Do you want to film yourself coloring, painting, drawing, using your tablet, making dinner etc. overhead? If you have looked at tabletop style filming frames, you know they can get expensive fast. Since most of us use our phones for a lot of filming, I know you can benefit from this project.

Ta Da!

You too can make this beautiful (haha I should say useful) overhead filming frame.

Supplies:

• 1/2” PVC Pipe (I used precut pieces at 2 feet long)
  • You will need 4 pieces at 2 feet long (unless you want to change the length or height)
  • Two pieces of 2 foot PVC pipes that you will cut in half to be 1 foot long. (Four 1 foot long pieces for the feet)(you could use shorter if you want to.)
  • One piece for the camera stand part. Mine is about 4”-6” long. It depends on how high you want your phone.
  • Five 1/2” T connectors
  • Four 1/2” caps.
• One piece of thin wood larger than your phone. I had this lying around so I used it. Anything you can cut and can stay stiff.
• Gorilla glue, some type of really good glue. I already had this.
• Optionally you can get a PVC pipe cutter or saw. Something to safely cut the pipe with if you don’t have it cut already.

STEP 1

Cut all pieces to the correct length.

STEP 2

Insert two feet into the T connector.

Do this to the other foot as well so that you have two of these.

STEP 3

Add the caps on each end of the feet and insert the 2 foot pipe into the T opening.

Do this on the other unit too.

STEP 4

Put together the two 2 foot long pipes with the T connector.

STEP 5

Add a T connector to each side and put each end of the middle pipe into each of the other two units T connectors. (You could use corner connectors instead but I like the idea that I can make it taller later If I want just By adding another pipe.

STEP 6

Admire the finished frame unit. Now onto the phone platform.

STEP 7

Lay the wood on a flat surface. Put your phone face down on the wood where you would want it. Leave room for the pipe to be glued on.

STEP 8

Draw a rectangle starting from the edge to the center of the pop socket if you have one. Make it the width of the smallest part of your pop socket. Also draw a rectangle from the edge past your camera spot.

STEP 9

Cut out the rectangles. I used a saw and xacto knife but use what is safest. You could even use a Cricut maker to cut balsa wood out.

STEP 10

Decide how long you want your middle pipe that connects the wood to the frame. Mine is somewhere between 4” and 6”. Cut it and glue (I used clear gorilla glue that takes 24 hours to cure) it to the wood in the middle edge where you won’t have your phone.

STEP 11

After everything is dry, place the pipe into the T connector and it’s ready to use! You can glue everything together but I like to be able to take it apart myself.