How Apple's iPhone 15 Pro Max captured the 'Scary Fast' Apple Event

AppleInsider

Apple shares a behind-the-scenes look at how it used the iPhone 15 Max to shoot the footage used in its October 30 Apple Event.

Image Credit: Apple

Apple utilized its recently released iPhone 15 Pro Max with a new USB-C connector as the primary camera to shoot its "Scary Fast" Apple Event. The event was shot under the cover of night at the iconic Apple Park, demonstrating the device's capabilities, especially in low-light conditions.

As the company points out, the iPhone 15 Pro Max's USB-C connector offers data transfer speeds of up to 10Gbps with a compatible USB 3 cable. This enables new workflows, such as recording ProRes videos directly onto an external SSD drive. The production team can quickly adjust footage and improve efficiency. Apple Log's dynamic range offers greater flexibility during post-production.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max supports ProRes video capture up to 4K60 fps with Apple Log encoding for better post-production color grading. Also, both the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max support the global standard for color workflows, the Academy Color Encoding System (ACES).

Apple also released a short video of how this feat was accomplished.

Subscribe to AppleInsider on YouTube

Apple used the SpaceCam rig to integrate the iPhone 15 Pro Max as the main camera, allowing for seamless capture of complex shots.

The use of the Blackmagic Camera app, designed exclusively for iOS users, provided the crew with a familiar interface and the same powerful tools found in Blackmagic Design's digital film cameras. This allowed the team to maintain their traditional filmmaking techniques, including using cranes, dollies, and even drones to capture scenes and showcase the new M3 MacBook Pro lineup.

Released in September, Blackmagic Camera is available for free on the App Store and supports Apple Log encoding on the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Read on AppleInsider

hmlongco

I'm not quite sure a $1,000 camera strapped to an $100,000 rig is what most people think of when they see "Shot On iPhone"...

netrox

hmlongco said:

I'm not quite sure a $1,000 camera strapped to an $100,000 rig is what most people think of when they see "Shot On iPhone"...

But how does $100,000 rig affect the image quality of the video though? 

Wesley Hilliard

hmlongco said:

I'm not quite sure a $1,000 camera strapped to an $100,000 rig is what most people think of when they see "Shot On iPhone"...

Yeah, there's a lot of expensive lights and dollies. BUT, think of it another way. Apple would normally shoot these events on incredibly expensive and large video cameras that start at $8,000 on the low end.

Apple replaced those cameras with iPhones. The same iPhone you can buy and carry in your pocket. That's what shot on iPhone conveys. Apple replaced studio cameras with an iPhone and no one noticed until Apple pointed it out at the end of the video.

To me, that's pretty huge.

cia

The fact we are even having this conversation shows just how incredible smartphone cameras have become over the last decade.

If you had told me that this level of quality was going to be possible on a smart phone the size of the iPhone 15 Pro Max back in 2007 when the OG iPhone launched I would have laughed you out of the room.  Sure it was clear back then that smartphone processing power would get better and better, but at the time there was a clear limit to what you could do with optical glass and image sensors.  Sure, I expected them to get better, but never thought it would hit the level we are currently at.

 Looking back at the pics I took on my original iPhone compared to what is possible now?  It's incredible.   All bets are off for what these devices will do in 15 more years.

eightzero

The behind the scenes thing here is marketing genius. I rather suspect it played heavily into Apple's decision to hold a 30m October event. "A two trillion dollar company uses the equipment you can buy from them to make...well...two trillion dollars."

I can say my iPhone 15 Pro Max camera is superb. I didn't buy it just for the camera, as my Xr needed replacement anyway. But...damn.

StrangeDays

hmlongco said:

I'm not quite sure a $1,000 camera strapped to an $100,000 rig is what most people think of when they see "Shot On iPhone"...

Focused on the wrong thing. It's "shot" as in the camera -- lens, sensor, processor. That is remarkable. Of course they use professional gyros and lighting.

dope_ahmine

And that’s how you really convince the market of your products’ quality. Eat your own food …and drool
 🤤 

Wesley Hilliard

anonymouse said:

Come on AI

If you're concerned about how we cover content, please send us an email. Reread the forum rules and see that it is against the rules to criticize the content and coverage within the forums. This is a place to talk about the news, not about how we cover it.

We always link to the source of news, especially when we cover content originally sourced from another website or even one of our competitors. It is an industry practice not to link to a PR website. The point of PR is to give news sources copy to post on their own website. Rather than copy and past Apple's PR post like some websites do, we contextualize it.

 If we cover news that has already appeared on another website, it is to give our readers a chance to see it too. Maybe you follow every news website in the industry, but there are many who only get their Apple news from a single source like AppleInsider. So we want to inform those readers and insure we're part of the conversation.

Our links to other AI content help expand on context. Links to specific terms like device names or services are to wikipedia style information pages we maintain to further help the reader if they want more info on a specific thing. Again, an industry norm.

Criticism is welcome, but this isn't the avenue for it. And much of your criticism comes from not understanding how the industry operates and confusing your personal preferences with how our company should operate.

Thanks for being concerned and I see you're an avid poster in our forum, but remember we're not writing just for you. We're also generally open about how we choose topics and coverage, so feel free to reach out via email or social media if you have specific questions.

MisterKit

No matter how you slice it this is pretty impressive.