Ending Any Question of iPhone Video Quality

Posted January 13, 2020

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Apple is getting into the Netflix universe of commissioned content for its burgeoning online network, but being Apple, it is doing it in its own special way.

This week, Apple released an 8-minute 'film' shot entirely on an iPhone 11.

The film, done in Chinese with English subtitles, which already tells you a lot, was directed by Theodore Melfi, who directed the Best Picture Oscar-nominated "Hidden Figures." Cinematography is by Lawrence Sher, who filled the role for "Joker," identified as a "2020 Golden Globe Awards nominated film.

The eight-minute video titled "Chinese New Year - Daughter" start off with a mother being troubled by criticism that she took her daughter to work as a taxi driver. Throughout the film, scenes switch between older conversations and the present day, showing other conversations in the mother's life.

Towards the end of the film, a family reunion of the three generations takes place in the back of the taxi. It is then revealed to the child the older lady is her grandmother, who made dumplings each year while searching for her lost family.

You can see the complete film here:

The idea of shooting professional video on iPhones has been a slow and tortuous process. As the phones got better and better there was a lot of 'yes but...'

I tend to think that this issue has now been effectively resolved.

The iPhone is an astonishing tool for creating professional video - it is small, it is unobtrusive, it is always with you - which is perhaps its most powerful aspect, at least for those of us doing news and documentaries.

Apple, of course, makes the iPhone, and to underline the point, produced this accompanying doc.