5 Films made with iPhone

What’s even better, you don’t need a big budget or expensive equipment — you can make movies right on your iPhone! Using it, you can capture an interesting moment where a professional camera cannot go. That’s why many amateurs and even professionals use iPhones for filming, and the results are amazing.

Although some filmmakers are prejudiced against such recording methods, it has helped many directors to make themselves known. Not sure how good the result can be? Let’s take a look at a few films shot on the iPhone.

Romance in NYC

Tristan Pope was the first director to shoot a movie on the iPhone without any professional equipment. "Romance in NYC" is a romantic comedy about the everyday life of an enamored couple living in the city. The film reflects all the subtleties of the relationship, and the background noise is organically woven into the plot, making the story romantic and exciting.

Tristan Pope also praises shooting on smartphones for its convenience and artistic possibilities. According to him, the camera field of view on the iPhone perfectly reflects the “romantic” perception of a person and also makes the image look more familiar and recognizable to most people. And the need for closer shooting creates a kind of emotional “bubble” between the actors and the camera, allowing artists (especially those who are not used to huge lenses) to open up more fully.

I play with the phrase each other

Jay Alvarez’s movie hit film festivals not only with its shooting style, but also with the way it was told. The whole story is unveiled through phone calls. The director skillfully weaves them into the plot, making the viewer feel that they are eavesdropping on the thoughts of the main characters.

Such an effect, of course, could only be achieved using a mobile device, and Alvarez successfully used this advantage. In the end, the film, which had a budget of only $17,000, earned praise from film critics and won the Special Jury Prize at the Slamdance festival in 2014.

Unsane

When a director like Steven Soderbergh shoots his project entirely on a smartphone, it’s definitely not because of a lack of budget. The psychological thriller "Unsane" was almost entirely filmed on an iPhone 7S camera. It contributed well to the subconscious “recognition” of the picture and, therefore, a deeper immersion in what is happening.

However, Soderbergh chose this type of shooting not only because of artistic considerations. The absence of a bulky camera helped the director work more actively with the environment, put the lens where he could not before, get closer to the actors than professional equipment ever allowed.

"The New Yorker" called this film one of Soderbergh’s best creations, noting the naturalism in the scenes that the smartphone camera gave them. In an interview, the director said that he used this method of shooting because he wanted to free himself from the cliches into which he had driven himself. In his opinion, this technique creates a new spontaneous style that enlivens the art of cinema.

Snow steam iron

It’s also hard to believe that Zack Snyder, one of the biggest fans of big, action-packed cinema in Hollywood, would shoot his movie on a smartphone camera. And yet, after leaving the big-budget project “Justice League”, he shot the short film "Snow Steam Iron" in just a day, using iPhone 7S.

Unlike in previous examples, “Snyder style” visuals were used in this film. It may not look perfect when combined with shooting on a phone, but it shows what the average video editing enthusiast can expect when working with it.

Tangerine

Among the movies shot on a smartphone, there are not so many films recorded on an iPhone 5. However, the most sensational and highly acclaimed by critics film was shot using exactly this model. "Tangerine" became a sensation at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. The fact that the film was created entirely on a smartphone added further interest to it. The director believed that because of this, his project would not be considered as a serious work. Still, the movie became a hit and inspiration for many aspiring directors and cameramen.

As you can see, you don’t need professional equipment to create a film at all. Do you want to achieve worldwide fame or just take the phone to every family event? You can easily create a full-length movie just from videos taken on an iPhone. Then it’s up to the video editing to refine the result and give it your own visual style!