The iPhone has over the past 16 years become a famous “secret” weapon among film-makers. In fact, it became the go-to tool during the pandemic as TV shows were filmed from home by the likes of Jimmy Fallon and Conan O’Brien. For Vishal Bhardwaj the reason behind shooting his latest film, Fursat, on the iPhone 14 Pro has to do with the capability of the tool; it is about showcasing creativity and not dealing with compromises. “I didn’t know how much iPhone could handle, but the way it did was just fantastic,” he said.

The 30-minute film starring Ishaan Khatter and Wamiqa Gabbi has the same scale as a lavishly-mounted Bollywood film, complete with dance and action scenes. Almost every other frame comes packed with people, so the iPhone needed to work overtime.

‘THE SCALE iPHONE CAN ACHIEVE’

The complexity of the shots can be well understood by the storyline. A young archaeologist, Nishant (Ishaan Khatter), is obsessed with an ancient relic called the Doordarshak, which comes to life and he begins to see visions of the future. But he soon gets so caught up with the sci-fi device that he turns up late for his own engagement to his childhood sweetheart, Diya (Wamiqa Gabbi), a doctor. The relationship ends, or so Diya thinks. Nishant witnesses through the Doordarshak a prediction of nightmarish level, involving a burning train, a dangerous gangster, and a threat to Diya’s life. Diya needs to be saved but without compromising on a topic close to Bhardwaj’s heart — a melding of grandeur and a musical.

“I’ve never had this kind of scale in my films ever before. And this can tell you about the scale iPhone can achieve,” said the multiple National Award-winning director. Armed with a bunch of iPhone 14 Pro sets, he set out to showcase the level of creativity the device can achieve.

When Sean Baker released his award-winning film Tangerine in 2015, which was shot with three iPhone 5s smartphones, it was cinematic enough and had viewers not been told about the filming process, nobody would have guessed that iPhones were involved. But there were a couple of problems — at that point in time, a shallow field of depth was not possible. Plus, action scenes (of course, Tangerine is a different genre) were tough to film because you need a camera that’s steady.

Cut to 2023. Not only does the iPhone 14 Pro offer an excellent depth of field, making a full-fledged action film is not an issue because of the Action mode.

‘AN EMOTIONAL SHIFT FOCUS’

Let’s dive into a couple of elements — cinematic framing and action. Action mode is extreme video stabilisation without compromising on picture quality. Available on all iPhone 14 models, it allows supercharged stabilisation for very intense motion. It’s particularly helpful if you are running behind an object. Second, cinematic mode. Around since iPhone 13, the feature was updated last year. With Cinematic mode, the iPhone camera can record videos with a shallow depth of field and add beautiful focus transitions for a cinema-grade look. Further, videos taken using cinematic mode can be edited to change focus.

“I think Action mode is the most amazing update. For it to be held in your hand and run with all your might looking at the actor, one can get extremely steady shots, without an external gimbal,” said Swapnil Sonawane, director of photography. He is equally impressed by the other feature: “The way Cinematic mode shifts focus is the way the focus puller would, it’s an emotional shift focus, which is what was absolutely beautiful about it.”

A moment from Fursat

The 30-minute film is packed with musical moments

A difficult shot that has been accomplished on the iPhone 14 Pro

Fursat has plenty of moments that take advantage of the Action mode

SPATIAL AUDIO TREATMENT

Using an iPhone also makes things easier for the actors. Usually, actors have a huge camera in their faces and, however much a veteran, it takes a few days to become comfortable. The iPhone is a communication device owned by almost every person. There is less of the intimidation factor right from the get-go. “A traditional film camera comes with 10 people, three attendants and 10 boxes of lenses… you can’t move around. You can’t be quick. iPhone liberated me in that sense,” said Bhardwaj. “As a device, it’s taking you out of the limitations which we had when we were growing up. We didn’t have the luxury that iPhone is providing every budding film-maker today.”

Like Sonawane, the director of films like Maqbool, Omkara and Haider is surprised by Action mode. “It was the biggest surprise for me. In Fursat, we’ve covered a lot of things in Action mode. If you see the raw footage, the visual is so jarring and destabilised. On Action mode, it’s so smooth. You have to see it to believe it,” he said.

Perhaps the director chose the iPhone 14 Pro because of its prograde camera. After many years, Apple overhauled the camera system and has given the iPhone a new 48MP main camera, which enables new features, including an additional 2x telephoto for a total of four zoom options and the ability to shoot 48MP photos in ProRAW. All cameras get a boost in low-light performance thanks to the new Photonic Engine. Helping the phone is the A16 Bionic, Apple’s first chip built on 4-nanometer process.

All the brilliant scenes would have come to naught had it not been for the quality of music. After all, Fursat revolves around music. The soundtrack has been given a Spatial Audio treatment. In other words, you get to experience the songs in avery immersive way, doing full justice to the lyrics by Gulzar. Apple Music is home to all the music associated with Fursat. Further, you can listen to special playlists featuring songs from the contributors of the film which, in addition to the director and composer Vishal Bhardwaj, include singers Sukhwinder Singh and Kailash Kher.

With every film that’s being shot on the iPhone, the backdrop is becoming more complex, proving what the phone is capable of capturing. Take a look at Life is But a Dream by Park Chan-wook and Through the Five Passes by award-winning director and screenwriter Peng Fe.

FIVE MORE FILMS SHOT ON iPHONE

From left, Mickey O’Hagan, Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Radium Cheung and Sean Baker making Tangerine, which was filmed with an iPhone

• Through the Five Passes by Peng Fe: The almost 18-minute film was shot on iPhone and does not appear to have used any after-market optics.
• Life is But a Dream by Park Chan-wook: The story revolves around an undertaker who accidentally awakens a ghost while trying to steal a coffin.
• Unsane by Steven Soderbergh: The film follows a woman who is convinced she has a stalker, but later comes to question her own sanity when she is admitted to a mental institution against her will.
• 9 Rides by Matthew Cherry: The movie follows one night in the life of an Uber driver, who picks people up on New Year’s Eve in Los Angeles and witnesses their lives.
• Tangerine by Sean Baker: SinDee is a trans sex worker who sets out on a rampage through Los Angeles.