THE CAMERA THAT MAKES MOVIES FOR YOU

Whether you’re broadcasting on Facebook Live or helping the kids with a school project, all you need is Mevo.

WHEN I WAS WORKING for the TV news years ago, every story went a little like this: you’re under deadline. You need to get two guests in with a correspondent for interviews. So you quickly book a studio (or rent a nice hotel room) and – as the correspondent waits impatiently – have two camera crews cart in and set up nearly half a ton of lights, cameras, and audio gear. Sometimes the hot lights char the ceiling tiles and the heavy tripods scratch the floors. You’ll hear about (and maybe pay for) that later. In the meantime, you have to hustle the video back to the editing room and assemble your story to be broadcast to the world. All before 6:30 pm.

Of course, now that I’m done with that life, there’s Mevo (US price, about R5 000). The 5-cm-tall camera is narrower than a soft drink can. It fits in your pocket. And it replaces all of the camera equipment and most of the headaches I went through years ago. It almost replaces me. Mevo packs a 150-degree wide-angle lens and a UHD 4K sensor, plus a rechargeable battery, its own Wi-fi hot spot, and a stereo audio system all into its compact body. Download the free app, and with your iphone or ipad, you control as many as nine virtual camera angles, each at a crisp 720p resolution. Instead of switching physical cameras, you tap a part of your screen to change angles. Or you can let the system’s facial-recognition switch them for you. The whole process feels a lot like being in a studio, but with even smoother pans. The editing part is easier, too. The smart software tracks each figure in the frame, and can automatically show the “camera” for that person. The top of the camera has a circling ED that lets you know when the Mevo is powered on, paired and broadcasting. It also lets your interview subjects know whose face is currently on camera. If a red light is pointing towards you, you are currently in the frame. It works the same whether there is one person in front of the camera or four. Attach Mevo to a tripod, and you have an instant mobile studio. The device’s only real weakness is its sound-recording ability. It has built-in stereo microphones, but they’re only passable in quality. You’ll want to supplement them with an external mic, which can be quite affordable.

To be clear, Mevo doesn’t replace a production studio. It’ll never replicate great lighting and fancy effects between cameras. But most of us don’t need that. We just need a simple set-up and a simple editing process that will let us make a home video or broadcast on Facebook Live. My brother and I used the Mevo to record and share his newest invention – a brilliant adjustable robotic tentacle lamp that automatically repositions each lit-up arm. I had to learn how to tap and switch between “cameras” while remaining the intrepid interviewer. It was a challenge, but I did it. Alone. No cameramen, no sound guys and no bright lights to make me sweat through my jacket. And all of it was broadcast live to a world I hope is watching.