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Welcome to the AP Creative Community Newsletter!
Every other week, I share actionable tips, honest answers, and valuable insights to help you on your creative journey—no fluff, just real talk. This newsletter is here to support your journey, spark ideas, and build a community of creatives. 🗺 When I’m not sharing tips, I feature creatives from the community through the Creator Spotlight.
New issues hit your inbox every Sunday. Glad you’re here. 🤝
Most people think you need an expensive cinema camera to shoot cinematic footage, but you really don’t. Your phone is more than capable. What makes the difference is technique.🤌 When you understand angles, focal length, and details, your shots start feeling intentional, emotional, and professional. Today, we're going to break down how 🫡
Tip 1: Angles 📐
Angles are one of the easiest ways to change the emotion of a shot.🎭 A high angle makes your subject feel small or vulnerable. A low angle gives them strength and presence. Eye level is honest and neutral. And a profile shot feels observational, almost documentary-like. When you choose your angle with purpose, your content instantly feels more cinematic. 🎞
Tip 2: Focal Length 🤳
Most creators never think about focal length on their phone.📲 They just point and shoot on the default lens. But focal length is one of the strongest storytelling tools you have whether thats on a camera or a phone. Step back to create space and depth to breathe more life into your frame.🌬 Then zoom in to compress the background and add depth and separation.
Tip 3: Details 🖼
Details are what make your story feel alive. Hands, textures, movement, objects, they all add context your audience feels even if they don’t consciously notice it. Use details as transitions, too. Go from a wide shot, then into close-ups, close-ups, close-ups… then land on a new wide. It creates momentum and gives your edit that smooth, cinematic flow. 😌
Level Up Your Phone Content 🆙 A video breakdown for shooting cinematic content with your phone. Watch HERE
All It Takes Is 3 Steps 💪 People think you can’t film cinematic content with your phone. Not only am I going to prove this wrong, I’m going to show you how HERE
Have a question about cameras/editing/technical skills? Ask me anonymously HERE!
Question of the Week:
What kind of camera should I use to record my live dj sets? Also what kind of program is easy friendly to operate for editing.
Submitted by: Anonymous
From Adrian 💬
If you’re recording live DJ sets, I highly recommend action cameras like the DJI Osmo Action or GoPro. They’re small, lightweight, and won’t distract you or the crowd. You can mount them almost anywhere and pair them with a tiny LED light to make the footage look clean even in darker venues. Then just record your audio separately. Record the direct output from your mixer on another device, then sync that clean audio with your camera footage in post.
Ask me an anonymous question HERE! Your question may be featured and answered in depth on the following week’s newsletter.
Next time you’re filming, don’t just record—choose your angle, play with focal length, capture the details. You’ll see just how different your footage feels because when you think intentionally and shoot with purpose, even your phone becomes a powerful storytelling tool. ✍️
That’s it for today. Thanks for being here and being part of the journey.🤝 Let’s end the year strong and as always, happy creating! ✌️
