October 31, 2023
Photos
Behind the Scenes at Frighteningly Fast: Apple’s Keynote Event Shot on iPhone and Edited on Mac
On Monday, October 30, when Apple unveiled a new MacBook Pro with M3 family of chips and a 24-inch iMac with M3 at Apple’s freaking fast special event, there was an unseen star of the show working behind the scenes. All of the presenters, locations and drone footage at the event were captured using the iPhone 15 Pro Max, the smartphone of choice for creative professionals and filmmakers. Directed by award-winning documentary filmmaker Brian Oakes Jim: The Story of James Foley And Living with Lincolnputs the blazingly fast iPhone 15 Pro Max at the center of the action.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max camera system delivers the best video in a smartphone, with quality comparable to professional video cameras. iPhone 15 Pro Max allows creators to capture in ProRes up to 4K60fps to an external drive with Apple Log encoding, allowing for greater detail preservation for post-production color grading. iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are also smartphones that support the Academy Color Encoding System (ACES), the global standard for color workflows.
“With the iPhone 15 Pro Max, we were able to achieve the same complex images,” says Oakes. “Everything is there to extend one’s vision or personality. iPhone image quality democratizes the destination.
The production includes the credits and was advised by Apple’s John Carr, a video expert at Pro Workflow. Top Gun: Maverick And Terminal: Dark Fateand who worked on products including Jeff Wozniak Transformers: Dark of the Moon, kind ofAnd Iron man 2. “This year, the iPhone 15 Pro Max will feature the ability to record ProRes to an external drive and Apple Log, which is the format that all of our highest quality digital cameras record in,” Wozniak says.
“How can you put this in the hands of someone who’s a professional director and they don’t have to change their equipment — they don’t have to change anything they’re doing all the time,” Carr added.
Shooting with multiple iPhone 15 Pro Max devices, the team used the integration between the iPhone 15 Pro, the Blackmagic Camera app and Tentacle Sync, demonstrating the true power of the Apple ecosystem. Connected via Bluetooth, Tentacle Sync activates the timecode and allows all devices – including the Mac and preview screen – to be synchronized throughout the production. Bistgrip accessories, including grips and straps, were also used during production.
Here’s how Scary Fast came to life behind the scenes.
With the new USB-C connector, iPhone 15 Pro Max makes a big difference in data transfer with speeds up to 10Gbps over a standard USB 3 cable. This supports new workflows such as ProRes video recording directly to an external SSD drive, allowing crews to review footage in real-time and make adjustments on the fly. In post, editors can take advantage of the high dynamic range enabled by Apple Log, which brings more control and flexibility to color grading.
Shot at Apple Park under the cover of night, the terrifyingly fast shows improvements in low-light video performance on the iPhone 15 Pro Max. With ProRes Log encoding, the iPhone 15 Pro Max has a wider high and low light range than previous models, resulting in better dynamic range overall and better flexibility in color grading in post-production. “When I first saw the footage from the iPhone 15 Pro Max, I was immediately blown away,” said Stefan Sonnenfeld, CEO of Company 3, who painted the presentation and worked on the projects. Strange things, Equalizer 3And Quick X. “The image quality on the iPhone 15 Pro Max is amazing, and it’s up there. And I know because I have done it and seen it, and we are working on this project on it.
Using the Blackmagic Camera app, designed exclusively for iOS users, crews were able to use the same interface as Blackmagic Design’s award-winning digital film cameras, providing tools used in feature films, television shows and documentaries. Available now for free on the App Store, the app adds digital film camera controls to the iPhone and supports Apple Log encoding on the iPhone 15 Pro Max. “We’ve done a lot of work behind the scenes by working with a great third-party developer, Blackmagic Design, to create an amazing app that allows us to have a huge number of controllers and crew, and we’re working on how everyone works normally,” says Carr.
On set, the crew used traditional film techniques — even drones — to film scenes and show off the new MacBook Pro seamlessly with the iPhone 15 Pro Max. “There’s cranes, there’s puppets, there’s all the toys you need as a filmmaker, and everybody’s moving and having a job, and it’s just a really fun, lively environment,” Oakes says.
Reflecting on its incredible versatility and ease of use, Sonnenfeld said, “I think what I love about the iPhone is that it gives anyone who uses it access to an incredible amount of information and a really intuitive operating system. Anyone can pick it up and use it right away, myself or my 7 year old son.
Press the contacts
Renee Felton
Apple
rfelton@apple.com
Apple Media Helpline
media.help@apple.com