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iPhone Apps for the Producer in You
We ran a poll asking 400 video industry professionals what kind of smart phones they own and to name the video production apps they use. The results: iPhone ranked #1 phone most used by producers. While many of you were using production apps there is also a huge response from people asking what apps are available and most popular. We’ve put together a list of apps that our pollers use and some apps we think are cool. You know the iPhone can do just about anything– except maybe turn into a heater to keep you warm on location. That app might be in development– you never know. Here are the results for the apps the pros rated best for production plus highlights on a few favorites we rate thumbs-up.
Survey Says: The Top 5 Most Used Production Apps
#1 AJA DataCalc -computes storage requirements for professional video and audio media.
#2 Final Cut Pro Guide– a must-have for anyone working with Final Cut Pro
#3 Slate– the perfect companion for the DSLR Filmmaker
#4 TCCCalc– time code calculator
#5 iSlate– a digital clapper board adding a touch of Hollywood magic to your video production
Here are highlights on more of our favorite apps for production:
The name says it all. This app is designed to help you manage and track a production budget. You can track expenditures, get an overview of your budget as well as individual categories. You can track up to three budgets at one time, all with their own customizable categories. In addition you can also manage shoot costs, location costs, transportation, catering, equipment, recording media, general supplies, communication costs, and other expenses. It’s not just a note taker to jot down costs, the share feature let’s you email the full report right from the app.
If camera formats, standards and how they differ from one another is too much for you to remember, never fear, Pro Video Guide is here. The Pro Video Guide is an app that explains technologies for standard definition video, high definition (HD), 2K or 4K. It was developed by the Academy Award winning company Moviola, the #1 professional video training center in Hollywood. This is perfect for keeping up with changing technologies or if you just want a handy guide for expanding your knowledge on the go.
What time will it be in 2 minutes, 46 seconds + 3 minutes 59 seconds + 4 minutes, 38 seconds… if it’s now 14:07? Ever struggled with keeping track of time code? Then the TCCalc is for you. It’s a live production timing tool that performs calculations. No matter how simple or complex, TCCalc is right on time when you need to switch between different frame rates, film gauges, film unit, or the shot list for editing.
The MovieSlate clapperboard and shot log provides an easy way to log footage and take notes during your shoot— saving you time in postproduction. The app includes a digital slate, clapper board, shot log, and shot notepad— designed for use with filming. Your editor will thank you!
PCam Film+Digital Calculator for iPhone
PCCam was designed for camera operators by a camera operator and has become a time tested industry standard for HD Video camera manufacturer’s specs. You don’t have to be a camera operator to appreciate all this app can do. PCCam features quick gestural finger changes to DOF hyperfocal distance, customizable, user-defined camera formats, conversion calculator, shooting to screen time, scene illumination and a amassment of other features ready for action at the swipe of a finger. It even includes all common professional still camera, film and HD camera formats. No wonder it won an Outstanding Achievement in Engineering Development from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
Unlike your average standalone sunrise calendars, SoLuna is a utility for the iPhone that calculates moon phases as well as predicted sunrise and sunset. There may be no correlation between the lunar effect and how people behave but this tool will come in handy if you want to schedule your shoot around the full moon just in case. It also calculates predictions for the begin and end of civil, nautical, and astronomical twilight, in case you wanted to know.
FiRe is the world’s first professional field recorder built exclusively for iPhone by Audiofile Engineering. Hands down, this app rocks (no pun intended). It displays an accurate audio waveform in real time with support markers, Broadcast WAVE metadata, and instant file download in multiple file formats. FiRe hosts a load of features sure to beat the high score on what you expect from a portable recording device.
Create a call sheet and send to your entire production crew right from your phone. Pocket Call Sheet includes all elements of a standard industry call sheet with the ability to have multiple call sheets for different shoots. After entering complete details of your production, just tap to have a formatted call sheet emailed to your crew right from the app.
That’s 8 new tools to help your production go that much smoother. If we blew your mind or left out one of your favorites, leave a comment below to let us know!
For more tips and production tools follow @crewscontrolcam
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