Top 8 apps for indie filmmakers

apps for filmmakingWith most of the film and television professionals glued to their iPads and iPhones nowadays, it would be a shame not to get the most out of them - so here are our eight favourite filmmaking apps of the moment.

From lighting issues to help with screenwriting, the following apps (in no particular order) are aimed at indie filmmakers to help to make their work a little easier and, hopefully, better.

Sun Seeker

With the clock ticking it’s always nerve-racking to see the sun slowly go down before you have managed to get the shot you need. Sun Seeker provides the solution. This app, which has a free ‘lite’ version and a full version for £5.99, will tell you the sun’s path and how much time you have left to film in the right light.

Movie Slate

It has been called the “Rolls-Royce of iPad/iPhone clapboards” so can’t be left out of this list. Movie Slate is an easy to use, all-in-one digital slate, clapper board, shot log, and shot notepad which you can use in film and television as well as documentaries and music videos. The app lets you log footage and take notes during your shoot. Though not the cheapest at £17.49, it would still be a way to save some money.

Screenplay

Screenplay is a fully-functional mobile screenwriting application. So, though they might still need to seek out a quiet place, screenwriters can now write complete movie and television screenplays directly anywhere and anytime on the iPhone or iPad. With a good user rating and a recommendation by Apple itself, we feel the £10.49 app is a good buy.

iSupr8

Yes, you can rediscover film using a modern device. It perhaps sounds a little daft but the beauty of authentic vintage film has never gone away. iSupr8 is a recorder which grades each pixel based on exposure adding old school effects.  It’s incredibly easy to use and at £1.49 a lot cheaper than film ever was.

iMovie

The popular app iMovie does what it says on the tin; it lets you make HD movies on your mobile (or iPad). With the programme’s in-depth editing features you can make entire short films, all of good quality and for just £2.99 – well worth the download we think.

BeamCalc

You can use BeamCalc (£10.49) to gauge the geometry and photometrics of spotlight beams. Place and direct up to three light sources (from the included library) to assess and compare lighting characteristics: elevation angle, beam and field pool width, illumination, and shadow length.

CinemaFX for Video

CinemaFX for Video  (£1.49) is a video effects app that helps you create a vintage look and feel. Effects include 8mm, 8mm Vanilla, 8mm Magenta, 70s, Pop, 70s Dusty, 1920, Techcolor, Dust & Scratch, Film Grain, Quick Blur, Smooth Blur. You can stack up effects and export the footage in various resolutions.

Pcam

This app, originally developed for the Palm device popular in the late 90s, aims to help cinematographers to quickly calculate depth of field, focal length, exposure, running time to length, shooting to screen time, diopter, underwater distance, etcetera. The list is quite long and for £20.99 Pcam should help you save some time during production.
 

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