Are We In The Last Phase of Smartphone Filmmaking?
From HD to good storytelling; we're now in the talent and skill phase.
There are phases to the mobile filmmaking industry. Filmmakers understand filmmaking is tough. There are many different parts to it. You’re moving in phases.
The phase I’m referring to is more general. When I began this journey, there was no iPhone 4 with an HD camera. To go from cell phone cameras to the iPhone 4 took a few years. From my perspective, I see the phases of this industry from the beginning, with personal experience and observation.
The iPhone 4 came out in 2010. Then it took 4 years for Sony to release the first 4K camera on a smartphone. Between 2010 and 2014, people were making movies for the big screen. That vision I had in 2001, of a future where people would make films for the cinema, came true years ago.
I recorded an episode of the SBP Podcast in August 30, 2022, where I made an official claim: mobile filmmaking had gone mainstream. There were no fireworks, there was no press release, and no parade. It just happened, quietly, over time.
There are outcomes to making movies, that will bring your film into the mainstream. One of the biggest outcomes, I claim, is distribution. I shared an article I wrote: Shooting Feature Films with Smartphones and Distribution. In the article, I shared some of the feature films from filmmakers who attended our film festival in 2022, who were streaming in Amazon, Tubi and others. All films in our festival are shot with smarthones. These films are playing alongside independent professional and Hollywood films.
When Sean Baker’s Tangerine, shot with an iPhone, surprised everyone at Sundance in 2015, Magnolia Pictures acquired it. Tangerine had a theatrical release and was released on Netflix. Many filmmakers I speak with in my podcast, or the film festival, tell me they were inspired by Sean Baker.
Before Sean Baker, there were countless filmmakers making good films. But there were hardly any, if at all, indie professional filmmakers creating feature length films that were around 90 minutes long. That’s the magic number for distribution.
I mentioned in this episode (129) of my podcast that Brokeback Mountain was an indie, but it was so successful that it became a Hollywood film. Of course, Brokeback Mountain had Hollywood actors. However, Tangerine did not. And many actors who work in Hollywood work on indie films.
The mainstream media, however, are interested in stories with celebrities. That’s entertainment news that earns them readers. When they write about a movie shot on a smartphone, normally, there is a celebrity behind it. But not always. That was the case with Tangerine. Then, it was more about sensationalism. Tangerine shocked the audience in the theater, at Sundance. The audience had no idea it was shot with an iPhone until the end credits.
I believe we’re now in the last phase. We’ve achieved mainstream, but one way to get the attention of the mainstream media is to write amazing screenplays that will attract celebrities, and experienced good actors to your film. The mobile filmmaker needs to do what professional filmmakers have been doing, and perfect their industry networking skills.
One of the reasons we created a short screenplay category in our film festival is because we believe it’s a tool that attracts people to be a part of your film. A screenplay is tangible, and it tells others you are serious. They can judge the quality of your story by reading it. And again, the story is how you sell it.
The versatility of a smartphone camera is what makes it the ultimate camera. The intimidation of making movies is not what it used to be. You don’t need to hire an experienced cinematographer, or camera person. You don’t need to rent an expensive camera , get insurance, and worry about the cost of a camera operator. It can be nerve-wrecking!
You can use a smartphone camera as a home video camera, and then as a movie camera. And your film can play on a cinema screen, and stream along side The Hobbit, or Spider-Man, on Amazon. People say that if you’re going to spend money on making a film with a smartphone, then why not use a cinema camera.
There is the learning curve, the expense of the lens and everything else can really add up. Spend less on the camera and more on getting talent and skill on your team, spend more on good audio. In the end, both good films are going to end up on the same screens.
Of course, if you’re going to spend thousands of hours learning how to use a smartphone camera and purchase everything being sold to you, you may as well spend the time and money on a cinema camera.
If you make a movie with any camera, a smartphone or an Arri camera like what The Lord Of The Rings was filmed with, one thing they both need to have in common is a good story, good sound, and the ability to captivate a large audience from the start and well past the end of the film.
You can use any camera to achieve that, even a smartphone. In the end, the dream to make an impressive film that can turn you into a famous movie director could be closer than you think. Perhaps as close as the screen you are reading this in.