Apple has been pitching the iPhone 15 Pro as an alternative to professional video cameras since launch. For example, the fact Olivia Rodrigo's latest music video was shot on iPhone is a key part of the iPhone 15 Pro marketing campaign.
The manufacturer has doubled down on that claim, with Apple shooting its latest keynote (where it announced M3 MacBook Pros, read about that on our sister website Reviews.org/au) entirely on an iPhone 15 Pro Max. Here's a behind-the-scenes video of how it was done:
In the video, the team behind the keynote point to the iPhone 15 Pro's USB-C support as a key enabler. Users can connect external storage over USB-C, and the iPhone 15 Pro can film directly to it, at a higher quality than it will save to internal storage. The iPhone 15 Pro is also able to record in log, which in short, gives colourists greater control over the look and feel of the final footage.
The keynote's director, Brian Oakes, said that the equality of the footage from iPhone 15 Pro Max rivals $20,000 cameras.
"iPhone is great new tool in the palette of filmmakers," said Oakes. "Seeing it different is doing injustice to any of the other mediums that people bleed for as filmmakers. Everything is there to be an extension of someone's vision or personality. The image quality of iPhone definitely democratizes the access."
While the keynote was shot on iPhone 15 Pro Max, the behind-the-scenes video shows that it was still a full-scale production. There's extensive lighting, cranes, drones, and more. It's not the kind of equipment most iPhone owners would have access to.
Apple also notes that the footage was shot in Blackmagic Camera, rather than in the default camera app. Blackmagic Camera is a free download, and offers more extensive manual controls, more akin to a professional video camera.
Alex Choros
Related Articles
