is a camera, microphone and editing suite rolled into one.