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Best Smartphone for Video

The smartphone market is full of great phones, but not every cellphone is equal. Some are better for capturing video and playing it back than others. Some phones make editing your videos easier and others have features exclusive to them. When you’re checking out the prices of smartphones the LG V30 and the iPhone 8 Plus aren’t in the same league but when you check out the specs, you’ll notice that these two phones are rivals for your money. Each is feature-packed and offers hardware and software that other phones can’t match which is why the choice of which smartphone’s best for video comes down to these two.

LG V30 vs iPhone 8 Plus

With 25 percent more RAM than the iPhone 8 Plus at 4GB compare to 3GB, you’d expect the LG V30 to be faster than the iPhone 8 Plus but it’s not. The iPhone features Apple’s A11 Bionic chip with its neural engine which is way faster than anything Qualcomm currently produces. In terms of storage, both phones can be bought with 64GB of memory but you can go up to 256GB with the iPhone. Anyone familiar with iPhone will know that you can’t add SD cards so 256GB is the limit whereas the LG’s memory can be expanded with a microSD card up to 2TB.

Although the iPhone 8 Plus is a bigger phone, it’s 5.5 inch display is smaller than the six-inch screen on the LG V30. There’s a lot of bezel on the iPhone which is a design cue of Apple’s phones as they normally have the ID sensor as part of the chin bezel and the built-in stereo speaker at the top. By contrast, the LG has very little bezel, which is the current trend for phone designs. If you want an iPhone to rival the LG for screen size, buy the iPhone X which comes with a 5.8-inch display thanks to a nearly edge-to-edge screen design.

Which has the best camera? Which machine has the best battery life? Both are important if you want to use them to capture those special moments. Although the V30 has a larger battery at 3300 mAh compared to 2675 mAh, each phone has the same battery life at close to 12 hours. You get wireless charging with both phones too. In terms of cameras, the iPhone’s front-facing camera is better at 7MP compared to the V30’s 5MP but both feature dual lens rear cameras. Both shoot in 4K but your videos and pictures will look better when captured with the LG’s 16MP telephoto lens and 13MP wide-angle lens rather than the iPhone which offers 12MP for both lenses.

Apple’s iOS offers regular software updates and security patches which you won’t find with the LG. If you want the same experience on Android, you’ll need to buy a Google Pixel phone. When you check out the App Store or the Play Store you’ll see a difference there too as Android users have around 3.5 million apps available to them while those on Apple’s iOS only have 2.5 million apps to choose between. You’ll also find more free apps on Play Store than the App Store but all the best apps are available for both phones.

Winner and Loser

With fingerprint sensors, wireless charging, big screens and great cameras both phones are great for capturing and playing back video. But to get the most out of the iPhone you’ll need to spend close to $1000 to buy the 256GB. The LG is $200 cheaper and its memory can be expanded far higher than the iPhone for a lot less than the $200 saved on the purchase price. When both phones are so similar, why pay more? If you’re a big Apple fan, buy the iPhone X. That’s the best iPhone on the market at this time.

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How to Write Movie, Music, and Video Game Reviews

Last Updated: May 2, 2023 References

This article was co-authored by Christopher Taylor, PhD . Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. This article has been viewed 82,169 times.

If you are a fan of movies, music, or video games, writing reviews can be a fun way express your opinions about media. For some people, it can also be a source of income, as some websites and publications will pay for well-written reviews (or at least give you free copies to review). While music, game, and film reviews are somewhat different from each other, there are also similarities both in their features and the process of writing them.

Sample Movie Reviews

Researching the Game, Movie, or Music

• For movies, you should plan on watching the film at least 2 or 3 times. The first time, just watch and enjoy as your normally would. During the later viewings, try to think about the more the film in more critical terms.
• For music, you'll likewise want to listen to an album or single several times. There's no magic number for how many times is enough. Several listens over a few days is usually adequate, but you also don't want to overdo it, because you can end up second-guessing your initial reaction. For at least some listening, do it in a couple of natural settings, such as while jogging, driving, doing dishes, or however you would normally listen to music, rather than focusing too intently.
• For game reviews, it's common to need to have the review completed very quickly, as gaming websites and publications try to have reviews out the day the game is released. This can present a challenge, because games are generally longer than movies or albums. You may not be able to complete the game by the time the review is due. Usually, 7-10 hours is enough to form a solid impression of the game. [1] X Research source

• For movies, take notes on the acting, lighting, editing, and special effects. What specific aspects of the film stood out to you? What did you like about the film's technical features stand out, such as the lighting, editing, writing, costumes, cinematography, etc.?
• For music, take notes on the production and performance. How would you describe the sound of the music? What instruments did they use? What stood out about the music? How was the music mixed? What was the melody and rhythm of each song? What was the singer's voice like? What was the tone, melody, style, timing, volume, etc.? [2] X Research source
• For games, you'll want to make some notes about the control, level of difficulty, music, sound, and graphics. What were the visuals of the game like? How do the controls compare to other types of games? What was challenging about the game? [3] X Research source

• For movies and games, what makes the story interesting or boring? Is it believable? Why or why not? Is there a deeper message you think the movie or game is trying to communicate or issue you think it is seeking to address? What is it? How do you know?
• For music, what are the features that stand out about the lyrics? Are they interesting? Meaningful? Poetic? Unintelligent? Are there common themes that come up repeatedly over the course of an album or body of songs? [4] X Research source

• Much of the basic information you need will usually be found in the credits, for movies and games. For music recordings, you may have to do some more independent research to find out who all the musicians are, who the producer is, etc.
• Find out what projects the key artists have been involved in in the past, and read anything you can find about them.
• It's also a good idea to look at reviews for similar movies, music, or games. If you aren't a regular reader of such reviews, spending some time familiarizing yourself with how others have written about similar media will give you a better sense of the format and conventions.

• It can be very helpful to make comparisons in your review to previous works by the same artists. [5] X Research source This allows you to make statements such as "This album is much more melodic than the band's previous work" or "This film is par for the course for this director. All he ever seems to produce are silly slapstick comedy films."

Writing the Review

• Keep in mind that, depending where you hope to publish your review, you will typically only have 600 to 1,200 words to get your ideas across. [6] X Research source Make sure to familiarize yourself with the publication where you hope to publish your review.
• Some reviewers find it helpful to think of reviews in narrative terms: what story do you want to tell about this movie, album, or game?
• Some writers like to create an outline to determine which points they want to make and in what order. This can lead to a more smoothly flowing review.

• The introduction may be one paragraph or a few short paragraphs.
• It should include information about who the key artists involved are.
• The introduction should give the reader a general idea of what the film or game is about, or for music, what style or genre the music is.

• For example, was the theater crowded with excited movie fans, or was it empty and quiet? Did listening to the album make you feel happy? Sad? Did playing the game get your heart racing?
• For a movie or game, this is the portion of the review where you would describe the plot. Don't spoil the ending--remember that your readers may not have seen the movie or played the game yet. [8] X Research source
• As a rule of thumb, it's a good idea to describe at least five events that occurred in the story, spanning most of the plot for movie reviews. [9] X Research source For a plot-driven game, this probably also works well. Make sure that you are being as descriptive as possible, such as by saying the guitars sounded “angular and clean,” rather than saying that the guitar sounded “good.”

• It should be very obvious whether or not you enjoyed the media you are reviewing. [10] X Research source It should also be very clear why you did or didn't like it. [11] X Research source
• Be detailed in your evaluation of the actors/musicians, plot/lyrics, as well as the lighting, graphics, production, and other relevant technical themes. [12] X Research source
• Don't, for example, say, "the graphics were bad." Describe what it was that bothered you about the graphics. Were they too pixelated? Were the characters to blocky? Were the scenes too dark? Were the backgrounds distracting? Be specific!

• For example, you might say, "If you like heavy metal that sounds like it came out in 1987, you might enjoy this record. But if you're looking for something with a more modern sound, I recommend skipping this."

Editing and Submitting the Review

• Taking some time away from your review will make it easier to see the flaws in it when you come back to it later.

• It goes without saying that you should fix any typos you find. You should also look for sentences that might be confusing, or places where you could have stated things more effectively. [14] X Research source
• Don't be afraid to make major revisions. You might decide, for example, to move, delete, or rewrite an entire paragraph. If it makes the review better, then embrace this opportunity to improve your work.

• Someone else will be more likely to spot typos or grammatical errors than you might be at this point.
• Ideally, this should be someone who is already familiar with the type of media you are reviewing. Giving a review of a new first-person shooter to someone who hasn't played a video game since the 1970s might not be the most helpful.

• It's possible the editor will ask you to make some more revisions before the review is published. Other times, the editor will makes changes him or herself. Don't be surprised if the published review doesn't look exactly like the one you submitted.

Expert Q&A

• When taking notes, be as detailed as possible, so that you can easily draw from specific examples when writing your review. Readers won't want to read a review that says "The acting in this film was great." They'll be much more interested if you can describe what makes the star of the film's portrayal of their character compelling or convincing. [15] X Research source Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Tailor your review for your audience. If you know who you're writing for, write the review in such a way that it will be fun and informative for them. If your review is for a website that caters to "music nerds," for example, making obscure references to bands from the 1970s might be just fine. If your review is for the local paper's arts section, this might be confusing for your readers. [16] X Research source Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Not every review needs to follow the format described in this article. It's a common way to write reviews, but there is no single right way. After you get comfortable writing reviews, feel free to get creative and experiment with other approaches. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

• In rare instances, being overly harsh or nasty in a review could lead to legal action from the artist or company that produced the media produce you've written about. [17] X Research source Be honest in your opinions, but avoid being unnecessarily mean, and don't make factual claims that you can't support with evidence. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

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