MacLife - UK (2020-02)

(Antfer) #1

Feed your mind. Feast your eyes.


DIRECTOR STEVEN SODERBERGH
shot 2018’s psychological thriller
Unsane on an iPhone 7 Plus and
2019’s basketball flick High Flying
Bird on an iPhone 8. To anyone
unfamiliar with cinema gear, that
might seem unsurprising — iPhone
video looks great, right? But a
glance at the camera rigs lugged
around on even a modest
production, accompanied by grips
bearing lenses, monitors and
terabytes of storage, suggests it
can’t be quite that simple.
Sean Baker shot 2015’s Tangerine
with just an iPhone 5s (well, three
of them). Having made the choice
for cost reasons, he was pleased
with the way it gave his movie a
more intimate feel. But there’s
a little more to it than point and
shoot. Tangerine’s look was
achieved with an anamorphic lens
adaptor, a stabilizer and post–
production color grading, and the
crew recorded sound separately
on professional equipment.
Soderbergh uses similar add–ons,
but says the iPhone makes shooting
quicker and better.

Still, shallow depth of field,
a staple of cinema composition,
remains physically impossible in
a sensor small enough for a phone.
It’s simulated by Apple’s Portrait
Mode, but much harder with video,
though Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10
attempts it. Adding a full range of
lenses is possible with adaptors,
but unsatisfactory, and ultimately
sensor size limits image quality.
Even with third–party apps that
apply less compression than Apple’s
Camera, footage lacks the latitude
for heavy post–production. On the
plus side, it’s easy to hit sharp focus.
Although Netflix funded High
Flying Bird, it’s officially not that
into iPhones. The most basic option
on its approved list is Panasonic’s
S1H, a 6K mirrorless stills and video
camera that costs $4,000 without
a lens. It’s not the high resolution
that qualifies it — 4K is enough to
make the cut — but high dynamic
range, bit rate and color depth.
Realistically, iPhones will never
replace movie cameras entirely, but
you’ll certainly see more iPhone
movies on the cinema screen.

HENGE STONE PRO
Sit this 11–inch aluminium wedge
under your MacBook Pro or Air
and turn one Thunderbolt 3 cable
into nine all-purpose ports.
$329 from hengedocks.com

MUST HAVES


BRAVEN BR-
With a handy elastic strap, this
waterproof Bluetooth speaker
supports hands-free calls with
noise cancelling.
$49.99 from zagg.com

ANKER POWERHOUSE 400
This portable AC/DC battery
will power anything from
your MacBook to vital
medical equipment.
$499.99 from anker.com

Image rights from top: Henge Docks, Braven, Anker.




Start





10 FEB 2020 maclife.com


What the heck?


Can major movies really be shot on iPhone?
BY ADAM BANKS

WINS & FAILS


SILENCED Apple silently removes all user reviews from the
online Apple Store

CONTROL Study shows most women say “please” to their AI
assistant, but less than half of men

DRIVE As Jony Ive makes his exit, Apple’s planned electric
vehicle could lack design direction

GOLDEN Did you really need 900 people to tell you the
Lightning headphone adaptor was “lame”?

DELETE After Judgement Day, gender representation in
tech suddenly gets more balanced

PARK Following Elon Musk’s Cybertruck example, they can
just give any child an Etch A Sketch
Free download pdf