Top Apps for Cinematography & Filmmaking
In this video we take a look at my top Apps for Cinematography and Filmmaking.
There are a lot of apps out there for Filmmakers and Cinematographers and these are some of my favourites.
In this video, we're going to take a look at some of my favourite apps for cinematographers and filmmakers generally.
I'm an iPhone user and so these recommendations will be ios based.
These are in non-particular order.
First up we have:
Sun Seeker - Tracker & Compass
Sunrise Sunset Path Surveyor (£8.99)
Now, as the name suggests this app helps you to see where the sun will be positioned on any given day at a particular time. You can do this for your current location but the best part is, you can also use this to see where the sun will be anywhere else in the world.
It has a live 3d view and a 2d map view. I quite like to use the map view during pre-production to get a general idea of where the sun will be and then while location scouting, I like to use the 3d view on set to see if the sun will be coming through certain windows or hidden behind obstacles for example.
Cadrage Director's Viewfinder
Cadrage GmbH ($19.99)
Next up we have Cadrage. I've actually done a full review of Cadrage before and you can watch that here if you would like.
Cadrage is still my go-to director's viewfinder app. It allows you to quickly visualise what a location will look like with a variety of different cameras and lenses. They are always updating this list and so if you're shooting with a newer camera like the fx6 or a7s iii, you will most likely find it there. It's the perfect tool to have with you on a location scout and it's really handy to use on set when you want to switch and find a new position without having to move your actaul camera.
f8 Lens Toolkit
Cadrage GmbH ($9.99)
Following on from Cadrage, we have the f8 Lens Toolkit. This is the perfect companion for Cadrage. I've actually done another full review on this app as well if you want to see that I'll put a link for it. The f8 Lens Toolkit is designed to be your go-to app for all of your photographic calculations. It features tools such as a Depth of Field calculator, Field of View, Lens Matcher, Sensor Comparison and Lens Coverage guide. It's a fantastic tool if you want to see how different cameras will compare in a multi-camera shoot for example or how the lenses you currently own will be on a different camera system.
Google Maps and Street View
This may sound basic and obvious but Google maps and street view are still some of the most powerful tools you can find when it comes to pre-production. Having the ability to visually see how a location will look from ground level or estimate how long it will take to travel to set, simple things like this are invaluable. The best thing of course is that they are both free! I've talked before how I like to use them in conjunction with other apps such as Sun Seeker and you can watch that video on location scouting here.
Sidus Link/ Nanlink (App controlled lights)
So these apps will be different for whatever system you are using. Personally, I own both Aputure and Nanlite fixtures and so I, of course, have the apps on my phone. This may seem like another obvious one to have the list but I thought it was worth mentioning.
I'd suggest even if you don't own any particular brands, it's useful to have these apps on your phone already, in-case you're hired for a job that may need to hire them out.
Not all lights have the ability to be controlled via an app and some people don't like using an app at all but for someone like me who is a solo filmmaker the majority of the time, being able to position my fixtures and control them remotely through my phone is such a timesaver. Some of these lighting apps such as Sidus link also have other useful features such as a diagram planner and a light meter.
Ronin (Gimbal Apps)
Following on from the lighting apps, chances are you may need to use a gimbal at some point and so having the related apps is always useful to have. I use an RS2 and so I have the Ronin app. Not only are these tools useful for calibrating your gimbals, they also have other handy features such as remote controlling, timelapse, motion control for repeating movements as well as other useful features.
Arri Photometrics/ Red Tools
Some apps you probably won't use a lot, but maybe incredibly useful in certain circumstances. I think these next few apps fall into that category.
I'm going to run through these quite quickly but hopefully, it will give you a rough idea of what these free apps do.
The Ariri Photometrics app gives you a detailed rundown of all of their fixtures. It also gives you details if you are running them via DMX and that sort of thing.
The Red tools app hasn't been updated for some time but it has some handy features if you're going to be working with Red camera systems including things like working out, panning speed, flicker-free rates, crop factor and recording time.
Chromascreen/ Focus Chart/ DataCalc
These 3 apps you may find yourself using in certain situations.
Chromascreen is ideal if you need to do a phone replacement. You can switch between green or blue and it does offer some premium features as well.
There is also Focus Chart which as the name suggests is a focus chart. This one may come in handy in a pinch if you don't happen to have a physical one lying around.
DataCalc gives you a rough estimate of how much storage space you will need when using various codecs and devices. This can be useful when budgeting for bigger projects such as a long form narrative film, when you know you will likely need a lot of storage.
FiLMiC Pro/ Double Take
If you're going to be using your actual phone for filming, I'd highly recommend using FilMic Pro. From my experience, this is by far the best tool for the job when it comes to mobile filming. Not only does it give you full manual camera controls but you also have professional monitoring tools such as false color. I don't do a lot of shooting on my phone but if you do, you may be interested in purchasing the full version of the app to unlock several other features including the ability to shoot in log.
They also have a unique companion app called double take which allows you to make use of the various lenses that iPhones come with these days and record with multiple angles at the same time. This could be a great tool if you are filming interviews or shooting any short of conversation between two people.
Lee Diffusion
The last app I want to mention is Lee Diffusion. Now even if you don't use lee filters specifically, this is a useful reference tool that gives you real examples of how various filters will affect your image. It includes everything from Grid cloth to various forms of frost. This is obviously only useful as a rough guide and it's always best to do tests yourself with the actual materials you will be using but as a quick guide, it's handy to have on your phone.
