With these apps you can shoot retro videos with VHS effects

All these old film techniques have their own shortcomings and aberrations. For starters, the camcorder. Earlier copies in particular suffered from all sorts of “side effects”.

First, there was the video system itself, and most home videographers are getting to work with VHS for the first time. It wasn’t the best system visually, but as several manufacturers joined forces, it eventually – and unfortunately in retrospect – became the standard. It was a mechanical system in which the undercarriage was highly sensitive to movement, bumps and shocks. This was immediately reflected in stripes throughout the recording.

It went much better with video8 and later hi8. The real breakthrough in stability came with the advent of video cameras that could simply record to a memory card. This was the last generation of leather video cameras.

They also didn’t bother with the limited resolution that comes with VHS, for example. Eventually, these cameras also evolved to Full HD and higher. They are still there, but they are not interesting for our article, because they are almost perfect.

No, those old footage on tape has its own charm. You can immediately see the time period in which they were made: a few decades ago. Despite these shortcomings, this often makes looking back even more fun.

Just because it’s retro, or because you’re making a movie set in the 80s (amateur or professional), or do you want to recreate those old times yourself, with an old tape from that era? software. Software that turns the ‘perfect’ contemporary image sensor back in time, so to speak. Just adding in the annoyances of the past.

Meanwhile, CPUs and GPUs in an average smartphone are so fast that it can be done in real time.

Which brings us to our first ‘retro app’: RarevisionVHS. With it, you can start shooting VHS quality movies from the previous year, including all the characteristic noise and distortion. If you shake your device, interference patterns are added, just like with a mechanical camera. Almost real. Equally characteristic date text and the like are included.

Download Rarevision VHS for Android
Download Rarevision VS for iOS

In principle, the process is simple: press the red record button and start shooting. However, if you want more creative possibilities, tap the button first. MENU and then Settings. For example, to get a better view of the Hi8, choose from the selection menu on the back. Video Filter in front of hello8. Or choose from other effects such as the awesome MTV-like video wall.

Be sure to check out the other available options. For example, you can fake the date and set it back to the eighties, which makes everything even more believable. Or whichever you prefer, skip that date altogether.

When shooting movies, you can use: T- and W-Press the button at the bottom right of the screen to zoom in and out continuously. Digital zooming can be effortless, as shooting is done at a (much) lower resolution than the image sensor on your device. When your recording is finished, tap the record button again and the recording will stop.

Also note the buttons at the top right. LIGHT causes the LED flash to turn on and TITLE It shows a text that can be adjusted via the settings menu. You can adjust the sharpness of the image by touching the blue button. MENU and then DETAIL. From the same menu CONTRAST and SATURATION to improve or worsen.

It is possible to import pre-created ‘regular’ videos via your device’s camera app. They then receive the same treatment set in the app in real time. To edit this PLAY-button at the bottom right. Then tap on the top right Import Videos. Select a video from the overview of the videos available on your device. The video will then play (probably speeding up or slowing down a bit depending on the speed of your device). The transformation happens right here; recognizable by flashing red text IMPORT.

Wait for the playback to finish and the application returns to its live preview. You will now find the converted movie in your gallery/camera roll, of course the old original recording is unaffected and still available. Clips created by RarevisionVHS can also be used in video editors for further processing in a movie or video project.

If you want to go back to the heyday of 8mm film, there’s the 8mm app (for iOS only). On the main screen of this you will find a round button at the bottom right. You select a movie genre by swiping over the text here, for example 70s. Press the record button and your movie will be recorded. While recording, you can occasionally tap the button in the lower right circle for a ‘pull’ effect. Especially in older movies, that makes it even more believable.

You can import existing movies using the ‘flower’ button to the right of the preview. After you tap on it, you select a movie from your camera roll. Then tap the red record button to convert the selected movie into an 8mm movie in real time with pre-selected settings. Initially, you will only find recorded or converted movies in the app’s local storage. To export a movie for later use, tap the button with the filmstrip at the bottom of the screen.

Tap the movie clip, then you can optionally apply a theme and add a title. Tap the export button at the bottom left of the screen to export everything to your device camera roll, then render and finally Export video.