YouTube and Vimeo are chock full o’ high earing videos, clips and even movies shot on an Apple smartphone. Now, however, a trio of iPhone 5s’ have made the leap into the big leagues.
“It was surprisingly easy,” says Sean Baker who used an iPhone 5s to shoot $8 app his film, Tangerine, which has been picked up by Magnolia Pictures. Granted, Baker has made movies before, but the underlying lesson sticks — the iPhone 5s is professional grade.
In a nutshell, you could shoot Tangerine using about $10,000 of off-the-shelf gear.
So how do you make a Sundance movie on an iPhone?
You need four things. First, of course, the iPhone (Baker and his team used three iPhone 5s’). Second, an $8 app called Filmic Pro that allowed the filmmakers fine-grained control over the focus, aperture, and color temperature. Third, a Steadicam … The final ingredient was a set of anamorphic adapter lenses that attach to the iPhone.
OK, so Miller and cohorts won’t get millions upfront — the deal with Magnolia is said to be in the high six-figures — there is no question that the iPhone has arrived as a professional image and video capture device. However, if Tangerine succeeds at the box office, they certainly could make millions. And, potentially, you could, too — Tangerine was shot on an iPhone 5s.
Imagine what Miller could have done with an iPhone 6 Plus…
What’s your take?