iPhone Cinematography

Doug Jensen said:
I agree. But how are they going to control exposure, focus, etc. if the VF is covering the screen? Running everything on 100% automatic? If so, that is a step in the wrong direction. I think Phones are pretty good at wide-angle point-and-shoot. Beyond that, their value is questionable.

Makes me wonder how a phone would have worked on your short film, instead of the Varicam and Steadicam. What do you think?
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Doug, many months have gone by and much has changed. I'm in the midst of building 3 different-size rigs and I'm amazed by what the iPhone 15 Pro Max can do... Here's a new video from Apple that shows it's future potential. https://youtu.be/Qy9RdZ46JEc?si=3KOckRuQhom03ai4
 
kerrigan said:
Doug, many months have gone by and much has changed. I'm in the midst of building 3 different-size rigs and I'm amazed by what the iPhone 15 Pro Max can do... Here's a new video from Apple that shows it's future potential. https://youtu.be/Qy9RdZ46JEc?si=3KOckRuQhom03ai4
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It just shows that if you have a big enough budget, a lot of crew to help, and a ton of extra accessories to strap on, anything is possible. The actual camera is secondary to all of that. But that is not the world I work in, nor do I want to. However. if that sort of production appeals to you, go for it.

I haven't been following this thread. Have you posted any of your own work on YouTube that was shot with your iPhone? If so, please post it again and tell us about your personal experience and BTS production details.
 
Nothing beats an iPhone for capturing memories, which covers most and quite probably nearly all video/photography purpose in the broad population. It's possible to ride a unicycle around the world, but not very many of us will be giving up our car in favour of a unicycle, despite enthusiasts arguing seriously that a unicycle can be superior to other transport options, just by adding engines, wipers, airbags, seatbelts and a trailer (https://onewheel.com.ua/en/).
 
Doug Jensen said:
Have you posted any of your own work on YouTube that was shot with your iPhone? If so, please post it again and tell us about your personal experience and BTS production details.
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No, not yet… I’m still learning how best to use the iPhone camera and the Blackmagic Cam App.

I have expanded my outreach to various other forums and successfully formed a small Facebook group with 80 members, including some former students now involved in shooting feature films globally. This week, I am currently filming examples of log footage for a member of the group, a software developer who intends to incorporate Apple log into his products.
 
Don't take this the wrong way, because you should be applauded for exploring new camera options and figuring out how to best use them, but to me it seems like you are an advocate for something you really haven't even embraced yourself yet. How do YOU really know an iPhone is worth shooting with if you don't have anything worth showing? You shouldn't have to gather up a group of 80 people just to find out. If you can't grab a phone and be shooting great video within a day or two, that kind of says something about its suitability for production.

In other words, you might get more converts to your movement if YOU were to able to post some of your own videos and talk about how YOU shot, ingested, graded, edited them, etc. That might demonstrate to the rest of us naysayers what a one-man-band is capable of producing. Way more powerful than posting an Apple production with a multi-million dollar budget and crew of dozens.

Also, keep in mind that most of the members here are not hobbyists. We earn our living from video production, and if a camera doesn't enable us to shoot what we need to shoot fast and efficiently, it is dead in the water no matter how great the picture quality is. Picture quality, once you reach a minimum threshold, does not matter much. Speaking for myself, there are very few hoops I am willing to jump through to force a iPhone to do what I can already do with tools that are better suited for the job. You can pound a nail into a board with a screwdriver if you work at it long enough, but a hammer is a better choice.
 
Doug Jensen said:
Don't take this the wrong way, because you should be applauded for exploring new camera options and figuring out how to best use them, but to me it seems like you are an advocate for something you really haven't even embraced yourself yet. How do YOU really know an iPhone is worth shooting with if you don't have anything worth showing? You shouldn't have to gather up a group of 80 people just to find out. If you can't grab a phone and be shooting great video within a day or two, that kind of says something about its suitability for production.
.
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I believe there might be a bit of confusion here. While it's accurate that I haven't shared anything in this group as of now, I have created a video. I found the outcome quite satisfying, but I’d prefer to improve the quality further before posting.

I’m totally committed and have sold my Sony A7sii system to pay for this new adventure.

I want to clarify that I didn't assemble a group of 80 individuals just for the sake of finding out if it's good or not.
We're a group of camera people all on a collective learning journey, each contributing in our own way.
One of the guys is the person who originally introduced me to dvxuser.

Dvxuser has been a valuable community for me over the years. I’d hoped I'd discover a few like-minded individuals within the group so we could exchange information.
I’ll be back when I have something worthy to show. Cheers, Bill
 
kerrigan said:
I’ll be back when I have something worthy to show. Cheers, Bill
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I do look forward to seeing what you can do with your phone and what tips you'll have to share. There are some times when pulling out my phone to shoot some discreet stock footage might come in very handy. I have the Blackmagic app and it looks quite impressive, but I have not actually used it for anything serious yet.
 
Ive not followed the thread.

A chum wants a 'film' of his holiday cottage. Its a Six hour round trip for me and $250 in gas. He is also the guy who owns the latest phone and sunglasses. I assume his phone is 'good'

The thing that sells the property ??

Blue skies, lovely sunsets, clean offshore waves. Family dinners.

These moments are fleeting in the UK.

I cant react fast enough, with a diary and he cannot affor failed trips.

Answer..

"if you are there and its looking great do me two 10s shots, one landscape on upright'

Ill edit together and manage the data.

---

Not cinameatography.. but commercial film making with a phone.
 
Maybe not as .. 'the look' is UGC (user generated content) UK adverts had a phase of rigging alexas turning them sidewards and stoppeing them down to to the phone look. but now the directors have noticed using a phone is a great way to make the fooatge look like shot on a phone.. thats the agreed look.

And 'audiences' bond with that 'feel'

I did shoot some intercuts of surf. 500mm good tripod.
 
morgan_moore said:
Maybe not as .. 'the look' is UGC (user generated content) UK adverts had a phase of rigging alexas turning them sidewards and stoppeing them down to to the phone look. but now the directors have noticed using a phone is a great way to make the fooatge look like shot on a phone.. thats the agreed look.

And 'audiences' bond with that 'feel'

I did shoot some intercuts of surf. 500mm good tripod.
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I remember years ago, when I was working in film... people would complain about 'the video look'. The 'phone look of today' will change... here's a peak into the future: https://youtu.be/U1unmE6OlYM?si=0ixRPUatwsbTfeXN
 
kerrigan said:
Now that the iPhone 15 Pro has added more lenses, records 4K on an SSD and Blackmagic has released it's new camera app, I've decided to go all in... and buy a 15 Pro Max and build a camera rig. Is there a Forum for iPhone Cinematography within DVXUSERs? Or should I look somewhere else?
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Hello,
That sounds like an exciting project! While I'm not sure if DVXUSERs has a specific forum for iPhone cinematography, you might find great communities on sites like iPhone Filmmaker or Cinematography.com. Reddit also has some active groups like r/iPhoneography and r/Filmmakers that could be really helpful. Best of luck with your new rig—can't wait to see what you create!
 
brent234 said:
Hello,
That sounds like an exciting project! While I'm not sure if DVXUSERs has a specific forum for iPhone cinematography, you might find great communities on sites like iPhone Filmmaker or Cinematography.com. Reddit also has some active groups like r/iPhoneography and r/Filmmakers that could be really helpful. Best of luck with your new rig—can't wait to see what you create!
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Thanks Brent, I did connect with other communities before forming my own FaceBook page. We now have almost 500 members, most of whom have had more experience with smartphone filmmaking than myself. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post it's URL here.
 
kerrigan said:
Thanks Brent, I did connect with other communities before forming my own FaceBook page. We now have almost 500 members, most of whom have had more experience with smartphone filmmaking than myself. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post its URL here.
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kerrigan, I’m sorry to break it to you but brent won’t be getting his hands on an iPhone for a while.
 
Hey Bill,
I use to work in Montreal and I met you on a few occasions.
I do not come to this place very often as I do not work in the business anymore.
I remember doing Steadicam work on a short film for, I want to say his name is Ahmad Khan? Maybe? Long time ago.
It was 2011 and everybody but myself was using an iPhone on set. I guess it would've been a 4 back then.
I mentioned to the 1st AD that some day someone will shoot a feature film with one of those.
I was joking, but time has proven me wrong.
Crazy business to get into.

Just realized it's been 23 years since I first came to this forum.

Cheers.
Mad Doug K.
 
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