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Metro
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
Incredible films that were shot on an iPhone including star-studded 28 Years Lat
While there is endless filmmaking equipment out there costing from hundreds to £80,000 (and more), you would have thought the most anticipated horror film of 2025 might be using gear at the higher end of the scale… Right? Wrong. If you're saving up for the best camera in the business to film your next project, you may just be wasting your time. Why not just use your iPhone? Everyone else is, including Danny Boyle's 28 Years Later, which Metro has given 5 big fat emotional stars in our review. It's not the first time this has happened, either. Here are all the films you might not know were filmed primarily using an iPhone. One even made it to the Oscars. Hitting cinemas on Friday and starring Jodie Comer and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, the hotly-anticipated sequel to 28 Days Later used an adapted iPhone 15 for the job, making the Hollywood thriller – with its $75million budget – the biggest film to be shot with a phone to date. In 2002, 28 Days Later was one of the first Hollywood feature films to be shot with a Canon XL-1 for an intentionally low-fi look. This new flick – which kicks off a new trilogy for the franchise – took inspiration from its original. Boyle recently explained why he used an adapted iPhone 15 for the job during the London premiere of the film. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The director told The Independent: 'We decided to shoot it on the upgrade of a domestic video camera. That's smartphones, they're everywhere. They are lightweight in the countryside. You can create special rigs with them, filming the violence. But also you can give it to the actors and they can film themselves sometimes. 'Horror movies let you refresh the palate – you don't have to go classical.' He also added to Business Insider: 'Any smartphone now can record at 4K, indeed up to 60 frames per second, which is more than enough resolution you need for cinema exhibition.' Boyle went on to reveal how they utilised farm animals to help, explaining: 'We did strap a camera to some animals a couple of times — yeah, a goat.' Nice. Stormzy's new film Big Man was fortunate enough to get their hands on an iPhone 16 Pro for filming… Eat your hear out Danny Boyle. Slow-motion scenes were captured in 4K 120 fps, while cinematic mode was also used to blur backgrounds. Apple's short film tells the story of Tenzman, a fed up musician played by Stormzy whose life is changed by two youngsters when they embark on a journey together. 'I've never shot an entire piece of narrative filmmaking on an iPhone before, and it's been a really invigorating process,' director Aneil Karia said. 'iPhone is much smaller than the traditional cameras used for television, film, or music videos, and the lightness and flexibility that comes with that is boundless in a sense. 'I like trying to strive for an intimacy with characters, and sometimes a big camera is not particularly conducive for that.' Psychological thriller Unsane, starring Claire Foy and Joshua Leonard, was filmed entirely on an iPhone 7 Plus. Unsane follows a stalking victim called Sawyer Valentini (Foy) who is trapped in a mental institution against her will. The 2018 film became one of the most high-profile uses of iPhone filming (until 28 Years Later) as its prominent director Steven Soderbergh championed the method through it. 'I think this is the future,' he told Indiewire. 'Anyone going to see this movie without any idea of the backstory to the production will have no idea this was shot on the phone.' Soderbergh's second iPhone-only film came hot off the heels of Unsane in the form of NBA drama High Flying Bird. This time though, an iPhone 8 was used. Fancy! In it Andre Holland stars as sports agent Ray Burke who tries to accelerate a rookie player's career in an unusual way. While it seems unlikely an iPhone would be able to capture the subtle details that make up a tense, dramatic sports film, it's largely focused on the chatter around the gamerather than the game itself. 'It was shot in February and March of 2018, in three weeks. It's a very small crew and the gear that's available to enhance this already pretty extraordinary capture-device made it even better,' Soderbergh told The Hollywood Reporter. 'So, if I had to do it in a more traditional way, it would have actually hurt the film. I was able to do things because of the ease of shooting something. 'You can basically shoot anything you can think of, you can put the lens anywhere you want. If I were in a more traditional mode, there were things that I wouldn't have been able to execute as well as I'd wanted, because of the size of the equipment and people necessary to move it around.' Tangerine, a 2015 film by Sean Baker – who swept the board at the Oscars this year with Anora – was shot entirely on an iPhone 5s using the FiLMIC Pro App, which gives further focus, aperture and colour temperature control. The independent film, which was met with critical praise and was Sundance Film Festival's breakout movie, was shot using an iPhone to keep costs low. 'It was surprisingly easy,' Baker told The Verge. 'We never lost any footage.' Alongside the help of the $8 app, Baker used a Steadicam to stabilise the footage. 'These phones, because they're so light, and they're so small, a human hand – no matter how stable you are – it will shake. And it won't look good,' he explained. They also used an adapter lens that was attached to the iPhone, which was 'essential' to make it cinematic. 'To tell you the truth, I wouldn't have even made the movie without it,' he said. 'It truly elevated it to a cinematic level.' 2012's Oscar-winning film Searching for Sugar Man follows two fans of a South African icon – believed to be dead – as they set out to learn his true fate. More Trending While Swedish filmmaker Malik Bendjelloul didn't set out for the film to make this list, he ran out of money so was forced to use an iPhone for the final shots. 'I started shooting this film with a Super 8 camera, which is pretty expensive stuff. I completely ran out of money. I had just a very few shots left, but I needed those shots,' he told CNN in an interview. 'I realised that there was this app on my iPhone and I tried it and it looked basically the same.' The iPhone App in question was called 8mm Vintage Camera, which did a decent job at imitating a real 8mm camera. Good to know. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: 'Mind-bending' horror film available to stream for free as sequel wows critics MORE: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, 35, and director wife Sam, 58, look loved up at 28 Years Later premiere MORE: Jodie Comer talks through her character's agonising journey in unseen 28 Years Later clip
The Independent
7 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Fan climbs netting at Wrigley Field to retrieve Sal Frelick's bat
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference.
North Wales Chronicle
9 hours ago
- Politics
- North Wales Chronicle
New rules could see end of close-up polar bear photos in cruise brochures
Akvile Marozaite, chief executive of UK-based global representative body Expedition Cruise Network, said limits on how close ships can get to the animals means the sector must change 'how we communicate' with travellers. Polar bears are a key draw for people embarking on sailings to Norwegian-ruled archipelago Svalbard, as they can be observed in their natural Arctic habit. But concerns about interference from humans means the government has banned ships in the region from being closer than 500 metres from the animals. Ms Marozaite said the sector is partly paying the price for 'always talking about polar bears' in relation to Svalbard trips. She told the PA news agency: 'Of course they are something that people want to see, but expedition cruising to Svalbard is actually an incredible opportunity to experience a lot of other things about the destination. 'There is incredible human history, beautiful scenery, other species of wildlife.' Ms Marozaite said cruise lines are continuing to show their guests polar bears, some by sailing closer to Greenland. The impact of Norway's distance rule is 'more to do with how we communicate', she said. 'The communication around Arctic voyages is going to change. 'Companies hopefully will no longer be putting close-up images of polar bears on the brochure. 'That's a good thing, because finally we will start talking about the destination the way it should be talked about.' But expedition leader and photographer Paul Goldstein criticised the new regulations. He told The Independent's travel podcast: 'This is a classic example of what I term 'conservation fascism'. 'I have led small ship charters in the region since 2004. 'Never once have I seen a single incident where tourists intimidate or affect the behaviour of polar bears.' He added that if a camera lens 'the size of a Stinger missile' is required to see polar bears then most visitors will miss out. Norway's minister of climate and environment Andreas Bjelland Erikse previously said the rules are necessary as climate change is 'leading to more difficult conditions for polar bears on Svalbard'. He went on: 'It is important for them to be able to search for food, hunt, rest and take care of their cubs without interference from humans. 'That is why we must keep a good distance.' The minimum distance will be reduced to 300 metres from July 1. The Norwegian government said visitors to Svalbard have 'a duty to retreat to a legal distance' if they encounter a polar bear that is too close. Ships are also banned from carrying more than 200 passengers in the region.
South Wales Guardian
9 hours ago
- Politics
- South Wales Guardian
New rules could see end of close-up polar bear photos in cruise brochures
Akvile Marozaite, chief executive of UK-based global representative body Expedition Cruise Network, said limits on how close ships can get to the animals means the sector must change 'how we communicate' with travellers. Polar bears are a key draw for people embarking on sailings to Norwegian-ruled archipelago Svalbard, as they can be observed in their natural Arctic habit. But concerns about interference from humans means the government has banned ships in the region from being closer than 500 metres from the animals. Ms Marozaite said the sector is partly paying the price for 'always talking about polar bears' in relation to Svalbard trips. She told the PA news agency: 'Of course they are something that people want to see, but expedition cruising to Svalbard is actually an incredible opportunity to experience a lot of other things about the destination. 'There is incredible human history, beautiful scenery, other species of wildlife.' Ms Marozaite said cruise lines are continuing to show their guests polar bears, some by sailing closer to Greenland. The impact of Norway's distance rule is 'more to do with how we communicate', she said. 'The communication around Arctic voyages is going to change. 'Companies hopefully will no longer be putting close-up images of polar bears on the brochure. 'That's a good thing, because finally we will start talking about the destination the way it should be talked about.' But expedition leader and photographer Paul Goldstein criticised the new regulations. He told The Independent's travel podcast: 'This is a classic example of what I term 'conservation fascism'. 'I have led small ship charters in the region since 2004. 'Never once have I seen a single incident where tourists intimidate or affect the behaviour of polar bears.' He added that if a camera lens 'the size of a Stinger missile' is required to see polar bears then most visitors will miss out. Norway's minister of climate and environment Andreas Bjelland Erikse previously said the rules are necessary as climate change is 'leading to more difficult conditions for polar bears on Svalbard'. He went on: 'It is important for them to be able to search for food, hunt, rest and take care of their cubs without interference from humans. 'That is why we must keep a good distance.' The minimum distance will be reduced to 300 metres from July 1. The Norwegian government said visitors to Svalbard have 'a duty to retreat to a legal distance' if they encounter a polar bear that is too close. Ships are also banned from carrying more than 200 passengers in the region.
The Independent
11 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Trump on Iran: ‘I will make my decision whether or not to go within two weeks'
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
