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Meanwhile the world is busy filming with iPhones, and at any second a movie shot with one/them will win an Oscar.

by smm11 5y ago

zactato 5y ago
I think this might take another generation. The Oscars represent the high production values/costs of the entertainment industry. Giving an Oscar to a 17 year old with an iPhone would threaten the foundation of a lot of that industry. I suspect we'll see a tipping point soon (if we haven't already) where more minutes of time are spent watching content produced on an iPhone vs an expensive film camera.
- ghaff 5y ago
  You'll almost certainly see some short documentary or short subject at some point. (i.e. something almost no one ever sees) But other costs so dominate the actual photography, there's little reason to expect a studio to economize on the cinematography (and sound, etc.) other than someone doing it as a stunt.
- lostcolony 5y ago
  A 17 year old with an iPhone, maybe. Happily, plenty of industry veterans are finding uses for camera phones. https://momofilmfest.com/oscar-winning-claude-lelouch-cannes-iphone/ https://momofilmfest.com/oscar-winning-claude-lelouch-cannes...
- beavertrilogy 5y ago
  "Tangerine" got pretty close. Made it to Sundance and that was in 2014/2015 with an iPhone 5S. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangerine_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangerine_(film) The threat to the industry definitely appears to be the bigger hurdle, but don't discount workflow. Offloading from an iPhone is non-trivial, especially when all big-budget movies employ at least one DIT (if not an entire team) to manage this process.
- TigeriusKirk 5y ago
  >I suspect we'll see a tipping point soon (if we haven't already) where more minutes of time are spent watching content produced on an iPhone vs an expensive film camera. Counting Youtube/TikTok/whatever, this must have tipped years ago.
- robbrown451 5y ago
  Well they gave a Grammy for best engineered album to Finneas (for his sister Billie Eilish's album), and it was recorded and produced on equipment most any of us could afford. Not so different. I don't see the people who vote for Oscars being so concerned about threatening the foundation of the industry. That would require some sort of corruption or conspiracy, and I'm just not confident that is going on to that level.
lostcolony 5y ago
Searching for Sugar Man won Best Documentary in 2013 and was partially shot on an iPhone.
paxys 5y ago
If you mean in any one of the major categories (best Picture, Direction, Cinematography, Sound Editing/Mixing etc.), then it is not going to happen anytime soon, probably ever. There are still several generational gaps between the mainstream equipment in use today and a phone camera. I can see an iPhone-shot movie getting best documentary short or whatever, but that's it.
byw 5y ago
I suspect at the same time Oscar will gradually become less relevant as people's attentions will be divided between Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes.
- nebula8804 5y ago
  The viewership has been decreasing for years. I don't think mainstream really pays attention anymore. However it still seems to hold some significant merit among the industry and that counts for something.

Meanwhile the world is busy filming with iPhones, and at any second a movie shot with one/them will win an Oscar.

by smm11 5y ago

Meanwhile the world is busy filming with iPhones, and at any second a movie shot with one/them will win an Oscar.

I think this might take another generation. The Oscars represent the high production values/costs of the entertainment industry. Giving an Oscar to a 17 year old with an iPhone would threaten the foundation of a lot of that industry. I suspect we'll see a tipping point soon (if we haven't already) where more minutes of time are spent watching content produced on an iPhone vs an expensive film camera.

ghaff 5y ago
You'll almost certainly see some short documentary or short subject at some point. (i.e. something almost no one ever sees) But other costs so dominate the actual photography, there's little reason to expect a studio to economize on the cinematography (and sound, etc.) other than someone doing it as a stunt.
lostcolony 5y ago
A 17 year old with an iPhone, maybe. Happily, plenty of industry veterans are finding uses for camera phones. https://momofilmfest.com/oscar-winning-claude-lelouch-cannes-iphone/ https://momofilmfest.com/oscar-winning-claude-lelouch-cannes...
beavertrilogy 5y ago
"Tangerine" got pretty close. Made it to Sundance and that was in 2014/2015 with an iPhone 5S. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangerine_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangerine_(film) The threat to the industry definitely appears to be the bigger hurdle, but don't discount workflow. Offloading from an iPhone is non-trivial, especially when all big-budget movies employ at least one DIT (if not an entire team) to manage this process.
TigeriusKirk 5y ago
>I suspect we'll see a tipping point soon (if we haven't already) where more minutes of time are spent watching content produced on an iPhone vs an expensive film camera. Counting Youtube/TikTok/whatever, this must have tipped years ago.
robbrown451 5y ago
Well they gave a Grammy for best engineered album to Finneas (for his sister Billie Eilish's album), and it was recorded and produced on equipment most any of us could afford. Not so different. I don't see the people who vote for Oscars being so concerned about threatening the foundation of the industry. That would require some sort of corruption or conspiracy, and I'm just not confident that is going on to that level.

lostcolony 5y ago

Searching for Sugar Man won Best Documentary in 2013 and was partially shot on an iPhone.

paxys 5y ago

If you mean in any one of the major categories (best Picture, Direction, Cinematography, Sound Editing/Mixing etc.), then it is not going to happen anytime soon, probably ever. There are still several generational gaps between the mainstream equipment in use today and a phone camera. I can see an iPhone-shot movie getting best documentary short or whatever, but that's it.

byw 5y ago

I suspect at the same time Oscar will gradually become less relevant as people's attentions will be divided between Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes.

nebula8804 5y ago
The viewership has been decreasing for years. I don't think mainstream really pays attention anymore. However it still seems to hold some significant merit among the industry and that counts for something.