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New shot-on-iPhone short film Vortex shows you don't always need expensive cameras for great video

Published: Dec 12, 2017, 3:42 AM

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Shooting a cinematic video on just a phone is a bit of a cliche these days: we know that it's possible and we know people do it more and more, but this latest one is worth sharing because it pushes the boundaries with shooting technique.

Vortex is a new, 1.5-minute short movie that is shot entirely on an iPhone with the help of some tools and with a lot of creativity, and it exemplifies novel camera movement that gives an exciting new perspective on New York City.

Watch a phone camera perform 360° barrel rolls!

The movie is made by film-maker Tim Sessler, who recently had 48 hours to shoot in NYC, an iPhone 8 with him and the new Freefly Movi camera gimbal. In this movie the world continually turns showing the streets and views of New York. The movie was possible to a large part because of the low-profile of shooting on a phone and a tiny gimbal. Right below, you can read how Sessler himself describes the experience of shooting this short film:

For VORTEX the goal was to have a more grounded view of the city. While the spinning camera was the perfect way to capture the feeling we were trying to evoke, the idea was to portray the buildings as the foundation - the body and bones - of all of it. Yet the people are the ones that really suck you into it and create the pulse and flow of the city and help to create the overstimulating element in our piece.

Personally, we would have never seen ourselves shooting an entire piece (or even just a shot) with an iPhone. But given that there is no other tool out there that could achieve this effect and also being able to film without a large rig, in very busy, high security spaces like the World Trade Center, Penn Station or Grand Central, this turned out to be the perfect combination.

source: Brooklyn Aerials

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Victor, a seasoned mobile technology expert, has spent over a decade at PhoneArena, exploring the depths of mobile photography and reviewing hundreds of smartphones across Android and iOS ecosystems. His passion for technology, coupled with his extensive knowledge of smartphone cameras and battery life, has positioned him as a leading voice in the mobile tech industry.