If you follow indie filmmaking (or even if you don't) you may have noticed recently a lot - and I mean A LOT - of independent films being shot on smartphones. If you haven't noticed it I'm hear to tell you it's true, which is great - but my question is... why now?
I posed this on Twitter the other day...
And then decided to record a podcast episode about it too...
Listen via Anchor:
Or listen via YouTube:
After I recorded the podcast (you listened, right?) I actually thought of another reason - THE PANDEMIC (being able to more easily shoot something by yourself using a phone) - and coincidentally I spoke with Cassius Rayner on Twitter and he mentioned that too - so I wanted to include what he said here as well.
"COVID-19 has had a huge impact on production particularly in the UK - the process of filming, health and safety, union approved is a massive headache and cost. I also know UK filmmakers who have recently turned to iPhones and have shot features during lockdown because of cost but also because crew were not available, and those willing would have to go through a huge drawn out process in order to be COVID safe - and we’ve had a lot of shoots half way through production have to shut down due to changes in lockdown and law. So I guess this has been the time that mobile has flourished and many creatives and filmmakers have been desperate to seek alternative ways for them to continue their work."
I think this may have been more the case in the UK where they had stricter lockdowns. Here in the States, particularly where I am in Texas, we had a lockdown early on during the pandemic (in the spring of 2020), but after that we mainly just had social distancing and masks requirements. The film production business was of course largely absent much of 2020, but there were some shoots going on (with safety protocols).
So I think there are lots of reasons for this trend and I guess the next question is... Will it continue? I think that answer is definitely, yes. Smartphone tech is only getting better and in the right hands it can produce some really amazing results.
Want to learn how to shoot your own movie on a phone? Check out my Smartphone Cinematography 101 course.
Here are some of the trailers I mentioned in my tweet thread and the podcast episode and remember... These were all shot on smartphones.
And found this one called "Infinitum" after I recorded the podcast...
Happy filmmaking!
-BC
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