Oscar winning documentary partly shot on iPhone

NewsIndustry

by Nino LeitnerFebruary 28^th, 2013

You know the old mantra of artsy filmmakers, “it’s not about the camera”. Deep down you know it’s absolutely true. We all geek out about new cameras and the latest and greatest, but the truth is that a bad story doesn’t become a tad better because it’s shot beautifully. I wrote about this fact in a lengthy blog post called “It’s not about the gear” a while back.

If you didn’t believe this by now, hold on tight for this story: The documentary “Searching for Sugar Man” – winner of the Best Documentary Academy Award 2013, was partly shot on an iPhone.

According to CNN, director Malik Bendjelloul started to shoot the film on real 8mm film but then ran out of money – the then resorted to the app “8mm Vintage Camera” on the iPhone to complete it.

iTunes App Store link: 8mm Vintage Camera – Nexvio Inc.

The app is $1.99 in the App Store and allows you to create vintage looking 8mm style videos with your iPhone without much effort. You can chose between film stocks and some other details.

So before you find an excuse for not making that movie you always wanted to make because you don’t have the right gear, think again. The main thing holding you back might well be your mindset, but it’s certainly not to do with the camera equipment you “need” to make it finally happen.

Here’s the trailer for “Searching for Sugar Man”:

Searching for Sugar man – Trailer from Julian Antell on Vimeo.

I even reviewed the app a while back in this video review:

8mm Vintage Camera – iPhone App Review from Nino Leitner on Vimeo.