23. How We Got an iPhone to Shoot with Cinema Anamorphic Lenses

Would you believe that its possible to shoot anamorphic on an iPhone? Would you believe it could be done for less than $3k? Your comments inspired what you're about to see. There's so much that goes into creating a beautiful cinematic image besides what camera is used on set, and we really wanted to push the limits of new tech in a way that hasn't really been done before. We put the gear together, built the set, and put the iPhone to the test. Learn all about how we did it, the cost of every piece, and more about what it takes to create a successful image. Ask your questions and let us know if YOU would try this in the comments!
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We can't wait to show you more.
0:00 Intro
0:34 How to make the iPhone look cinematic
0:45 iPhone 15 with the Blackmagic App
01:18 iPhone 15 + Atlas Anamorphic Lens
01:40 iPhone and Atlas Anamorphic Lens Comparison
2:27 iPhone Geometric Properties
2:38 iPhone vs. Anamorphic Lens Sharpness Comparison
2:52 Vignette Comparison
3:04 EP 18 AI Depth of Field
3:27 Our Cinema iPhone Rig
4:17 Our Budget iPhone Rig
4:41 The iPhone Anamorphic Rig
5:08 How we built it
5:15 iPhone 15 Pro Max
5:32 Beastgrip Beastcage for iPhone 15 Pro Max
5:49 Beastgrip Side & Top Handle
6:01 Beastgrip Lens Adapters
6:08 Beastgrip Lenses
6:16 Beastgrip Anamorphic Lenses
6:39 SmallRig Universal Holder
6:45 Refers USB-C 90 Adaptor
6:54 Sabrent Nano Rocket 2 SSD Hard Drive
7:38 The Best Lens on the iPhone
8:07 Just Shoot on a Cinema Camera
8:55 What makes a cinema camera?
8:58 Cinema Resolution
9:05 Intraframe encoding
9:21 High Dynamic Range
9:29 Wide Cole Gamut
9:40 Removable Lenses
10:16 How to make a Bigger Sensor: Ground Glass
10:40 Beastgrip Depth of Field Adaptor
11:35 Fotodiox EF to PL Adapter
11:41 Atlas Mercury Anamorphic Lenses
12:31 Tilta 4x5 Clip On Mattebox
12:42 iPhone Anamorphic Rig Cost
13:45 Drawbacks to using Ground Glass
14:49 The World’s Smallest Cheapest Lightest 4K ProRes Anamorphic Recording Camera System
Director: Michael Cioni
DP: Shannon Stutenroth
Producer: Pete Cioni
Line Producer: Margot Bradshaw
Production Designer: Amalia Romploulias
Editor: Andrea Otto
Motion Graphics: Andre Castro
Colorist: Nick Lareau
Gaffer: Jacob Abrams
Key Grip: Nick Lundstrom
Swing: Ryan A. Hueter
Sound: Fletcher Alliston
Leadman: Roman Salcedo
Art Assistant: Jordan Stringfield
Camera Operator: JP Dellanno
1st AC: Amritha Mary
2nd AC: Martin Velasquez
BTS Video: Clyde Bessey
BTS 1st AC: Tyler Beckerman
BTS Photographer: Lorelei Rubik
Special thanks to
Dan at Atlas Lens Co
Beastgrip
#workflow #strada #postproduction #ai #iPhone #shotoniphone #blackmagic #blackmagicapp #cinemacamera #budgetfilmmaking #filmschool #editing #futurefilmmaking #8k #4k #beastgrip #atlaslenses #atlasmercury #anamorphic #editingvideo #cinematographer #director #directorofphotography

[@nanojoel]

This will change filmmaking forever

[@andreycala]

Finally someone did a DOF/Anamorphic lense rig here on YT and may I say nailed it. Can finally purchase myself Blazar Remus and film on a budget!

[@safetyhomeloans950]

Home run!! you guys killed it with this episode!!! Keep them coming and please make your videos LONGER!!!!!!

[@RabidTribble]

I know this may be something obvious I'm pointing out, especially for professionals or folks coming from cinema camera rigs, but people approaching this from the phone-camera world may not know that this type of rig negates the auto-focus capabilities of the iPhone...since the iPhone sensor/focus is always trained on the glass in the DOF adapter. So, if you are using a DOF adapter and associated lenses, you will need to acquire some extra gear and learn how to pull focus for your shots. This is something that professionals take for granted, but it might be a new skill for someone moving up to this type of shooting.

[@Michael_Cioni]

GREAT POINT! I hope people realize that. In this episode we focused on the camera and lens mount story directly, but in Episode 24 we will focus on the camera accessories and that will include some info about how we used the Tilta Nucleus M. Thanks for the comment!

[@lanolinlight]

Pulling focus is not rocket science. Anybody acquiring all that gear will do well to learn a few extra skills.

[@RabidTribble]

@@lanolinlight You're absolutely right, but it is a skill that requires practice and rehearsal. It all depends on how you approach this type of rig. If coming from above, it's a no-brainer. If, however, you are moving up from a base camera-phone rig, it's something else that has to be learned. That's the point I was trying to make.

[@boxoffisa]

Cinema camera needs: 9:01 1. 4k resolution and above. 2. Intraframe encoding [RAW & RGB]. 3. High dynamic range. [Must record logarithmic. 4. Wide color gamut. From 10bit [1 Billion colors]. 5. Removable lenses.

[@pauls1ngh]

💯 When he listed these I was like YES! Finally, someone is speaking my language! 😊

[@goodbear_goodblair]

Absolutely loving this series! Your first video inspired me to get an iPhone and shoot some short films with it. A few thoughts here: 1) The anamorphic looks soft on focus throughout, even on the actor’s face, as you chatted about towards 14:30. FWIW, there are shots here that you’ve taken where I actually prefer the iPhone over the anamorphic. It certainly has a look, for better or worse! A shoot where you get images both from anamorphic and the stock iPhone lens could work, although then you have to make sure that it works stylistically. 2) There is inherent difference between the two lenses because of the focal length, so you’re not getting background compression on the 24 mm like you are on the anamorphic. There is a workaround to this that most people don’t seem to take advantage of - because of the large megapixel sensor on the 24mm on the iPhone, you can zoom in on your app of choice (I prefer Black Magic) up to 3x, without any degradation of quality, and retain a perfectly sharp 4k image. So, zooming 2x on the 24mm functionally gives you a roughly 48mm lens, with background compression that generally matches that focal length. If you’re skeptical that those results can get you sharp images, give it a try! Record at 4k 2x with the 24mm on a dedicated app, and then record at 4k 1x. Punch in on the 4k 1x image in post, and you’ll notice a large drop off in quality vs. the image recorded at 2x! Because of the large megapixel sensor, you are going to get a sharp image until you start punching in past like 3.5x on the 24mm. There are a lot of focal lengths available that were previously thought to be out of reach on iPhone because of this! I think if you were to use that trick here, and “match” the focal lengths, then your results would have even been much much closer! Thanks for the awesome content. Can’t wait for more!

[@cweb1988]

I love that phones can finally produce usable footage for "creative" stuff thanks to the Blackmagic Camera app and log. Just makes it so much easier to practice shooting, learn, and try stuff when you don't have to be bogged down and fiddling with stuff. Once Apple makes all the cameras the same as the main camera in the Iphone 15 pro it'll be pretty incredible. Obviously it's not going to replace cinema cameras or rigs, or shoot a whole movie or anything, but it'll be such a great tool to use for "enthusiasts" like me trying to learn....without spending $5000+ on camera gear. The last missing piece is successfully improving and mimicking depth of field and the depth mapping. I think they're actually getting pretty close to being able to mimic it surprisingly well. It's significantly less of a gimmick now than it use to be. Also...imagine if they put a built in ND filter or eND in phones? Man that would be the day.

[@Michael_Cioni]

Spot on.

[@pauls1ngh]

I love these shoots & ideas. The anamorphic shot reminded me of Matt Reeves’ Batman, and how he wanted to ‘dirty the frame’. Such a BEAUTIFUL look you achieved there 🥰😍

[@nicopala8086]

I rarely comment a video, but damn I love your content ! It’s fast, it’s concise, it’s excellent. I’m a total noob in this domain but still I rather watch the video a 2nd time than having someone talk slow for 30 minutes. And It’s so well explained i almost got it all ! Thank you, a yt channel with this quality will get at least 200k subscribers for sure

[@Michael_Cioni]

Wow! Thank you! So glad you enjoy it! We're new to KZbin and happy you find value on our channel. Let me know what else you'd like us to cover!

[@Bradidimus]

It’s been years since camera tech has made me this excited, it’s got me thinking about the possibilities of what may be coming in the near future!

[@Michael_Cioni]

That's the right attitude. While many people see this as either pointless or a threat, every time a new technology hits a surge it creates its own weather which gains momentum when other tools start developing within its ecosystem. I suspect that shooting with an Apple product could be fairly common practice by the end of the decade.

[@GuerillaTvChannel]

It would be interesting a breakdown of the rig for both the expensive rig and cheaper and where to get them?

[@Triyanox]

What a quality and information rich video great work 👏

[@ohhhHydro]

Very interested to see VR & focus pulling - I’ve been thinking about that for a while! Sick vid!

[@Michael_Cioni]

Thanks! Targeting April 2nd for the Vision Pro story!

[@chloeleedow7250]

Love stuff like this and no one has done it as in depth as this.

[@joshi-toshi]

it's truly a wonder that these are the images coming out of an iphone. it would be interesting to see you guys come up with solutions for run and gun creators / vloggers / or even iphone shooters in the live events space. thanks for your hard work michael and team!

[@Michael_Cioni]

Love this idea.

[@owenjenkinsofficial]

I love the innovative approach to this iPhone setup! Honestly it’s probably the best one I’ve seen yet! I would almost argue that Phones could eventually become a sort of “pocket cinema camera” that does other things like any phone can and is already amazing for things like set BTS! At this point tho, when Sigma FP, Fugi cameras, BMPCC 4k is $1200, FX30 is $1500-2100 and BMPCC 6K G2 is just over $1560 with 4/3 or S35 and FP has full frame size sensors, then at this point unless you already have the iPhone 15 Pro and no camera, the cost of building a budget compact anamorphic cinema kit like this is probably still less to buy and the size isn’t much larger. You’d only need a pl adapter as you wouldn’t need the DOF ground glass adapter and other elements that compensate for exposure, sensor size or lens limitations. I loved this video, epic ideas and trying new things despite their current irrelevance to the mainstream industry doesn’t negate the need to experiment and learn and try!

[@iPhone-Cinematograhy]

Exceptional content! Thank you for sharing such a thorough understanding of the image production process. Your channel's content explores various aspects deeply, providing abundant opportunities for learning and growth.

[@jean-baptisteberque1779]

Very interesting video! Thank you for pushing forward smartphone filming innovation and for all the very informative details!

[@JoostBeyer]

You're crazy guys. I love you content!

[@Fans_Of_Film]

Thank you for breaking it down further

[@Internatube]

Woo!!! Beastgrip Nation FTW!

[@legniak1]

My LUMIX S5 has great image quality. My 15 pro is pretty damn close. Insane. Using anamorphic looks so good

[@ClintByrne]

I would love to know which custom EFTPL mount you use

[@AnthonyTilleyVideography]

Must be nice to have out of stock accessories unlinke us out here in the public

[@JoshSher_]

Great Video and great project! Love what you guys are doing and the way you're doing it! Keep going!

[@Alejandrolocane]

great video, instant subscription and like. keep it up

[@davidtakahashi7942]

This is amazing. Thanks everyone!

[@quinnlandry1648]

🤯 love it!

[@dreamvision_media]

epic video. keep it coming

[@VicenteXimenez]

Love your work, guys

[@Michael_Cioni]

thank you so much:)

[@alltj]

This is great and produces amazing results…. How ever that is still a camera oriented rig and lens not iPhone native accessorising… for the next one use off the shelf consumer rigging like Neewer iPhone cage with 17mm Ulanzi/adapted anamorphic lens the little square one…(please don’t use Moment or Beastgrip if you really wanna go on budget). I think Production Design and PostProduction are the the real kings….

[@GioFilms24]

Okay, gonna have to start trying some things with my Pixel

[@JonPais]

Your content is all next-level.

[@andrewheki2257]

The ground glass needs to spin or oscillate to keep it's texture invisible. Try pairing the iPhone with an old Letus35 or Redrock DoF adapter or modify the Beastgrip to have oscillating glass.

[@zamalloadirector]

Congrats guys u freed many minds today!!

[@alexandruciornei1908]

Incredible point of view, so clear explanations! Your team is fantastic, this is perfectly adapted to new tech avangarde.Best regards from Romania.

[@innatemusic]

...and #4, some people are only using their iphones because they don't have cinema or mirrorless cameras. Not sure why people hate on smartphone filmmaking so much. To me, this video just shows where filmmaking can or even is going. It gives the people who don't have dedicated cameras a chance and a bit of hope. I love watching these. Thanks!

[@FlyingJackalope]

Please tell us more about the PL adapter. I have been digging all over the place for a full frame version.

[@tomplamann3573]

Well done!

[@repentandliveholy]

Good content.

[@LarsGoldbachDP]

Great content! You people are real professionals with real information to share. I love it! Subbed!!!! One small additional note: Tilta MB-T12 retails for 690€ VAT excl. in Europe. Not quite a bargain everywhere :D

[@Michael_Cioni]

Good to know! Thanks:)

[@maximerodriguez-medallo2192]

Incredible video, you guys are insaleny good ! The osmo pocket 3 is a best seller right now, I wonder If you could obtain the same result since it gots a 1inch sensor.

[@Creative.visionzz]

Wow this is great, I love this chsnnel

[@Mvil9]

Video keeps freezing at 2:05 for me and I've tried on multiple devices

[@AnthonyTilleyVideography]

Must be nice to have out of stock accessories unlinked us out here in the public

[@marcd1981]

Is there a way to get a copy of the actual scene that was being videoed? The "Agent" at the filing cabinet is a good friend of my wife and I, and it would be very cool to see the complete scene.

[@fmotion1723]

Great stuff, I wonder how this footage would hold up in heavy post, such as VFX?

[@Strada-Tech]

IN all our tests, if you use the 24mm lens, that's the "hero" of iPhone and the lowest signal-to-noise ration. Since the ProRes is legit 10bit HQ (440mbps) it handles fairly well. The ground glass used to adapt the PL lenses has some artifacting (the ground glass fresnel can sometimes be visible) but I QC this on an 85" LG OLED (C22) and it really does look impressive. Our colorist, Nick Lareau reported zero issues coloring it.

[@bobbydrake8965]

Wow. Vision Pro with Follow Focus is Wild. Like a lion ripping time space wide open wild. Looking forward to it

[@Michael_Cioni]

At first we thought it was ridiculous. Then we were surprised!

[@bobbydrake8965]

@@Michael_Cioni 😭😭😭 Incredible.

[@thesocialisthedgehog6320]

This is a neat experiment, but far from the cheapest true anamorphic you can get with an iPhone. Brands like Moment have been putting out iPhone-compatible anamorphic lenses for a couple years now priced at around $120 new. A full rig with these lenses could easily come in at a fourth of what was spent here.

[@innatemusic]

Please tell me what hub you are using to get from the Iphone to the camera monitor and also the production monitor? I know you're using a tx/rx system but the Iphone only has one port. That would be a great help as the one I am using doesn't seem to send video to both or there is not enough power. Thank you.

[@EveryTongue]

🔥

[@emanuelmcfail]

An iPhone is a cinema camera actually lol

[@HamzaUsta]

Hello, do you have a link where I can find this?🤔

[@Behindthescenesgimbalshooters]

🐐

[@Eddy_Evanghelos_Yannakis]

Hello, thank you for your very comprehensive video. I'm preparing the launch of my KZbin channel with multicam anamorphic footage. I have a GH5II with a 35mm SLR Magic x2 lens, and two iPhone XS 512GB with a Sirui x1.33 lens. I noticed that recently, the BlackMagic Cam app has an anamorphic decompression feature that compresses instead. Have you noticed this issue on your end?

[@mariobarsony7855]

Is any chance u can show your coloring process?

[@Strada-Tech]

Great idea! I think we'll do an episode about that in the future.

[@8bit239]

I have a few questions. What is the difference between the LUT and the later colour correction pass? And which programme can I use to do this? And where can I get this LUT?

[@Michael_Cioni]

Great question! The LUT is a creative conversion from the camera log into a viewing gamma space (in this case, Apple Log into Rec709). Some people refer to this as a "base grade" because it gets you "normalized images" coming from a log source. Then you use a color correction pass to fine-tune the look. Ironically, the fine-tune color should happen before (or beneath) the LUT in order to get the best control and range out of the adjustments. I work with colorist Nick Lareau who grades in DaVinci Resolve and uses the base LUT and about 20 different layered effects to achieve the creative color pass. That's the foundation of color grading and thanks to KZbin, there are about 5,000 DaVinci Resolve training videos to start learning how to do it yourself. Plus, Blackmagic makes a free version of Resolve to try! Good luck:)

[@dsw8456]

When using full-frame anamorphic lenses What is the size of the lens without vignetting on the iPhone? Do you have vignettes for 25 meters?

[@Strada-Tech]

The vignetting on the Mercury was very minimal - but we used the Atlas LF rear expander adaptor (from EF to PL) so we had as much coverage as possible. The vignette was minimal and aesthetically appropriate for this project.

[@robhephner]

Hey, I added the app. But no custom LUT. :(

[@GabrielScindian]

what is the custom EF to PL mount that you used. What is the cost as well

[@Michael_Cioni]

We were working with Atlas Lens Co and because the flange depth and rear image circle diameter varies from lens to lens, not all PL lenses are compatible with converters. The Mercury's we used cover full-frame so they differ from a Cooke S4 (for example). So this was a custom adaptor that allowed for a wider rear diameter. I expect someone out there makes it, and the Fotodiox works on a lot of lenses but not the new Mercury's. So going custom for this was the easiest. But you can fit a lot of lenses on the Fotodiox and other EF -> PL adaptors out there. I hope someone makes one to support more lenses, tho. I think people would buy it.

[@GabrielScindian]

@@Michael_Cioni Thanks Michael. I wanted to adapth the Balzar Remus lenses that I have. So I will test the fotodiox first

[@PauloMamani01]

​@@GabrielScindianwork perfect?

[@FlyingJackalope]

The Fotodiox and most PL adapters work with very FEW lenses. None full frame. How much did it cost to build the custom adapter? You should factor that cost in.

[@ThatsFantasticFilms]

What kind of slider was used on this production?

[@Michael_Cioni]

That is an Edlekrone Slider Plus. really nice and elegant solution for small uses. the weight of this rig was pushing it, but Edlekrone makes a slightly larger version that better supports larger cameras. We'll talk more about this in our next Episode 24! Thanks for the comment!

[@GaryJahman]

I’ll stick to photography in natural lighting 😂

[@aram.v]

Great video... 02:53 face doesnt look very flattering on the anamorphic

[@Michael_Cioni]

Close-ups on most anamorphic lenses will have distortion. This was the 42mm, which is why I think you make a good point. We didn't have a 54mm when we shot this - which would have helped us in the particular closeup you're referring to. Thanks for the comment!

[@estebanmorales3699]

Por que no usaron los lentes de beastgrip ?

[@perrys9872]

How do you guy make that autofocus?

[@Michael_Cioni]

Focus was done using a Titla Nucleus (M kit) which is supported by the Blackmagic Camera app or can connect to an onboard motor. We actually will cover this in Episode 24.

[@boxoffisa]

With all that money, you can get Sony A7s III and get lens and some cheap lights. Even some cameras below A7s III. I see no point in this but good to see what’s possible if you have time, talent, labor and money to through at experiment.

[@Michael_Cioni]

You're right. But you gotta start somewhere and for some people, a smartphone is first base. As we all progress, we all tend to invest in better tools over time. But I can say this beats anything I had in film school, and costs a lot less. But one thing I will say that is really different is the Apple ecosystem. This is just the beginning but if Apple moves deeper into this space, they will start to have a market advantage due to power of the App Store - a resource that no other camera company has. That's something I would keep an eye on.

[@boxoffisa]

@@Michael_Cioni you are right. Occasionally I shot with iPhone too. The point about the Apple ecosystem, I think they should have made cameras than cars. Because they have everything including their own codecs, editing tools and robust system. The limitation to make iPhone a better contender against mirrorless cameras is the fact that you can’t put a bigger sensor in a phone while keeping it portable. I have been looking forward to that. However, technology is advancing and from what they did with iPhone 15, if they keep progressing in 5 years or 6 we may end up having something. I hope sensors can be reduced like chips have been.

[@CallMeRabbitzUSVI]

Looks good on a phone, but when it comes to watching on anything bigger the flaws of the DoF adapter setup becomes very apparent

[@Michael_Cioni]

Good point. I personally found it depends on the shot. Sometimes it's really hard to see any negative artifacts, other times it's clear. We shoot and finish all our work in UHD and I personally QC it on a calibrated 85" LG OLED (model C2). Lenses like these are supposed to be highly stylized and I have to say it holds up very well. But if you think about phones and DOF adaptors 1, 2 and 3 years ago - -> reverse that to 1, 2, and 3 years from now and that's where this gets interesting... Thanks for the comment!

[@oskarslabosz]

Déjà vu

[@raquetamalvada]

How do you deal with the fact that the iPhone doesn´t shoot constant frame rate?

[@Michael_Cioni]

I've found that when I'm using the Black Magic Camera app, I have very good reliability at 23.98. This seems to be the case because I shoot dual-system sound and sync the audio up separately and it all syncs correctly without a drift. I haven't tried this with takes that are 30 minutes long, so I'm not sure about longer takes, but short takes all had reliable timecode / constant frame rates.

[@Artsparkle]

Come on...

[@krisisgameplay5390]

thats a normal iphone 15 or pro version?

[@Strada-Tech]

This was all iPhone 15 Pro Max

[@blacksanreynolds19]

Screw sound no one needs to talk in movies

[@0Logan05]

Nice to see what just a Phone camer can do.. Git close with a Caged Air usbc, out to splitter battery/ext disk ,Ground glass, Siriu anamorphic 55 and a 3d printed matte box.. So fun. Hollywood is so utterly cringe..Its a Fashion show on set😂.. In the 40’s-2010’s, The Cameramen/Gaffers/Sound-boom/Crew/etc were Bald guys, Real(not fake)nerds, Midgets, freaks..Akin to Carnies..Then after obozo and Mike, Hollywood Sets turned into rainbow rooms, cringe fashion wannabe areas and just pseudo intellectual dungeons.. Now, Nithing in Hollywood is worth a watch..Even the Writing is awful.. Every single product is GAE focused , Forced diversity, and Political first..Narrative 2nd..Story 5th…

[@MichalOlender]

Sell it!

[@user-zv7lm8uk7h]

Sigh. I miss 2011 Michael Cioni.