Every year Apple makes updates and changes to their phones, and it becomes a mainstay in the day to day life of an iPhone user, but one of their latest updates has certainly caught our eye. That is the iPhone Cinematic Mode.
In this guide, we look at the cinematic mode for iPhone 13, how to use it, and if it’s possible to create a film using just your iPhone.
What is The iPhone 13 Cinematic Mode?
The cinematic mode on the iPhone 13 is to essentially bring a cinematic-like effect direct to your iPhone’s camera. The idea is to create a depth-of-field effect in your iPhone videos.
Apple has done this by using its A15 Bionic chip and some pretty cool algorithms. It’s incredible the picture generated using the Bionic chip.
The cinematic mode can also switch to and from subjects and focus on more than one subject, perfect for filming a multi-dimensional scene where more than one actor has a vital part to play.
Apple’s main aim for the iPhone 13’s cinematic mode is to look more immersive and increase the quality level a mobile can shoot at.
How to Use Cinematic Mode on The iPhone 13?
Cinematic mode on the iPhone 13 is pretty simple to get started with. You just open up the camera app on your iPhone and slide over to the left where it says “cinematic” – then press record it.
Play around with the depth settings and test the Bokeh effect out to make sure you have the right balance when using the cinematic mode to shoot a video.
The results are insane. The quality of footage you can garner from the cinematic mode is excellent. You can quickly shoot a short film using cinematic mode.
Can You Record a Commercial on Cinematic Mode for the iPhone 13?
100% you can. The capability of the iPhone 13 is incredible when using the cinematic mode. You can film a commercial easily on it. Make sure you’ve storyboarded the commercial ready to shoot it on your iPhone in cinematic mode.
Here are a few tips to ensure you’re using the cinematic mode to its optimum level:
F-stop: 6 or Above
When filming ensure you use f/6 or above. Anything lower and you can notice a slight blur and fuzzy outline on the images. It will make for a much more organic look than that of the f/5 below.
Apple tends to have the setting set at f/2 as a default setting. It helps a little with the depth-of-field effect but detracts from the quality of the video footage, so adjusting to an f/6 is imperative.
Use The 77mm Zoom Lens
Touching above on the F-stop – to get the best out of it, you should look at the 77mm telephonic lens option.
This option is essential for the iPhones recording capabilities to stand out from all of its competitors. Using it with the 4:5 option of standard video recording aspect ratios, you’ll get high-quality footage shot and get the best out of the Bokeh effect in cinematic mode.
Reduce Movement Around the Subject
One aspect of the iPhone’s cinematic functionality is to get the best performance from it, which is to reduce the overall movement around your subjects faces whilst filming.
When using this feature it has the ability to switch focus on multiple subjects, which is perfect for big scenes however it has a slight downside. It causes a little bit of blur around your subject.
To reduce the level of blur, all you need to do is reduce the movement around the subject.
By reducing the movement around the subject, it will decrease the amount of blur produced by switching from subject to subject quickly.
Can You Make a Film Using the Cinematic Mode?
Definitely. As mentioned above if you can record a commercial – you can make a film using the cinematic mode on iPhone 13.
Use these tips above to help guide you on how to shoot a full film using just your mobile. There are plenty more tips and tricks to understand when it comes to filmmaking not just on an iPhone 13, so here are a couple of essential guides to help you make the most of it:
Use these guides to compliment your film and ensure the end product is that of Hollywood blockbuster level!
Read more on How to create a cinematic film with your smartphone.
Cinematic Mode – The Key iPhone 13 features
It’s worth mentioning the incredible features the iPhone 13 itself offers. It’s astonishing how far Apple has come, even since iPhone 8-9. Here’s an overview of the key features of the iPhone 13:
- 4K video recording at 24, 25, 30 or 60fps.
- Super retina XDR display.
- Improved aperture with a diagonal, dual lens.
- HDR Video recording.
- Dual optical image stabilization for video.
- 6-core CPU.
- Slo‑mo video support for 1080p at 120fps or 240fps.
- Improved battery life
- New design with smaller camera notch
If you’re looking to film with something a little more affordable, please look at our guide on The best DSLR cameras, and specifically the review on the Canon EOS 4000D and Canon Rebel T7, as these are both affordable and produces high-quality video footage.
We hope this article on the iPhone 13’s cinematic mode was useful to you. Let us know your thoughts down below in the comments, we love to hear from you guys.
Happy filmmaking!
