In this tutorial I’m really excited to introduce you to FiLMiC Pro’s best in class support
for the Zhiyun Smooth 4 on both Android and iOS, which gives you unprecedented control
over your shooting experience directly from the gimbal, and is the most feature rich integration
yet for FiLMiC Pro and certainly the most tactile.
Let’s start by familiarizing ourselves with the control layout on the Smooth 4 which is
split across four main areas.
Firstly starting at the base of the handle we have the power button.
Hold this down for two second to turn on the Smooth 4.
Directly above this you have the function switch that lets you choose between using
the gimbal in 'Pan Follow Mode', which will follow your pans.
And 'Locked Mode' which will keep your gimbal in place no matter how you move it.
Next on the side of the device is the Handwheel, which controls your manual focus & zoom in
FiLMiC Pro.
The center control panel features the thumbwheel which controls manual exposure when scrubbed,
but can also be used as a clickable d-pad and a center 'Mode Selector' button.
Immediately below this we have the manual focus/zoom target button; the record start/stop
button; and a quick lens selection button.
Above the thumbwheel is the 'Display' button which toggles your Live Analytics on and off,
and the Menu/Back button can be used to exit a menu.
And finally, on the back are two trigger buttons.
Holding down the bottom trigger takes you into full follow mode - so it follows all
your movements including tilt.
You can also double-click this to recenter the gimbal.
And holding the top trigger will drastically increase the responsiveness of movement, making
it great for creating whip pan effects like this.
Now we have the basic button layout out of the way, let’s dig into how to use it with
FiLMiC Pro.
To start using your Smooth 4 with FiLMiC Pro, you’ll need to pair it with the app.
Start by making sure Bluetooth is enabled but do not pair the Zhiyun under your system’s
Bluetooth menu.
Just open FiLMiC Pro’s Settings > Hardware menu, and enable ‘Zhiyun Smooth 4’.
This will display any available Smooth 4 devices, and you can tap on yours to pair it.
You’ll will see an on-screen notification at the top when the pairing has be successfully
completed.
At the heart of FiLMiC Pro’s Smooth 4 integration there are three shooting modes, which can
be cycled through by pressing the Mode Selector in the center of the thumbwheel.
By default you’ll start in Mode 1: Reticle Mode.
In FiLMiC Pro the square reticle is used to set focus, and the circular reticle will set
your exposure, and this allows you to adjust them independently of one another for complete
control over your shot.
When the reticles are white it means that they are unlocked and will dynamically respond
to any changes within each reticle.
Clicking left on the thumbwheel will lock the exposure reticle - turning it red; and
clicking right will lock your focus reticle.
This is really useful as often you’ll want to eliminate unexpected focus and exposure
fluctuations whilst recording.
Of course you can left click again on the thumbwheel to unlock the exposure, and right
click again to unlock focus.
Whilst you can of course drag your reticles around the screen as per usual to set your
focus and exposure, you’ll soon find that just re-positioning the gimbal so that the
relevant reticle is positioned over your point of interest, and pressing left to lock exposure;
and right to lock it focus is super quick and easy too, and a great way to cut down
finger smudges on your screen.
And if you want to lock and unlock both reticles concurrently with a single press, just press
up on the thumbwheel.
If you press the centre mode button once, you’ll progress into Mode 2: Auto Mode.
In auto mode FiLMiC Pro will use its centre weighted auto focus and exposure reticles
which are ideal for run and gun shooting, as well as vlogging with the rear camera.
You can also lock your exposure to prevent further fluctuation by clicking left on the
thumbwheel, and lock your focus by clicking right.
Remember that using mixed reticle states can be incredibly useful as well.
For example a common use case is to lock your exposure only, whilst leaving the full frame
autofocus unlocked to do the focusing for you.
If we press the Mode button again, we enter Mode 3: Manual Mode.
This reveals both manual arcs and here you can use the handwheel which by default will
adjust your focus, and jog the thumbwheel to manually adjust your exposure.
The beauty of this system is that you can adjust both the focus and exposure at the
same time.
You can also initiate pull to point focus and exposure moves in Manual Mode.
Simply set your pull points as per usual by using the handwheel to set your starting focus
point, then tap once on the arc to snap your first pull point into position.
Next use the handwheel to set your second focus point, and tap the arc to snap your
second pull point into position.
Now just click right on the Thumbwheel to move between them.
The same applies in exactly the same way to the exposure arc too.
The Mode Button makes it easy to progress through modes in a linear fashion, but what
if you want to jump from Auto Mode back to reticle mode without progressing through mode
3?
That is simple.
Just press and hold the Mode Button for 2 seconds, which will reveal the Quick Mode
Selector on screen.
You can then use the Thumbwheel to cycle to the mode you want to jump to, and press the
Mode Button once to confirm.
There may be times when you’ll be in reticle or auto mode, and want to make a quick manual
override adjustment.
Thankfully FiLMiC Pro makes this easy.
To perform a manual focus override in either Reticle or Auto mode, just turn the handwheel
and it will reveal the manual focus arc, and you’re away.
If you want to close an arc, and return to your reticle, just click right once to dismiss
it and revert to a locked focus reticle, and right click again to unlock it.
Same goes for exposure.
Just start to turn the thumbwheel to reveal the exposure arc, and manually adjust it.
To dismiss and return to your reticle, just left click on the thumbwheel.
By default FiLMiC Pro uses the handwheel to manually adjust focus in all three modes,
however it can be used to control your zoom as well.
To select your adjustment target, press the 'Target' button once to switch to Zoom Mode.
Now adjusting the handwheel will control your zoom.
If you want to revert to having the handwheel control focus, just press the Target button
again.
Now probably one of the most useful features of the Zhiyun Smooth 4 in FiLMiC Pro is that
it provides fast lens selection directly from the gimbal.
A single press of the lens selector button will simply switch between front and rear
cameras.
If you have a compatible dual lens device such as the iPhone 7+, 8+ or X then a long
press will reveal the multi-lens selector.
You can scroll using the thumbwheel to highlight your lens of choice, and then press the mode
button make the switch.
Well now that we’ve covered the core functionality let’s put this together in a real world
example.
I’ll start by tap-holding the lens selector, and jump back to my wide lens.
Then I’ll press the Mode button to enter Auto Mode, and left click to lock my exposure,
and I'm going to leave my focus unlocked.
Now I’m ready to hit record.
Now while recording I’m free to manually make any further adjustments.
And let's start with the handwheel because once you feel how responsive this is for manual
focus, you’ll want to use it all the time.
Now of course don’t forget that tapping the display button will enable and disable
live analytics, and when this is turned on you get that beautiful responsive focus peaking
to help ensure your shot is razor sharp.
I’ll right click on the thumbwheel to close the focus arc, and now I can make fine tune
adjustment to the exposure with the thumbwheel, and of course throughout this whole shot I’ve
not needed to touch my screen once.
Let’s end the recording by hitting the record button again.
And last but not least, we can open the FiLMiC Library by pressing down on the thumbwheel,
ready to review our clip.
Alright I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and it enables you to get the most out of FiLMiC
Pro’s incredible support for the Zhiyun Smooth 4.
Remember to like and subscribe and let me know what you think in the comments below.
And as always I'd like to thank you very much for watching.