On Thursday, 11 April we took a look at whether it is possible to create a cinematic movie using a mobile phone camera. There are plenty of YouTube tutorials on how to shoot good video on your phone as well as comparisons of iPhone and Android phone cameras but what can a master of cinema achieve? Back in 2021 Apple teamed up with internationally acclaimed Korean director Park Chan Wook to shoot a short movie entirely on the then new Apple iPhone 13 and Pro Max models. (the ones with the three lenses in the picture) This was somewhat ironic since Korea is the home of Apple’s arch smartphone rival, Samsung.
From Apple’s point of view, this would be a chance to show off the iPhone’s advanced video capabilities. From Park’s point of view it was a chance to experiment: “It’s not easy to dive deeper into genre experiments in a full-length feature film because it costs a lot of money and there is a lot of pressure. When making short films, I have creative freedom,” he said during an online press conference for the film” The film entitled “Life is but a Dream” 2022 (not to be confused with the 2013 Beyonce film of the same name) makes full use of the iPhone 13 Pro’s special video features: cinematic mode, macro video, night mode, optical image stabilization and ultra-wide camera…and of course its small size and ultra-portability. No additional lenses were used, however, there was a full film crew with ancillary equipment and computer graphics imagery was added post-production using an Apple iMac. The result is both visually stunning and aesthetically pleasing. “We were able to create cinematic shots and moods just like in movies where they use traditional camera equipment,” the cinematographer explained. https://collider.com/park-chan-wook-life-is-but-a-dream-short-film-iphone-apple/
The 21-minute “Life is But a Dream” opens with a spooky scene then slowly reveals itself to be part fantasy, part martial arts (part romantic comedy) and part musical. It also features “pansori” (a traditional Korean musical narrative) and “madanggeuk” (a traditional Korean outdoor play) to tell a supernatural-based tale featuring both a ghost wedding and a funeral. https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/art/2024/04/398_324158.html
The film was released to the public on Apple’s You-Tube channel together with a “Making of…” video in February 2022. For some unknown reason, both films were later deleted from the platform or made private. However, third-party copies are up on YouTube for us to enjoy and assess. On a re-watch you can see where the iPhone’s various video modes are used.
In other interviews, the cinematographer liked how using an iPhone enabled them to set up quickly to catch changes in the natural light. Actress Kim Ok-vin remarked: “I initially had some doubts about whether or not the small lenses of an iPhone would be able to capture the scenes properly. But I came to enjoy working with the iPhones on set due to their mobility. I became less conscious of the cameras’ presence, and that helped me focus more on my performance” https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/art/2024/04/398_324158.html
It’s interesting to compare phone cameras with the huge iMax film cameras used to shoot “Oppenheimer” 2023
Each one of these cameras costs $500,000 – while an iPhone 13 Pro is about $700 today. Also, iMax cameras are few and far between. Florence Pugh tells a story of how she and Cillan Murphy had to sit it out stark naked during the filming of sex-scene for “Oppenheimer” while a technician repaired the broken camera (the only other one available was in the shop being repaired).
https://petapixel.com/2024/01/29/the-imax-camera-used-to-film-oppenheimer-broke-during-a-sex-scene
…Now – if they had been filming with a mobile phone, another one could have been swapped over in a jiffy!
Chris Betterton-Jones – Knowledge junkie