IPHONE FILMMAKING UPDATE

IPHONE FILMMAKING UPDATE

 The popularity of the iphone as a film making tool has grown well beyond my wildest dreams when I began this blog a few years ago. Not only is it being used in the US, but because of the low priceof the iphone 4s it has become the primary film making camera of low budget film makers the world over. The reasons for this are obvious. 

The iphone in its many different types from the 4s on through the 7 and soon beyond that all have amazing built in cameras. These cameras rival the abilities of most of the high end Dslr cameras. 

The iphone can record in 24p thanks to apps like filmic pro. 

The iphone can record quality native sound and with add ons like the Zoom or external mics it can record motion picture quality sound. 

The iphone can be used, thanks to a few apps, as an editing station. You can record and edit your film inside your smart phone. Welcome to the world of iphone film making. Let’s look at some of the new devices that we can use with our iphone. 

First up is a smartmixer (audio mixer) for your iphone. This is a great little device that I hope to own one day. 

 

Saramonic Smartmixer Audio Mic for iphone and Android from Smartphone Film Pro on Vimeo.

Next up is the Helium Core, this is going to become the go to all purpose support system for the iphone film maker. I am going to offer you two video demos of this product.

Behind the Scenes shoot with the Helium Core from Helium on Vimeo.

Second video.

Helium Core in action - www.heliumcine.com for more information from Helium on Vimeo.

Vimble. Yes I said Vimble. This is an awesome camera stablizer.

 
The Best iPhone Stabilizer from Ria Chen on Vimeo.

Thank you for visiting my blog, now please take a moment to share this post with everyone. Sharing encourages me to post more often and helps to make those out there with iphone footage aware of the fact that this blog exist. 

And for those of you who use Pinterest please take a moment to pin the cover of my new ebook. The book is about the true story behind the haunting portraited in the film The Conjuring 2. Book cover and line to itunes below. 

The Iphone 6 Feature Film Crowdfunding Campaign

You have a few days to add your voice, via social media, and or your money by donating to this crowdfunding campaign. Scratch is a horror comedy being shot entirely with the Iphone 6. For a while the camera provided by the iPhone starting with the 4s has been every bit as good as those of its Dslr rivals. Today I would like to introduce you to the this Indiegogo campaign. the Plot is:

Set in Los Angeles's abandoned Old Zoo, SCRATCH tells the story of two would-be filmmakers who decide to shoot a music video for a local nu metal band on an iPhone in LA's Old Zoo. It's meta-theater. And you, as the audience, will be inside the phones that are strapped to the foreheads of the protagonists while they're shooting.



   


I understand that this film was shot over 8 days for a budget of about ten thousand dollars. This project looks so interesting that I hope to follow this post up with an interview with the film maker.







Good luck with your film making projects and remember to bookmark this site and to share this post on your google plus.


  

The Iphone Feature Film Tangerine

The Iphone Feature Film Tangerine

  The day of the iphone film and the iphone filmmaker has arrived. Thanks to the quality of the footage that the camera can record and the lower and lower price of the iphone 4s most beginning film makers can get a world class footage recording device for under one hundred dollars. I know that many of you already have an iphone in your pocket and are only now considering using this device to record your first film.

 

 Here a interview done with the film maker behind this iphone film that got a major theatrical release this past summer.


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 The film maker mentions sound recording and I would like you to remember that you can use a second iphone to record sound. there are some excellent apps and mics that can be attached to the iphone. This is a new age for film making and the sky is truly the limit where this device is concerned.


  


 Good luck with your iphone film making and remember to share this post via facebook or google plus and to bookmark this site.




 

Iphone 4s vs. The World

                iPhone Filmmaking, The Battles

    If you want to know how good a camera is then sometimes you are going to have to pit it against other cameras. If the iPhone is going to be used to make films, then it is going to have to be able to compete against the dslr cameras. So I have gathered together some test videos where the iphone 4s is pitted against the massive dslr cameras.

    You would at first think that it would not stand a chance, but hey this is a Apple and they have been known to make some pretty impressive technology.

    To look at the iPhone laying next to the Dslr cameras you would think that in this battle to come that the iPhone would be crushed.

    Okay the first battle we are going to look at is the iPhone vs. the Canon t3i. Both are shooting HD rather than movie mode, but I was pretty impressed by the iPhone 4s. It seemed to have richer and deeper color than the Canon.

Next up is a battle with the Canon 5d mark ii. This camera is the gold standard of Dslrs. They are shooting feature length movies with the Canon 5d and the iPhone 4s measures up well to this camera.

      Just remember if you are going to be an iPhone filmmaker you are still going to have to learn about lighting and sound and the basic techniques used by filmmakers. If you wish to learn many of these techniques I am building a all purpose website for the micro budget filmmaker. If you would like to visit it
click here . The site is not complete yet, but there is plenty of information for the beginning filmmaker there.

      The last thing that I would like to leave you with is a very basic lighting tutorial. You will need to know this if you are going to be making a low budget movie with your iPhone.

iPhone Gadgets.

                    IPHONE GADGETS

    Let’s start with the fact that there seems to be a new gadget designed to help you shoot with the iPhone every other day. It is hard to keep up with them, but I thought that I would mention a few today. I will also throw in a DIY solution as well.

    The first item we will look at is the Tiltpod. If you want to find one of these Tiltpods I would suggest Googling, it won’t be hard to find. It is a simple sort of mini tripod that can attach to your keyring so you can take it anywhere. Great thing to have for a iPhone filmmaker.

    Okay here is a review of the Tiltpod followed by some footage.

Next up is the awesome GLIF. I love this item and can not wait to get my hands on it. It will allow the filmmaker a chance to mount an iPhone and attach it to any number of tripods or my favorite the Monopod. Also you can just set it up go. Take a look and remember it is okay to send me gifts.  Hey did you notice how gift rhythms with Glif?

This is the Glif. from Studio Neat on Vimeo.


The DIY I am offering does not really have much to do with the iPhone. then again you could make an iPhone movie about the making of this. This happens to be a how to make the legendary Ironman repulsor Arm. This DIY can be done for under 20 dollars. While if you guys want a DIY of how to become the Incredible Hulk it's easy. Get angry. Get really really angry. And don't forget to wear pants that stretch. I never could figure out why he doesn't.  The Hulk is the superhero that needs tights the most. Tights stretch you know. He could buy them from a WWE store. He could even have his logo on the sides and back.

    iPhone Supports

    Now that you have your iPhone and you have added some cool filmmaking apps we can move onto getting other things that we will need for our filmmaking.

    We need something to hold the iPhone and to keep it stable.

    These items are known as steadicams or stabilizers. The reason that you will need to get one or the other is that you do not wish for your film to look as if it was shot with a handheld phone even though that is what you are using. Films are stable to look at. They are not shaky unless you are making a found footage movie.

    What I am going to be suggesting today is two options. You can buy professional equipment or if you are good with your hand you can DIY.

    The first video is from a Macworld show. The gentleman answering the questions will mention a great many products that you can use with your iPhone. You can google the products mentioned. Later I will try to track down some links for you.

  
    Next is a DIY tutorial. Here you will learn to make your own iPhone stablizer.  Understand that if you wish to be an iPhone filmmaker you are going to need something to stabilize you image. Always keep in mind that no matter what you are using to make your movie you still have treat it as if you are making a professional film.

If 9 dollars is too much money to spend on your DIY how about spending a dollar to make your own tripod adapter?  With this you can attach you phone to most tripods.