Using an iPhone as a serious film making tool?

L

londonfilmmaker

A couple of a years ago this wouldn't have even crossed my mind however...

The iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 have a fairly decent "out of the box" point and shoot camera with 1080p recording. With apps like Filmic Pro 2, it becomes an extremely customisable cellphone camera including the ability to record/write at 50mb/s and record at 24fps.

Coupled with a decent lens and a home made adaptor/DIY job this could be worth looking at. There seem to be quite a few companies now that specialize in accesories for iPhone film making like miniature dollies, steadicams and the like.

Has anyone got any examples of this being put to good use? Could this be a serious alternative to a decent SLR? I've seen a few comparisons on YouTube (which obviously isn't reliable due to YouTube's encoding/reproduction) and the differences are huge.

I understand that a couple of feature films by semi-famous Korean directors have been shot using iPhone.
 
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The iPhone as a camera to make a film with I see as more of a 'proof of concept' than something that should be taken seriously.

Yes, if you lit it correctly, taking into account the limitations of the phone, you could useable material. But, it would take you much longer, and take much more equipment to light than say using a Red.

Yes, if you're shooting your friends like a home video, or even if you are interested in making films but have no other camera than an iPhone, you can most certainly use it.

But, I'd be wary of using it professionally. Imagine rocking up to a corporate you're charging $3k to shoot with just your iPhone and a few 'magnet-on' lenses. The client's going to laugh you out of the room.

And on higher budget productions where those around understand different cameras and their capabilities, it's going to be used as a 3rd unit C-cam at best, as it just doesn't have a big enough sensor, enough control over the image, the ergonomics in terms of being a camera are bad, and it takes a lot more time and effort just to get an image looking close to what a DSLR looks like, without the qualities of a large sensor, that it's probably easier/cheaper to just buy a DSLR (or rent) and shoot it on that.

But yes, if you're mucking around with friends, it's more than capable.

I will re-iterate that it's not the camera body taht matters, it's the story. However, whilst the gear doesn't matter as such, you get to a point where it does matter.
 
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This is obviously just my opinion, but I think Park Chan-wook shot a movie on an iPhone as more of a gimmick, or maybe just a fun way to challenge himself. I say that because there's really no practical advantage to shooting on iPhone, over a DSLR.

If you already have an iPhone, and don't have any money to buy a camera package, then hey -- shoot with what you've got. But Park Chan-wook has plenty of cameras available to him, and the short film was shot on a budget of more than $130,000; I would find it very hard to believe that he chose the iPhone because it would in any way be an ideal choice for a camera.

And he didn't just shoot with an iPhone. He used an adapter that allowed him to attach a wide array of SLR lenses, so his setup looked something a little more like this:

EnCinema_iPhone_SLR_Lens_Adapter_HH_B3.gif


And don't forget about audio. It would definitely be a really bad idea to use the iPhone's built-in microphone for that (for once, a camera with worse audio than DSLR). I just did a quick google, and apparently, you can attach an external mic, but the mic input and headphone jack are one-and-the-same, so you'd be losing the ability to monitor your audio, which is crucial. Long story short, if you're going to shoot on an iPhone, you really need to record audio on a digital audio recorder.

Again, if you've already got an iphone, and don't have the cash to buy a "legit" camera, then that shouldn't stop you from making films. But even if money is a problem, I would say it's pretty much necessary to purchase at least a cheapo audio recorder and a cheapo mic.
 
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If I didn't have my t2i - i'd be shooting on my iPhone (with a few other stabilizing tools).
Granted , i'm not working in a large movie studio, and don't show my movies in a movie theater and don't compete against large blockbusters..

So can you shoot a serious project on it? Of course you can.
Can you expect it to have same performance as a professional video camera - probably not..
 
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One guy I know tried shooting a movie on one, but since it has automatic exposure and white balance controls, things came out wrong, and could not be controlled. unless some iphones do have manual controls?
 
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The iphone can absolutely be used as a professional film making tool at the highest level.
Use it to ring the hire company to book your cameras :D
The quality of the lens is pretty poor and you have little control. Can't really see a way round the poor quality of the lens but with the right project you may put something semi decent together but it's never going to look anywhere as good as something shot on even a 550d.
Unless the iphone is really your only choice of capturing a stunning story then I wouldn't bother.

All these 35mm simulators and iphone rigs are probably the biggest waste of time nd mney I have ever seen. By the time you have bought them you could get a far more suitable camera.
If you want to challenge yourself to do it on a iphone, knock yourself out, but so far the major concept has mainly been shooting on an iphone with the actual film concept coming in second which invariably leads to a pointless film
 
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I actually use it for a ton of cool on set apps:
CELTX Script
CELTX Shots
Daylight
Sun Position
FreeSlate
Light Meter
Photosynth
123D Catch
MagicPlan CSI

It's a great tool on set, but not necessarily for shooting (although, it doesn't suck as a camera -- just not what I want to use).
 
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Given a choice, an iPhone would never be my first option to film anything. That said, I have used my 4S to shoot some passable concert video footage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33lL1uv_cWM

That was shot handheld with no stabilization or add-ons. As you can see, the image suffers a bit as the light levels from the stage show changes. All things considered, I was pleasantly surprised by the picture and audio quality from the phone.
 
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It depends on what you mean by "serious filmmaking tool".

If you mean could a filmmaker use one as a tool to make a good film, then sure - I don't think 'serious filmmaking' is defined in any way by the equipment used, and there are plenty of examples of serious filmmakers deliberately using less-than-great equipment for either the challenge, aesthetic, or experimental nature of the process.

If you're asking if it makes sense as a primary filmmaking tool aside from those personal & creative reasons to use it, then the answer is primarily no - it works well for what it is but doesn't stand up well from a technical perspective against many commonly available alternatives.
 
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mussonman said:
It'd be a real shame to be in the middle of a shoot and your camera receives a phone call.
Click to expand...

I have had that happen. I was recording at the same concert that the other video is from and the phone rang, which stopped the recording. You could always put your phone into airplane mode. Too bad I didn't think of that before the concert.
 
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haha... I bet teachers at film school sit there with this giant list of potential problems during a shoot and how to overcome them, and never thought he'd hear a student ask:

"Excuse me... what do I do to prevent my camera from receiving a phone call, and how do I keep the actors from playing Angry Birds on the camera?"
 
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Gee, Professor, I'm sorry my assignment isn't ready on time. It's really not my fault, I got a phone call in the middle of the shoot and the camera turned off. It was a live event, so I couldn't have the performers start all over from the beginning. Now I have to wait until the next event and hope my camera doesn't ring while I'm filming.
 
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Went to a recent filmfest to see a block of short films. Almost all the films were DLSR projects. The one that wasn't was shot on a cameraphone. Tbh, it looked pretty darn good. I'd totally have believed it was shot on a DSLR if the filmmaker hadn't told me after.

I've seen a lot of awesome cellphone timelapse, too.

Gotta use the tools ya got, right?

It'd be a real shame to be in the middle of a shoot and your camera receives a phone call.
Click to expand...

It's really easy for cellphone buzzing to appear on the sound-guy's audio, if the phone is just silenced or vibrate mode. It's constantly polling for information to download or update. Phones should be off-off, or in that airplane mode.
 
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