How to Film a Tutorial With a Phone

What you actually need

• A phone from the last few years. Clean the lens first; a smudge ruins more tutorials than a cheap camera does.
• Something to hold it still. A small tripod, a clamp arm, or a shelf. Handheld footage is tiring to watch when the viewer is trying to copy you.
• Soft, even light. A window with daylight, or two lamps with white shades on either side.
• A clip-on microphone if you speak while you work. Built-in phone microphones pick up the room, not you.
• A clear surface with a plain, non-shiny background.

Where to put the phone

Think about what the viewer needs to see, then place the phone to show exactly that. For work on a table (crafts, cooking, small repairs), mount the phone above the surface looking down, so the viewer sees the task the same way round as they will do it. For larger objects, place it at chest height a step back, so hands and object stay in frame together.

Keep the phone in the same place for the whole tutorial when you can. Viewers use the frame as a map; if it jumps around, they lose their place. If you need a close-up, record it as a separate take and cut to it.

Light: soft, even and in front

Light should come from in front of or beside the work, never from behind. Hard light from one bulb makes your hands throw shadows over the thing you are showing. Daylight from a window is soft and free; a sheet of white paper opposite the window bounces some light back and fills in shadows. Avoid mixing daylight and warm indoor bulbs in the same shot, because colours will look off.

Sound: closer beats better

Viewers forgive average pictures but not bad sound. Put the microphone close to your mouth, turn off fans and fridges you can hear, and pick a room with soft furniture, which absorbs echo. If you prefer, record the voice separately afterwards over the edited picture; it is easier to speak clearly when you are not also doing the task.

Phone settings that help

• Turn on airplane mode so calls and notifications do not interrupt a take.
• Tap and hold on the work area to lock focus and exposure, so the picture does not pulse when your hands move.
• Use the main lens rather than the ultra-wide one, which bends straight edges near the frame.
• Pick one frame rate and resolution for the whole shoot and keep it.

Record in short takes

Follow your script and record one step per take. Say the step number out loud at the start of each take (or hold up fingers); it makes editing much faster. Leave two seconds of stillness before and after each action, so the editor has room to cut. When a step goes wrong, stop and redo only that step.

Not every tutorial needs a camera. If the "tutorial" is really an assembly or setup guide for a product you sell, and the manual already exists, it can often be made into an animated tutorial without a shoot.