I’ll talk about “shots on iPhone.” In upcoming F1 movies, Apple has built custom camera modules using iPhone parts and left it to the engineers to replace the onboard cameras used for F1 live race broadcasts. Let’s take a closer look at the rig.
but why?
They also find themselves in trouble when director Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick) and cinematographer Claudio Miranda (Benjamin Button’s Strange Incident) said they wanted a visual shot of the film’s real driver, as Wired detailed (via Mac Magazine).
For aerodynamics and common sense reasons, it is not possible to bolt a Hollywood movie camera to a Formula 1 car. Also, small broadcast cameras normally used during F1 races are not accurately optimized for movie-quality footage, so Apple saw this as an opportunity to be creative.
The company’s answer was to replace the standard broadcast module with a unique iPhone-powered camera system designed to fit in the same space, designed to fit in the same space, and designed to withstand F1-level stress.
iPhone sensor, A-series chip, custom firmware
The rig clearly didn’t look like an iPhone, as Apple had to match the form factor of the existing F1 broadcast unit. However, internally it is built into the iPhone camera sensor and A-Series chip. Given the production timeline, we speculate that on wired we used the same 48MP sensor and A17 Pro silicon found on the iPhone 15 Pro.
Also, internal: iPhone battery, neutral density (ND) filter on the lens, allowing you to control exposure to the film maker in bright conditions run only with custom iOS firmware for this camera.
This footage was shot in ProRes logs, and the production team gave optimal flexibility in color ratings and matching with the rest of the film.
One technical constraint: The crew could not control the camera wirelessly as F1 cars were not allowed to have active radios inside. So Apple has built a custom iPad app that connects to the rig via USB-C. This is how filmmakers control settings such as shutter angle, ISO, white balance, frame rate, and more, when recording starts or stops.
The video captured by the system will open internationally from June 25th, and will be held at US theatres and IMAX nationwide on June 27th.
Apple TV+ is available for $9.99 a month, with TV shows and movies such as Ted Lasso, Severance, Studios, Morning Shows, Shrinks and Silos being hits.
