T3’s very own superstar dazzles with more astute tech solutions
Q Can I really make movies with an iPhone?
A Reader, many have, and not only with modern iPhones. 2014’s Uneasy Lies the Mind dragged a 90-minute feature out of a crusty iPhone 5, for instance. But that film’s secret wasn’t the sensor it was using, although the shallow depth of field certainly didn’t hurt: it was the cinematic lenses strapped on front. You can pick up affordable lens kits for around £25, though the results won’t necessarily be great given that you’ve cheaped out, again, you awful miser.
Moment makes a number of pro-quality lenses that clip on to a drop-in lens mount and expand the already rather decent video abilities of modern iPhones. They’re available in the UK through Fjorden (fjorden.co), which also happens to make a grip from £190 that makes your phone more holdable and adds a bunch of super-handy DSLR-like camera controls where they’re actually useful.
You can pick up affordable lens kits for around £25, though the results won’t necessarily be great, you awful miser
If you want to go further, go digging. Various companies with suspicious jumble-of-letters names (you know the ones) make adapters for phones that allow you to bolt on proper kit lenses from, for example, Canon’s EOS-EF mount system, Sony’s E Mount, or Nikon’s range. It’s a slippery slope, as is anything photography-related, and Guru’s vouch gland has completely shut down on this kind of product, but it’s worth a look.
Finally: microphones. If you film something beautiful and nobody watching can hear a word being said, Guru will hunt you down and wave his fist menacingly in your direction. Rode is a good bet – its shotgun mics will do a decent job.
Q What’s the simplest way to get started making music on my PC?
A Let’s be fully transparent here: Guru often selects these questions based on the things he himself has been nerding out about. In this case, your question was perfect because he’s picked himself up a Novation Launchpad Pro MK3 (around £250), and it’s as close to a musical cheat code as you can get.
For a start, it comes with a (limited) version of track-mangling wunderkind Ableton Live, and integrates automatically with it, so you’ve got a bunch of tools and instruments and track layout options on tap. The device itself, a grid of 64 RGB pads with a heap of buttons around the edge, features a built-in four-track sequencer, which is fantastic for noodling around on before you throw your work into Ableton’s session view.
But it’s the note and chord views that really feel scandalous, given that you can lock them into a scale. Mash any combination of buttons and you can be sure your notes will fit together harmoniously. No more cacophonous sessio
