The iPhone Feature Film

The Arrival of The iPhone Feature

Now on Demand and soon to be in theaters is what many consider to be the first major motion picture that uses smart phone and digital camera footage almost exclusively. The movie is titled The Bay and it is from the academy award winning director Barry Levinson. Levinson who directed Diner, The Natural and Rain Man has embraced the film technology of the future by not only going digital, but to use devices such as the iPhone to record footage for his new film.

This is the trailer for The Bay.

Having seen the movie already I can tell that there are things that elevate it to medium budget levels. That said with a rewrite and a refocus on the house to house level of this eco-disaster it could be done on a micro budget. I would suggest that you watch the movie the Bay and then think of ways that you could have done parts of it your own way. Talk to the iPhone film maker inside of you and ask yourself if I had a boat what kind of footage would I have shot. If I got together with my friends what part of the story would we have been interested in shooting?

Something that is not often mention when the idea of becoming a film maker is the simple fact that we learn to make film by first copying scenes and situations from our favorite movies. Whether it is done with a super 8 camera or a video camcorder or a DSLR or a iPhone 4s. We shoot footage, we cringe at how bad it is and either we quit or we learn from our mistakes and get better. That is what it is to be a film maker. It is no different for an athlete or a singer or a dancer or a writer they imitate until finding their own voice.

Okay that is it for today. I suggest that you download an app like Filmic Pro and shoot some footage. You maybe surprised at how good it looks and how much you enjoy the experience.

Good luck and remember to tell a friend about this site.