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Director Ran Out of Money, Finished Shooting his Oscar-Nominated Movie on an iPhone

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Apr 12, 2001
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While filming Oscar-nominated documentary "Searching for Sugar Man", director Malik Bendjelloul said, in an interview with CNN Money, that he ran out of money and had to finish filming his movie on his iPhone with the 8mm Vintage Camera app.
I started shooting this on a Super 8 camera, like with film, which is pretty expensive stuff, and completely ran out of money. I really had a very few stuff, it was a very few shots left but I needed those shots. And one day I realized that there was this $1 app here on my iPhone and I tried it and it was basically the same as the real stuff.
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In the past there have been other directors, like Oldboy director Park Chan-wook, who've used iPhones to shoot films. There's even an iPhone Film Festival dedicated to movies shot on the devices, but Bendjelloul's film has since been nominated for an Academy Award.

Nexvio Inc.'s 8mm Vintage Camera app has seen an increase in downloads in the past five or so days, according to a chart from sister-site AppShopper. The app has gone through a couple different price drops over the past year and a half, which is why Bendjelloul refers to the app as a "$1 app," but is currently available for $1.99. [Direct Link]

The 85th annual Academy Awards will air on February 24th, 2013.

Article Link: Director Ran Out of Money, Finished Shooting his Oscar-Nominated Movie on an iPhone
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/02/19/director-ran-out-of-money-finished-shooting-his-oscar-nominated-movie-on-an-iphone/
lolkthxbai

lolkthxbai

macrumors 65816
May 7, 2011
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If the movie wins, i can only imagine what that would do for the iPhone and the app.
 
S

Spetsnazos

macrumors regular
May 3, 2012
244
9
This cannot be serious...with an iPhone app? Lol he couldn't buy a point and shoot that's a million times better than any cellphone camera?

Come on now...this is just...wow bad...
 
HMI

HMI

Contributor
May 23, 2012
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Producers don't like hearing that their directors "ran out of money."
 
A

.Asa

macrumors regular
Jan 8, 2013
245
1
RIGHT BEHIND YOU!!!
Spetsnazos said:
This cannot be serious...with an iPhone app? Lol he couldn't buy a point and shoot that's a million times better than any cellphone camera?

Come on now...this is just...wow bad...
Click to expand...

My iPad 3's camera totally blows away my Panasonic lumix in terms of picture quality, and I assume an iPhone 5 is similar or better.
 
S

SvenSvenson

macrumors regular
Jul 17, 2007
218
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Spetsnazos said:
This cannot be serious...with an iPhone app? Lol he couldn't buy a point and shoot that's a million times better than any cellphone camera?

Come on now...this is just...wow bad...
Click to expand...

Or he could've used the money that he would have spent on a camera to buy more 8mm film. Oh, wait...

Seriously - what's happening to people's comprehension skills? These sort of comments are far too frequent.
 
D

dfnj123

macrumors 6502a
Jun 29, 2007
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He couldn't have finished the movie on his iPhone 5 if the device hadn't even been announced yet when the movie came out in July 2012... just pointing out that someone should correct the article :p
 
Amazing Iceman

Amazing Iceman

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Nov 8, 2008
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He could have filmed the whole movie with his iPhone using this app, or with any consumer digital videocamera with a decent lens and then apply similar 8mm filter during the editing process, saving a ton of money.

In the end, what makes a movie succeed is its content, not necessarily the equipment used to make the movie. Still, the iPhone camera was apparently very suitable for the job.
 
C

claywelch

macrumors newbie
Feb 19, 2013
1
0
dfnj123 said:
He couldn't have finished the movie on his iPhone 5 if the device hadn't even been announced yet when the movie came out in July 2012... just pointing out that someone should correct the article :p
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I'm glad someone else caught this. The film was released at Sundance LAST year, so it barely would even have been filmed on a 4S either.
 
arn

arn

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Apr 9, 2001
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claywelch said:
I'm glad someone else caught this. The film was released at Sundance LAST year, so it barely would even have been filmed on a 4S either.
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I changed it to iPhone, since we aren't sure exactly which model.

arn
 
Amazing Iceman

Amazing Iceman

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Nov 8, 2008
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.Asa said:
My iPad 3's camera totally blows away my Panasonic lumix in terms of picture quality, and I assume an iPhone 5 is similar or better.
Click to expand...

I do notice that the only problem with the iPad 3 camera (and probably other versions) is the glare on the lens when there is a light source nearby in front of the lens. This can be easily solved with anything that would block direct light directly into the lens. Also, if there's not enough light, the image becomes grainy (even with normal indoor light).
Do you use the native camera app or a third-party app?
 
M

marc11

macrumors 68000
Mar 30, 2011
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While the story is cool, unless his Oscar relates to the quality of the filming itsn't it a bit pointless to mention it is Oscar nominated? I mean, if the film wins for best screenplay or best supporting actor, it doesn't really matter on what device the film was shot on...does it?

Still a really cool story, wonder if he used FCPX to edit it ;)
 
ctdonath

ctdonath

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Mar 11, 2009
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marc11 said:
I mean, if the film wins for best screenplay or best supporting actor, it doesn't really matter on what device the film was shot on...does it?
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That the device+app is good enough that it didn't detract from whatever it's nominated for is a very good indication of realistic quality.
 
M

marc11

macrumors 68000
Mar 30, 2011
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ctdonath said:
That the device+app is good enough that it didn't detract from whatever it's nominated for is a very good indication of realistic quality.
Click to expand...

Fair enough and agreed. But the title of this article makes is sound as if he was nominated for a cinematography award.
 
inscrewtable

inscrewtable

macrumors 68000
Oct 9, 2010
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Macrolido said:
Hopefully I could do the same with my iPod touch.
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Even though the iphone has an 8mp camer and the touch a 5mp camera don't they shoot the same 30 fps 1080p video quality?

Just bought the app and it looks very nice well worth $2
 
F

fiddle

macrumors newbie
Oct 6, 2011
10
1
"I realized that there was this $1 app here on my iPhone and I tried it and it was basically the same as the real stuff."

really..... a tiny, 8mp sensor is basically the same as 8mm film...

More amazing than this guy using the iphone to finish the movie, is that he also seems to be blind..
:cool:
 
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