How your smartphone is changing cinema

Smartphone technologies are increasingly playing a major part in film production, distribution and reception. This month sees the launch of what is being billed as the “world’s first selfie movie”. And next a series is to air on Instagram. Last year, Tangerine became the first film shot on an iPhone to feature at the Sundance film festival.

The first known film shot entirely on an iPhone was Night Fishing (2011). The director attached a 35mm lens to the iPhone’s camera in order to achieve a cinematic look. Night Fishing draws on the framing and grammar of traditional film, eschewing the characteristics traditionally associated with portable recording such as unstable imagery, shaky camera moves, distorted audio, and sickness-invoking motion. Read more

 Photo: The Silver Goat Premiere, 2012 (© Sam Pearce)