LIFE CAMERA ACTION is both an inspiring manifesto and a practical guide.

The manifesto part urges readers to join the mobile moviemaking revolution, which has democratized filmmaking. Now anyone with a smartphone or tablet can make quality sports programs, commercials, news shows, instructional videos, and narratives. You don’t need to go to film school to entertain and educate friends, customers, and even strangers around the world.

The manual material provides specific information on how to get the most out of your mobile devices when they are augmented by a few extra pieces of mobile moviemaking gear, such as lenses, microphones, and tripods.

The author, David Basulto, isn’t an armchair expert. He’s worked professionally as a videographer, and he’s also been a media teacher, helping hundreds of students become adept at producing low-budget, high quality videos.

Most of the book is devoted to very specific, how-to-do-it instruction rather than artistic matters such as cinematic composition and script writing. The topics here cover “below-the-line” techniques related to things like lighting, sound recording, lens selection, camera movement, and editing. For example, there’s a clear, hands-on section for using external microphones to get professional level sound when documenting a football game or a stage play.

This book is exhaustive when it comes to choosing and using simple gear that will enable novices to get top-notch results. It’s scope might be daunting because of all its tips. But it’s like learning golf, chess, knitting, or anything else: you don’t have to master everything at once. The book is perfect as a resource that will come in handy depending on the given project you want to do, whether it’s creating video lessons, documenting a family reunion, or making a narrative movie.

A few critics have complained that Basulto references his invention, an inexpensive camera rig called the iOgrapher. He’s clearly proud of this device, which makes it easy to attach lenses, lights, and microphones to an iPhone or iPad. I didn’t find those mentions annoying because it’s clear that you can apply all the author’s advice using any camera rig. The key concept is that using the add-ons will make an enormous difference in the end product.