New Hollywood blockbuster was filmed with 20 iPhone 15 Pro Max

The use of Apple cell phones as a film cameras for cinema strips is not new: For example, director Steven Soderbergh (“Ocean’s Eleven”) has already made its film “Unsane” on the iPhone 7 Plus in 2018. Apple itself also likes to use the smartphone for its own campaigns – not least to demonstrate how professionally images from the device can work. With “28 Years Later”, however, a new Hollywood film is now coming to the cinemas, which seems to blow up the previous iPhone film dimensions. The zombiet thriller of director Danny Boyle is likely to become the largest blockbuster, which has been highly filmed on the iPhone. It is interesting how the director uses the Apple cell phone.

“Bullet Time” effect with 180 degrees

Boyle is not only known from classics such as “Trainpotting”, but also from the rather below average Biopic “Steve Jobs”. For “28 Years Later”, Boyle has now used the iPhone 15 Pro Max, but not only one, but a total of 20 pieces in a rig, at least for certain scenes. That reports the Game page IGNthat could also speak to Boyle.

The 20 iPhones therefore represent a “bullet time” shot for poor, says Boyle. “Bullet Time” means that a protagonist is recorded in a circle from all sides, while the time seems to stand still. With the rig, it should also be possible to send people “directly into the scene”. The film is recorded in the 180-degree angle.

First part filmed on mini-DV

It remains unclear how much material actually comes from the iPhone, Boyle has apparently also used regular digital cameras. The iPhone gives the film a special aesthetics, he says. The director used consumer technology in the past. So the first film of the series, “28 Days Later”, was filmed on a canon with mini-DV cassettes, also largely here and even in SD resolution. The film is in the 2nd76: 1-widescreen format that is known from the IMAX cinemas.

In Germany, “28 Years Later” will come to cinemas on June 19. The script comes from Alex Garland, the leading actors are Jodie Comer and Ralph Fiennes and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Behind the iPhones stood cameraman Anthony Dod Mantle.