iPhone 15 Pro Max for making films? 5 aspiring Bollywood filmmakers share their experiences

23.04.2024 - 09:59 / tech.hindustantimes.com

Apple CEO Tim Cook while introducing the iPhone 15 Pro Max last year had mentioned that the cameras are meant for professional filmmaking. In fact, Apple did shoot one of its launch events with the iPhone 15 Pro series. Now, five filmmakers took up this challenge and actually filmed five short films using the iPhone 15 Pro Max. These short films are available for free on MAMI YouTube channel and if you happen to watch them then you may start believing that in the right hands, it is not about the megapixels but about the perspective and art of storytelling.

The five filmmakers — Saurav Rai, Archana Atul Phadke, Faraz Ali, Saumyananda Sahi, and Prateek Vats — under the mentorship of industry icons like Vishal Bhardwaj, Vikramaditya Motwane and Rohan Sippy released five short film named ‘Crossing Borders', ‘Mirage', ‘Óbur', ‘A New Life' and ‘Jal Tu Jalaal Tu' respectively using the iPhone 15 Pro Max and MacBook Pro with M3 Max chip.

The filmmakers were selected by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) to create short films for the 2024 MAMI Select — Filmed on iPhone initiative.

Vishal Bhardwaj, the iconic director who shot his film Fursat on iPhone 14 Pro — believes that filming with a nontraditional camera can be liberating. “You don't need to restrain yourself with the shots, depth, or colours you capture… If you go all out with your vision, the results will surprise you,” he said.

“iPhone is a real boon for filmmakers. It gives everybody a chance to shoot great things,” mentioned Vikramaditya Motwane.

While the results of using an iPhone to shoot a film are out there on YouTube for everyone to see, what's interesting is that each of the five filmmakers had a different take on what they felt when filming on an iPhone.

Prateek Vats on filming ‘Jal Tu Jalaal Tu' using the iPhone 15 Pro Max mentioned that he shot the film in a 4:3 aspect ratio, which harks back to box television sets from the '90s. By using the 24 mm Main camera of iPhone 15 Pro Max, he frames character portraits that allow the audience to see them through his eyes. He used the iPhone's ProRes Log recording capabilities by precisely tuning specific areas in terms of exposure and colour.

The short film he co-directed with Shubham is inspired by Anton Chekhov's short story The Death of a Government Clerk. Titled Jal Tu Jalal Tu (You Are Water, You Are the All-Powerful), it captures the anxiety of a factory worker who accidentally offends his employer. The film delves into power dynamics and social hierarchies in a blue-collar environment.

“We shoot on iPhone 15 Pro Max and then send it for colour correction… No fuss, no gimmicks,” said Saurav Rai, the maker of ‘Crossing Borders'. The short film narrates the story of a woman who smuggled goods,