28 Apps That Turn Your Phone Into a Filmmaking Toolkit

You don’t need a truck full of gear to start making films. A lot of what used to need a crew, a trailer and a big budget now lives in your pocket.

We came across a brilliant resource from filmmaker and creator @byemmasvision: The Filmmaker’s App Toolkit, a list of 28 apps she’s featured in her reels, all in one place. It’s too good not to share, so here’s our rundown of the standouts, grouped by where they help in the process. (Full credit to her for the list. You can grab the whole thing here, and give her a follow while you’re at it.)

1. Writing and planning

Every film starts as an idea and a script, and these apps help you get both organised.

• WriterDuet lets you write a screenplay in real time with a co-writer, from anywhere, even on your phone.
• Scriptation is for marking up scripts digitally, and it carries your notes across draft revisions, which saves a heap of headaches.
• Notion keeps shot lists, call sheets and schedules in one spot.
• Studiovity and CineFlo handle script breakdowns, schedules and shot lists, so you can plan from pre-production through to wrap.

2. Visual references and mood

Before you shoot, you need to know what you’re chasing.

• ShotDeck is a huge visual reference library pulled from real films.
• Pinterest and Milanote are great for mood boards and visual direction.
• Palette Republic (iOS Only) pulls colour palettes out of any photo, which is handy when you’re thinking about your grade.
• Letterboxd is for logging what you watch. Studying other people’s films is some of the best film school going.

3. Previsualising your shots

You can work out your coverage before anyone steps on set.

• Artemis, Cadrage (and Cadrage Studio) and FrameUp (iOS Only) work as director’s viewfinders, so you can frame a shot through different lens and camera combos without carrying the actual camera.
• Previs Pro does 3D storyboarding and shot planning.
• Shot Designer is for overhead diagrams, blocking and camera movement.

4. Light and exposure

Good light makes a cheap film look expensive.

• Sun Surveyor and SunSeeker (iOS Only) show you exactly where the sun will be at any location and time, so you can plan golden hour days in advance.
• Cinetemp gives quick, accessible colour temperature and exposure values.

5. Shooting

This is where it gets fun. Your phone can act like a proper cinema camera.

• Blackmagic Camera is free, shoots in log, and turns your iPhone into a cinema camera.
• FilmicPro and Protake give you manual control: shoot log, set your frame rate, pull focus by hand.
• Super 16 (iOS Only) gives your footage a filmic, 16mm-style look.
• Take One (iOS Only) is a digital slate to keep your takes organised.

6. Music, review and the business side

Finishing the film is half the battle, and getting paid for it is the other half.

• Musicbed offers curated scores from real composers, not generic stock tracks.
• Frame.io lets your team leave timestamped feedback right on the video. No more “somewhere around two minutes in, that shot…”.
• HoneyBook handles invoices, contracts and proposals for freelance creatives.
• CineD keeps you across industry gear and news.

The bit we care about most

Look at that list again. Ten years ago, most of this wasn’t possible on a phone. Today, a filmmaker with a good idea and a bit of time can write, plan, shoot, edit and deliver a film using tools that cost very little.

The making part has never been more accessible. The hard bit now is what comes after: getting the film in front of an audience, and actually owning a fair share of what it earns.

That’s where we come in. At Indikin we’re tool agnostic. Shoot on 16mm, shoot on your phone, use these apps or none of them. What we care about is that the person who made the film owns it. Indiflix is our streaming platform for independent film, free to browse at indikin.online, built so filmmakers can reach an audience without handing over their rights.

Over to you

Which apps on this list are already part of your workflow? And is there one we’ve missed that you reckon every filmmaker should have? Tell us in the comments.

Thanks again to @byemmasvision for putting the original toolkit together. App features and pricing can change, so check each app’s website for the latest, including iOS and Android availability.