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Apple’s keynote event shot on iPhone and edited on Mac

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Re: Apple’s keynote event shot on iPhone and edited on Mac

#131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think saying that you can get the same results with a $2,000+/week rental is making the argument that you think it is...

Yeah, I'm not talking a $5 million indie film, I'm talking about your $50K indie film. $2K/wk for camera rental is just totally out of the question.

Your $50K budget indie film isn't going to be able to afford any/much of the equipment in that article, either. And then, in fact, it's generally more difficult to rent that stuff than it is to rent cameras.

Re: Apple’s keynote event shot on iPhone and edited on Mac

#132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The equipment is nice, but it's really the expert staff that make the difference.

Sure and now you can learn with nothing more than an iPhone and cheap LED lighting. Apple has massively reduced the barrier to entry.

Most renowned filmmakers refined their skills before digital photography even existed.

Re: Apple’s keynote event shot on iPhone and edited on Mac

#133
post #129

A lot of people here are bringing up all of the expensive gear surrounding the iPhone that helped give it the professional look. This isn't unique to iPhone as a sensor. I work in TV and have spent a great deal of time on set shooting. The only time I've ever relied entirely on the camera's sensor and lens for a high quality image is shooting outside, and even then that requires adjustments, such as facing away from…

Without the expensive gear, the iPhone looks considerably downgraded compared to better source equipment. I had a Canon 5DII the day it was released and within a week some friends and I had a music video entered into a festival, and within a year, two short films, all done without any extra lighting or equipment - including gimbals. The source camera and lenses were good enough - and the look was amazing compared to…

To be fair, the iPhone is not a camera, its a smart phone with a camera. There is no question that a DSLR with an interchangeable lens will beat out iPhone.

> The source camera and lenses were good enough - and the look was amazing compared to camcorders - to achieve this.

I would bet that the camera and lenses used didn't do the heavy lifting there, the selection of the location, the time of day, and the direction from the DP did. An expensive lighting setup isn't a requirement for a good image but good lighting is. Whether its natural or artificial is up to the DP.

The minimum viable quality you need for a project depends on the needs of the shoot.

> Forgetting "shoots" and professional lighting, the iPhone isn't going to have the massive range of other equipment, and when you're spending literally thousands of pounds on studio time, lighting hire, operator costs, etc etc, are you really going to pick up and shoot on an iPhone when you've got a Black Magic or Sony or Canon at hand? Unless you're being paid by Apple?

Of course not! I don't think anyone thinks the iPhone 15 is replacing the main camera on a shoot with a proper budget. But could the iPhone 15 be an additional camera for specialty shots or experimentation? Absolutely. For instance, if I'm shooting an unscripted scene with two people talking alone and I can mount my phone for a passable wide shot that can roll the whole time, giving me flexibility to shoot both individuals without losing coverage, then that's a huge value add.

I think in cases like that and in cases where people want to experiment without buying into a camera system, the iPhone becomes elevated beyond being just a mobile camera.

> I get that it's viable but there really is a lot of road between viable and superlative.

Totally agree, however I don't think I argued that. From my perspective, a viable camera is a viable camera for a job. The iPhone 15 seems viable from my viewing and it lives in my pocket while every other viable camera does not. That to me is the impressive feat. iPhone not living up to a proper DSLR is expected.

Re: Apple’s keynote event shot on iPhone and edited on Mac

#134

A lot of people here are bringing up all of the expensive gear surrounding the iPhone that helped give it the professional look. This isn't unique to iPhone as a sensor. I work in TV and have spent a great deal of time on set shooting. The only time I've ever relied entirely on the camera's sensor and lens for a high quality image is shooting outside, and even then that requires adjustments, such as facing away from…

The new Olivia Rodrigo music video/ad was shot on an iPhone. And it shows. Even on 4k, there's blurriness, color balance issues, and noticeable artifacts that just aren't present on videos shot with a proper video camera (i.e., the commercials airing right before and after).

Yes, the iPhone can be used as a video camera. The same way that a camcorder can be used as a video camera. And neither of them are anywhere close to professional-level quality without a lot of extra work and equipment: you actually need more expensive equipment than you would with an expensive camera (and this other equipment usually costs a multiple of what a good camera would cost).

Re: Apple’s keynote event shot on iPhone and edited on Mac

#135

I don't think many people were really wondering if this sort of thing "could" be done. IMO that's not the important question. The question is, did the people who filmed and created the video with the iPhone hardware actually enjoy this process / workflow? Or did this process cause a bunch more pain and hassle to deal with the iPhone as the source camera? Compared to some alternative they could have used. Is there act…

> Or did this process cause a bunch more pain and hassle to deal with the iPhone as the source camera? Did you read/skim the article because that's the focal point of the whole piece and discussions taking place in the videos. The whole thing is touting how easy the pros were able to slot this in and do their normal workflows on top. > Is there actually a compelling reason to use an iPhone for this type of work over…

I read the part where the people who were paid to use the iPhone 15 to film their videos told the company paying them lots of money to do that they enjoyed using it to film those specific videos.

And then I noticed that those same professionals went right back to using regular video cameras for their next shoots. (See e.g., Olivia Rodrigo...who shot 1 music video with an iPhone 15 because Apple paid $$$ for to do it and went right back to using regular video equipment for everything else. Also Sodenberg, for an earlier version of the iPhone, who uses regular video equipment after that brief, well-funded experiment.)

Re: Apple’s keynote event shot on iPhone and edited on Mac

#136

A lot of people here are bringing up all of the expensive gear surrounding the iPhone that helped give it the professional look. This isn't unique to iPhone as a sensor. I work in TV and have spent a great deal of time on set shooting. The only time I've ever relied entirely on the camera's sensor and lens for a high quality image is shooting outside, and even then that requires adjustments, such as facing away from…

All of Jet Lag The Game and DankPods are shot on iPhone and they look fine. It doesn’t look like some ultra high quality movie production but they also don’t stand out particularly looking bad, it’s completely fine for the content m

Re: Apple’s keynote event shot on iPhone and edited on Mac

#137
post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, the misleading thing is that Apple's implication is "you too can make videos that look like this with just the phone in your pocket " (emphasis mine). > the pros were able to slot this in and do their normal workflows Because you can't do it with "just the phone in your pocket". You can do it with the $50-100K of equipment you see on that page, just using the phone as the camera, one small part of the process.…

I’m not sure what your objection is here. As you point out, they have photos that very prominently feature professional lighting and tripod equipment. They even explain in a caption that they customized it for the iPhone. How is that misleading that all they used was “the phone in your pocket”?

Well, for one, they had to take that phone out of my pocket and they didn't because it is still in my pocket :) They also had to take the phone out of their pocket otherwise all we would see if dark and pocket sand. Then of course to make the actual video you see in the presentation they had to use a whole bunch of other equipment without which the phone in my pocket would not produce the result we are seeing. So, misleading, but not more than any other Apple marketing claim. We are used to it now. The reality distortion field has not been breached so maybe Steve Jobs will return with a whole fleet of dark star destroyers to conquer the galaxy once more.

Re: Apple’s keynote event shot on iPhone and edited on Mac

#138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The fact that Apple has done this can be helpful to filmmakers to prove a point. Ie go to your producer and say hey Apple did this. We can do it

But why would you? This is not some low-budget video, it’s a high-end production. If you have that kind of budget, your producer probably won’t care if you’re using an iPhone or a Sony FX-3(0) or even a rented “real” cinema camera like a Sony Venice or an Arri

I think this is targeted towards low budget productions

Re: Apple’s keynote event shot on iPhone and edited on Mac

#139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But why would you? This is not some low-budget video, it’s a high-end production. If you have that kind of budget, your producer probably won’t care if you’re using an iPhone or a Sony FX-3(0) or even a rented “real” cinema camera like a Sony Venice or an Arri

I think this is targeted towards low budget productions

The fact that HN overall doesn’t understand is a bit revealing. The overall negativity is also surprising.

Re: Apple’s keynote event shot on iPhone and edited on Mac

#140

-1 for Apple for using a third party app to capture the footage. I dont have an iphone so how do they control the camera app without touching the screen?

One of the stills [0] shows a Tilta Nucleus-M focus/zoom wheel [1], see it in use on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yx5s0M-_ib4

[0] https://www.apple.com/newsroom/images/2023/10/behind-the-sce...

[1] https://tilta.com/shop/nucleus-m-fiz-unit/

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