The Avengers used iPhone 4 for filming

sonnyboo

sonnyboo

I just got an iPhone 4 this week and then I read this!

http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/22168/-the-avengers-used-iphone-4-for-filming

"The Avengers" director of photography Seamus McGarvey has made the surprising admission that Joss Whedon's upcoming superhero team-up project used some unconventional shooting techniques.

Specifically several shots of the big-budget tentpole were done with the iPhone 4, in fact some them actually made it into the recent teaser trailer.
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This is an interesting bookend to the "end of film" thread. That's pretty impressive that phones are having that type of quality (and no doubt will be a selling point for Iphones)
 
It's how you use the camera and what you use it for.

While I kind of understand the techheads and their discussions
that all seem to revolve around numbers, the audience doesn't
care. In this case McGarvey used the right camera for a specific
look. There is no reason at all a beginning filmmaker cannot use
an iPhone to make a good movie.

Use what you have - do not wait until you have what you want.

Thanks for posting this, Sonnyboo!
 
I recall a story I was told by a Tesla Motors Rep when we filmed our review that a TV show doing a review had one of their techs hanging out the window "filming" B roll of the car driving from his iPhone, which made it to the show. And this was back in April/May, before the iPhone 4 came out I believe?

I don't remember what show, it was American, and the only Car Show I really know is Top Gear from across the Atlantic...
 
JohnNetzlof said:
I recall a story I was told by a Tesla Motors Rep when we filmed our review that a TV show doing a review had one of their techs hanging out the window "filming" B roll of the car driving from his iPhone, which made it to the show. And this was back in April/May, before the iPhone 4 came out I believe?
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The 4 came out June 2010, it's the 4S that's just been released :)
 
That's pretty crazy! The trailer looked great, I thought. Of course, quality of footage definitely took back seat to Joss Whedon writing Tony Stark (and Robert Downey Jr. being as great as he's been in the role)!

I definitely agree with directorik. Do the best with what you have is a great motto! It's good to want new/better gear (I know I always do), but that shouldn't stop anyone from producing the best stuff they can!
 
I cannot possibly imagine a situation in which an iPhone is a superior choice to a DSLR. This reeks of gimmick.

EDIT: Full disclosure: I passionately dislike Joss Whedon.
 
SinEater said:
That's harsh.
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I don't know what it is. I mean, I'm not a fan of his work (at all) but that's not a reason to dislike somebody, no matter how much it often makes me recoil in discomfort. It's pretty irrational.

I feel the same way about Tom Petty.
 
Wombat said:
I don't know what it is. I mean, I'm not a fan of his work (at all) but that's not a reason to dislike somebody, no matter how much it often makes me recoil in discomfort. It's pretty irrational.

I feel the same way about Tom Petty.
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Could it be the rabid fanbase? Joss does seem to play to some pretty vocal and obnoxious crowds. In that way, kinda reminds me of the band Tool. I love Tool. I will never see them live, because I can't imagine wanting to be in a room with that many Tool fans. Whedon fans do tend to get pretty evangelical, and some trapped in their own crazy worlds. I've met people who refuse to acknowledge ANY Buffy stuff after a certain character gets killed. Like, groups of them. It's kinda freaky.

That said, AS a rabid fan, I can't imagine anyone not liking Firefly ;) And I definitely like Alien Resurrection way more than either Whedon or Jeunet does (each hates it for compromising to the other's style, and I love it because it's a great blend of two very different styles).
 
Does the Iphone 4 have manual exposure control? Cause if automatic controls look that good, you think more indie filmmakers would use cams with those more often and not care.
 
The iPhone 4 has only a 5megapixel camera. The iphone 4S that just came out has a 8 Megapixel camera. I believe they used the iPhone 4 not 4s. I think the shot of Thor with the Hammer may be it. To me the image quality does not look as good as the rest of the trailer. Thor has the hammer in the sun light.

avtrail_article.jpg


I found below info on a website talking about the iPhone 4's camera.

"Pros: Good image quality at low ISO; Camera's lens focuses via touch interface; Various apps available to customize and share photos; Usable print sizes range from 13x19 inches at ISO 80 to 5x7 at ISO 1,000.

Cons: No optical zoom; Lacks control over ISO and white balance; Color saturation is very high; Reds are soft."
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/IPHONE4/IPHONE4A.HTM


Here is the trailer for the avengers. Keep an eye out at 47 seconds that is where Thor has the hammer.

;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnLnkwpIBpA
 
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JoshL said:
Could it be the rabid fanbase? Joss does seem to play to some pretty vocal and obnoxious crowds. In that way, kinda reminds me of the band Tool. I love Tool. I will never see them live, because I can't imagine wanting to be in a room with that many Tool fans. Whedon fans do tend to get pretty evangelical, and some trapped in their own crazy worlds. I've met people who refuse to acknowledge ANY Buffy stuff after a certain character gets killed. Like, groups of them. It's kinda freaky.
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That's part of it.

That said, AS a rabid fan, I can't imagine anyone not liking Firefly ;) And I definitely like Alien Resurrection way more than either Whedon or Jeunet does (each hates it for compromising to the other's style, and I love it because it's a great blend of two very different styles).
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I really wanted to like Firefly, because I love space westerns and Nathan Fillion (and Alan Tudyk, like, a lot), but... man, the dialogue. The story is decent and the setting is serviceable and the characters are pretty well done, but the dialogue is just so stilted and groan-worthy, which are traits common to his other work for me. I'm often shocked that such a large portion of Whedon's fanbase is female since I don't think he can write a female character to save his life (at least, outside of Buffy, which I think benefited from having female writers on board).

But like I said, it's a pretty irrational thing. Obviously I don't care about how other people choose to spend their time so I don't look down on anyone for liking his stuff or anything. It still doesn't change the fact that hearing Buffy theme music fills me with so much anxiety that I must change the channel.

I still don't get the choice to use an iPhone. I suppose the answer is "because he could."
 
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JoshL said:
Could it be the rabid fanbase? Joss does seem to play to some pretty vocal and obnoxious crowds. In that way, kinda reminds me of the band Tool. I love Tool. I will never see them live, because I can't imagine wanting to be in a room with that many Tool fans. Whedon fans do tend to get pretty evangelical, and some trapped in their own crazy worlds. I've met people who refuse to acknowledge ANY Buffy stuff after a certain character gets killed. Like, groups of them. It's kinda freaky.
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Whedon worked on all 7 seasons of Buffy, so I don't really understand what you are getting at. I personally love Joss Whedon's work, but I know others who don't and that is fine. Let's try not to lump everyone who likes or doesn't like him into categories other than liking or not liking him.
 
JohnJohnson said:
Whedon worked on all 7 seasons of Buffy, so I don't really understand what you are getting at. I personally love Joss Whedon's work, but I know others who don't and that is fine. Let's try not to lump everyone who likes or doesn't like him into categories other than liking or not liking him.
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I'm not. As I said, I'm a big fan myself. And he was in there for 8 if you count the comics (which I do...and 9 just started!) What I'm specifically talking about is a very vocal minority in the fandom there are people who, and I'm not making this up,
refuse to accept ANYTHING as canon after Tara dies. Seriously. It doesn't matter that Joss himself wrote stuff after that. They're kinda crazy, and really, really vocal about it. It's awesome that his work touches so many people that powerfully, but that's kinda insane. And that's not even getting into the shipper's debates about Buffy/Spike/Angel/etc

And Wombat, not liking his style of writing, that's absolutely fair. I really dig it myself, but it's definitely painted with a certain brush, if you will. For the record, when Buffy first aired, I hated it. Still don't care for the first couple seasons. It was only after getting addicted to Firefly that I gave it another chance.

Also not fond of Tom Petty, but it's Roy Orbison and Bonnie Raitt that REALLY get to me in that same way, so I see where you're coming from!
 
JohnJohnson said:
Whedon worked on all 7 seasons of Buffy, so I don't really understand what you are getting at.
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Aside from the Musical episode, Joss was quite absent from season 6 of Buffy with Marti Noxon as the show runner. He returned to Buffy for the end of season 7 after Firefly was canceled. To me, it shows.
 
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