Apple just showed what 20 iPhones can do on a movie set
A new video shows how the iPhone 15 Pro Max helped bring 28 Years Later to life.
Smartphones and cinema? Now we are talking. If you are a movie buff and a mobile tech nerd at the same time, Apple just handed you a treat.
The company dropped a short behind-the-scenes video showing how the iPhone 15 Pro Max was used to shoot Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later. It was already known that the film used iPhones – up to 20 of them at once – but actually seeing that in action? Very cool.
Danny Boyle – yeah, the same guy whose movies like Trainspotting and The Beach basically rewired my brain growing up and the same director behind that Steve Jobs movie in 2015 – had plenty of praise for the iPhone. He specifically called out its ability to shoot 4K at up to 60fps, which he said made it ideal for a theatrical release.
But why shoot with an iPhone in the first place? For Boyle, it came down to flexibility. The iPhone’s size and weight allowed the crew to act quickly in remote areas with a minimal footprint. That was key for this film, where they wanted the scenery to look untouched, like no one had been there for 28 years.
And about that crazy 20-camera setup: Boyle doesn’t go into specifics in the video, but I can guess it opens the door to all sorts of creative tricks. Capturing a moment from 20 different angles at once opens the door to Matrix-style “bullet time” effects or even volumetric video – where you can move around a frozen scene in 3D space. It could also be useful for VR, 360-degree footage, or capturing super detailed depth info for post-production.
Now, this is all with the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Imagine what would be possible once the iPhone 17 Pro Max lands. Rumor has it we are getting triple 48 MP cameras, including a new 48 MP telephoto with up to 8x optical zoom and finally – finally – native 8K video. So yeah, I’d bet we’ll see even more full-on movies shot on iPhones in the near future.
The company dropped a short behind-the-scenes video showing how the iPhone 15 Pro Max was used to shoot Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later. It was already known that the film used iPhones – up to 20 of them at once – but actually seeing that in action? Very cool.
Boyle pushed the iPhone’s cinematic potential in some pretty wild ways, taking full advantage of how compact yet powerful it is. The team actually built a custom 20-camera rig to shoot certain scenes – something that would’ve been a lot harder, bulkier and way more expensive to pull off with traditional film gear.
Video credit – Apple
But why shoot with an iPhone in the first place? For Boyle, it came down to flexibility. The iPhone’s size and weight allowed the crew to act quickly in remote areas with a minimal footprint. That was key for this film, where they wanted the scenery to look untouched, like no one had been there for 28 years.
And about that crazy 20-camera setup: Boyle doesn’t go into specifics in the video, but I can guess it opens the door to all sorts of creative tricks. Capturing a moment from 20 different angles at once opens the door to Matrix-style “bullet time” effects or even volumetric video – where you can move around a frozen scene in 3D space. It could also be useful for VR, 360-degree footage, or capturing super detailed depth info for post-production.
Now, this is all with the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Imagine what would be possible once the iPhone 17 Pro Max lands. Rumor has it we are getting triple 48 MP cameras, including a new 48 MP telephoto with up to 8x optical zoom and finally – finally – native 8K video. So yeah, I’d bet we’ll see even more full-on movies shot on iPhones in the near future.
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