How To Record a Video Podcast on Your iPhone

[00:00:00] You have a thousand dollar camera in your pocket with your iPhone, which records in 4K and which actually records pretty damn good quality video. So we're going to leverage that and we're going to start creating video content. Yo, yo, yo, what's up everybody? And welcome back to the show. You're listening to Clipped.

[00:00:26] And as always, I'm Eric, your host and Clipped brings you the tips, resources and people to help you crush your content goals. In this episode, I'm going to show you exactly how to use your iPhone to film high quality video podcasts and YouTube videos. We're talking setup, audio syncing and the exact gear you need, which isn't much to make it look like a pro video. But before we get into it, got to give a shout out to Riverside, this podcast sponsor.

[00:00:53] They're sponsoring the entire year of Clipped and I couldn't be more stoked. Been using Riverside for, I don't know, four or five years now. And I love how you can record 4K video and high quality audio all within their web browser. And I love their AI features. They write my show notes, my transcripts, and I put my videos into their magic clips feature and boom, it spits out vertical short form video for social media. So if you haven't tried it yet, definitely think Riverside can help you with your content

[00:01:23] and help you keep cranking out stuff without worrying about like manually doing all this like labor. Riverside.fm, that's the URL. Enter promo code Clipped, the name of this show, C-L-I-P-P-E-D for 20% off. Explain something. Okay, so why would you use your iPhone?

[00:01:52] Well, I already mentioned it records in 4K. If you don't want to use 4K, it can record in 1080 and you're going to get really good quality with your iPhone. If it was made, if you have like an iPhone that was made in the last probably three or four years, the quality of the picture is going to be sufficient enough. The cameras in these things are great. Like even the newer ones have three cameras, like it produces that one like good shot. And my nose is running because I've got a cold and or allergies, but we're just rolling with it.

[00:02:19] Another reason to use your iPhone is because of less intimidation. You want to focus on creating content in like the easiest way possible. And if like an actual camera, like a DSLR or whatever it is, is overwhelming, dude, use your iPhone. Don't be worried. It's going to look good. I'm all about removing barriers to entry. And this is actually being recorded on an iPhone. And I use an iPhone for all of my YouTube channel.

[00:02:44] And yeah, I've thought about like upgrading and eventually I probably will because I kind of geek out on this stuff. But like for now, I just like it simple and easy. And my phone gets the job done. And I think it can for you too. Okay, so how do you set it up? Well, this is kind of where it gets fun. And or you may need to buy one or two things or maybe not. I do definitely recommend like a tripod or a boom arm such as like what this microphone is on right now.

[00:03:11] That way you can like get the exact angle you want, the exact level. You know, they say eye level is like where you want the camera. So you need a way to like do that where it's sturdy and it's like mounted and locked in without it moving around. I'll link to some affordable options below. That way you can, you know, check out what I recommend. Or honestly, you can go on Amazon and you can get one for like under $20. They might be even under $10 like the cheap ones.

[00:03:38] Because get something that as long as it's sturdy, that's all that matters. When you like bump the desk, you don't want it to shake. You shouldn't bump the desk, but it does happen on accident. And if it's sturdy, it's just going to not mess your picture up. So here's another thing when you're setting up. You have to either choose between the selfie camera on the iPhone or the actual camera. And here's what I want to kind of get into the weeds about. So the selfie camera is way easier to use because you can see yourself.

[00:04:07] And the newer iPhones, the selfie camera still shoots in 4K. And it's honestly good enough for most purposes. I'm using it right now, but it's not as good as like the actual camera. So that's going to get you definitely better image quality, but it's more challenging to frame yourself. So with the selfie cam, you can actually see yourself. Like I'm looking right into my camera right now. I'm looking at myself. If I were to use the other camera, I would have to turn the phone around and I wouldn't be able to see myself.

[00:04:35] So there's a couple things that we could do. One, you could just use the selfie camera to get started like me. Less barriers to entry. Super easy because you just set it up. But if you're going to want to use the other side, like the proper camera on the iPhone, there's a couple things you could do. One, you could just do like a test run of you talking, record a short clip, and then check the framing. You know, have your seat in the right place. And if it was like a little too high or too low or off to the side, you can adjust.

[00:05:05] Maybe you have like your wife, your girlfriend, your boyfriend, whoever you live with. Or, you know, if they're home and you film from home, they can maybe frame it for you. That's an option. Or the third option requires you to buy like an additional piece of gear. It's probably the best is to either buy one of these iPhone mirrors that these like camera manufacturers or camera accessory manufacturers have designed specifically for the iPhone.

[00:05:34] So you can have it on, you know, the good camera, not the selfie camera. But there's like this mirror. And so you can look at yourself. It basically mirrors what's on the screen. So you can, it attaches to your phone. And that way you can see the shot. And you get that better picture because you're using the actual camera. Or, and I don't know if this works with all phones.

[00:05:57] But for sure, if you have the newer iPhones where it's like USB-C input, you can actually purchase an external monitor that you plug in. And then you can actually see, you know, in high def the image on the screen. It might work with like lightning iPhones. I don't know. I'm going to link to like an Amazon page below, which has like a bunch of these different options. And then you can see if it like fits the specs or fits your phone or whatever.

[00:06:24] You can see how much they cost, whether you want to go selfie cam, get the mirror, or get the external monitor. All will work, guys. And again, I'm just using the selfie cam. I've got nothing fancy here. I do have lighting. I don't want to get into all the lighting. Obviously, you want to have like good lighting. You can buy some lights or you can face a window. We're not going to get into that in this episode. So, that's the video. You got to nail that.

[00:06:54] And then, and this is all pretty easy, guys. I mean, set up your phone, turn it around, or get the accessories and start shooting. But, so how do we get the good audio? So, you're not just using the built-in iPhone microphone. Well, okay, there's several options for this as well. I'll kind of go through them. You could just get like a lavalier microphone that clips onto your shirt. You've probably seen it a million times.

[00:07:17] It's kind of even become like a thing, like a look where on YouTube, like people have the mic clipped on to their chest or their collar. But there's several that will wirelessly connect to your phone. And so then when you're filming video on your iPhone, it'll record the audio from the microphone. And there's three that I recommend, two of which I've used, one of which I have not. But people do use it. It's very popular. It's reputable. Two are by Rode.

[00:07:46] So, the Rode Wireless Pro. The Rode Micro Wireless, which I love. I have it right here. That one looks like this. It comes in a set of two. This little receiver plugs into your phone. And then the actual microphone clips onto your shirt. And then there's the DJI mic, which is similar. All three are wireless.

[00:08:15] Connect directly to your iPhone. So, then you're recording the good video from your phone. And you're syncing. You're not syncing. It's automatically syncing the audio from your love. Great. Great option. Especially for you YouTubers. For podcasting, you don't have to, but you probably want a nice broadcast microphone. And so, there's a couple ways you could do this.

[00:08:43] And this will help you get the good audio into the phone. So, if you're using... And this is for Mac. I don't fuck with PC. So, I don't know anything about that. But if you're using a USB mic or a microphone with an audio interface, whatever. Just a microphone, not a lav. And you're recording. You have a Mac. And you have an iPhone. If you have a Mac with an operating system of OS 13 or later. And an iPhone.

[00:09:11] And you are running iOS 16 or later. Hopefully, you guys know what that is. It's basically just like the operating system of your iPhone and the operating system of your Mac. If you meet those specs, you can actually use your iPhone as your webcam. And this is what you're going to do. If you want to use your iPhone as your webcam, here's what I recommend. You're going to go to Riverside. Riverside.fm is the URL. And they sponsor this podcast. But I've talked about them in large.

[00:09:41] I have specific episodes just about them. Riverside is a platform like Zoom to record audio and video remotely. But it's the technology in it that is geared specifically for podcasting. And with it, you're going to be able to use your iPhone as your webcam, like we mentioned. And then it's automatically within Riverside going to sync your audio to your video. So you can have your microphone going and your iPhone.

[00:10:09] And Riverside will automatically sync that. You can download that file after you're done recording. And then boom, you're off to the races with editing. So instead of using your built-in webcam on your Mac or some crappy like third-party webcam, your phone's going to look better than, I don't know, largely probably any webcam out there. And so you just use that and you've got a great setup right there. Okay, so how do you set up your iPhone to get the best video quality?

[00:10:38] Well, you're going to go into your camera settings. And then you're going to want to make sure that 4K is turned on. And there's several options here. You can do 4K at 30 frames per second. This is going to give you like the best quality and kind of like a cinematic look. Or if you want a smaller file size and you just want to record at 1080, which is still high def, just a little bit less crispy than 4K, you're going to go 1080 at 30 frames per second. Still going to give you a great image.

[00:11:06] A lot of these podcast videos I've done on my phone, I'll actually film in 4K. But then when I edit, I'll balance it down to 1080. 30 frames per second, like I said, natural look. Perfect for talking head videos. 60 frames per second. This is like smoother motion. If you've got kind of like more like shots with movement or like action, this isn't going to be necessary for podcasts. So don't worry about that. So that's it, guys.

[00:11:33] I just wanted to kind of show you how easy it is to do that. Let's get that camera. Get some kind of stand. Determine if you want to use the selfie cam or the actual cam. And if you use the actual cam, you probably want help framing your shot. Or you're going to want to buy an additional piece of equipment, the mirror for the iPhone or an actual external monitor so that you can monitor yourself and get that good shot that you want.

[00:12:02] And then use your phone as your webcam and use a platform like Riverside. And then your audio will be synced with your microphone. Sorry. And then your video will be synced with your audio, with your good microphone. And boom, you're off to the races. You start editing. You pump that content out. Super simple. And you don't have to buy anything because you probably already have an iPhone. So we'd love for you to try this out. Comment below. Shoot me a DM or tag me if you're posting on YouTube. We'd love to see it.

[00:12:30] We'd love to see what you guys are building out there in the world. And remember, if you're looking for more information and want more tips and resources and all things podcasting and video and how-to and recommendations, head on over to thepodcasthaven.com. There, you can see our videos. You can see our articles. All information tailored to you to help you become a better, more efficient content creator. That's thepodcasthaven.com. Keep listening. Keep engaging. Keep creating. I'm out.