Checkout Best Movies Shot on Phone, check out and let us know which you like the most and recommend some for our readers in the comment section. As smartphone camera technology and software have evolved, more creative options have become available to budding filmmakers. Sure, Hollywood still has the cash for things you can’t accomplish with a phone, like elaborate CGI effects and animation. However, if you have a very easy tale to tell, all you really need today is a competent phone camera and a venue to make your film.
Even before smartphones could shoot in 4K, professional filmmakers experimented with utilizing phones for cinematography to demonstrate what is possible with the gadget in your pocket. Here’s our selection of the finest phone-shot movies to date. The list covers feature-length and short films made on iOS and Android smartphones, but they are all part of the same filmmaking revolution.
Checkout Best Movies Shot on Phone- I Play with the Phrase of Each Other
I Play with Each Other is another film that does not appear to have been shot on a phone at first glance.The whole film is shot in black and white, which was a brilliant way to hide some of the smartphone’s camera limitations. This feature film was directed by Jay Alvarez using an iPhone 6, and the whole narrative revolves around mobile conversations. That means you’ll have a fairly meta experience watching people converse on the phone via a phone camera.
Snow Steam Iron
Snow Steam Iron is the film on our list that you would least think was shot on a phone. Zack Snyder, the director of 300 and Justice League, shot this four-minute short in only one weekend using an iPhone 7 Plus. Of course, he did use a few inexpensive extras to improve the appearance, such as the Beastgrip Pro and DJI Osmo mobile gimbal. Snow Steam Iron is a visual storytelling masterpiece.Nobody says anything. Instead, we are left to ponder the amazing surrealist artwork, showing themes of corruption and vengeance. The short film was distributed exclusively on Vero.
Unsane
Unsane, directed by Steven Soderbergh, is maybe an even more unsettling psychological thriller filmed on a phone. The film was shot in less than 10 days using an iPhone 7 Plus. This film seems to be a touch ragged around the edges as a motion picture, but the tale more than makes up for it. The film depicts a young woman who is unwillingly admitted to a mental facility and starts to doubt her sanity.
And Uneasy Lies the Mind
And Uneasy Lies the Mind by Ricky Fosheim is a feature film filmed using one of the oldest phones on our list, the iPhone 5. The filmmaker did, however, use a Turtle Jacket Penta Eye lens wheel and a Nikon Cinema Prime lens to accomplish some of the views. The film is set in a cottage in the woods, with dream-like episodes and clandestine filming. Overall, this thriller with a lot of paranoia relies on a small cast and a small budget to tell a big story. While not every beat has the intended effect, the film definitely leaves you with plenty of food for thought long after the credits have rolled.
High-Flying Bird
Soderbergh’s follow-up to Unsane was another film filmed on a phone, this time on the iPhone 8 Plus, and it was produced by Netflix. Not only does High Flying Bird have a more lighthearted plot, but the contrast in visual quality is night and day, thanks in part to Moondog Labs’ anamorphic lens. The film depicts a sports agent who must carry out a dangerous strategy in 72 hours. With a length of under 90 minutes, the film is as fast-paced as a heist picture without overstaying its welcome. If you like the NBA or are interested in the behind-the-scenes politics of sports, you should certainly check this one out.
9 Rides
Michael A. Cherry is best known for executive producing the Oscar-nominated smash film BlacKkKlansman. But did you know he directed a film filmed solely on a phone? 9 Rides was the first feature-length film to use the iPhone 6’s then-new 4K video quality. The video follows an Uber driver on a hectic New Year’s Eve as he struggles with some life-changing news. As the clock approaches midnight, he encounters nine people who have different viewpoints on life. The raw appearance of the film complements the location, as you feel like you’re right there in the vehicle with them the whole time.
Détour
Director Michel Gondry is well known for his blockbuster indie films such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. However, few people are aware of his other endeavors. This 11-minute comedy was filmed on an iPhone 7 and was financed by Apple. It follows a missing tricycle around the countryside, finally reuniting it with its little rider. It’s a delightful tale written completely in French that’s appropriate for the whole family. The video is available on Apple’s YouTube channels in the United Kingdom and France.
Missed Call
Victoria Mapplebeck earned a BAFTA for her work on this short film, which was filmed entirely on an iPhone X. The piece delves into how we increasingly depend on our phones to record events in our lives and store them as memories. It focuses on the filmmaker’s connection with her adolescent kid and his missing father in particular. The short video has been made accessible on YouTube, and you can view it above. Be warned: this one will make you cry, so have some Kleenex ready.
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Night fishing
You may recognize filmmaker Park Chan-wook from his acclaimed film Oldboy. But first, he co-directed this evocative short with his brother, Park Chan-Kyong. Because it was shot on an old iPhone 4 in 2011, the fantasy-horror film lacks polish by today’s standards. Nonetheless, the short has some outstanding filmmaking for its period and highlights what a good director can do on a limited budget.
Moments
Moments, by visual artist Harald Haraldsson, was one of the first ads shot solely on a smartphone. He just utilized the Samsung Galaxy SIII and two robot arms. One arm holds the camera phone and the other a mirror, and the way they reflect creates some stunning pictures. After all, not every movie or short is shot on an iPhone!
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Honorable Mentions
That concludes our list of the finest phone-shot movies, but we wanted to recognize some worthy runners-up.
Paris- directed by Rian Johnson. The famed filmmaker created this short video using an iPhone 11 Pro. It’s mostly a collage of amazing photos of Paris. However, it demonstrates what a skilled filmmaker can achieve with a modern phone. The short video may be seen on Vimeo.
Searching for Sugar Man by Malik Bendjelloul a 2012 documentary film on South African cultural phenomenon and artist Sixto Rodriguez. When the producers ran out of funds, they resorted to recording the documentary’s finale using an iPhone. The fact that it blends in so well with the rest of the film is astounding, owing largely to the use of the Vintage Camera software to generate the 8mm appearance.
Tangerine by Sean Baker. Baker premiered this picture at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, using just an iPhone 5S, an anamorphic lens adapter, and $8 software. The plot revolves around a transsexual lady who realizes she’s been duped by her lover and pimp. It gained great accolades for its performances and representation of transsexual people.
Olive by Hooman Khalili- This was the first feature-length film filmed entirely on a smartphone, and it arguably paved the way for everything else on this list. It was filmed completely on the Nokia N8 in 2011, although the filmmaker did hack it to change the auto-focus. The film received mixed reviews, and the visual quality has aged poorly, but the creators’ passion and message shine through.
