In the aftermath of the iPhone X launch, we were understandably flooded with every kind of “iPhone X Camera vs [insert camera here]” video you can think of. But as always, the only proof of what a camera can really do is what happens when you put it in the hands of a talented director.
That’s exactly what happened with Smoke and Mirrorless, a three-minute short movie from videographer Tristan Pope. It’s about as no-frills as you can get with a video setup, and it puts to rest the question of whether you can make a “real” video on an iPhone.
This isn’t Pope’s first foray into iPhone videography by any means, but he explained what makes this one special:
I shot a series for iPhone 8 Plus and wanted to push the limits even further with iPhone X. Instead of multiple portfolio like clips, I wanted to get back to the roots of where Dancers of started which such award winning short films as Dancers of NYC and Dancers of Zurich.
To me, the 240FPS on iPhone has always been a huge tool in my arsenal of equipment. To achieve these frame rates on any other camera would A: be very expensive and B: be a large format camera. To have this in the palm of your hand has always been the biggest draw to mobile film-making for me.
I got together with the extremely talented hip hop dancers Lizzie Fleitas and Carol Malak to create Smoke and Mirrorless (iPhone is a mirrorless camera in case you were wondering where the title came from).
You can watch the entire short film (shot on an iPhone X) below:
