Blackmagic has just released a new iPhone app that offers a heap of professional video functionality on your phone and it’s completely free! While you may not think this app has any great benefits for you there are a surprising number of interesting features here.
You can record 10-bit Apple ProRes or H.264/H.265 video in up to 4K resolution, have precise control over a whole range of settings and tools, and take advantage of Blackmagic Cloud to transfer footage to an editor remotely.
This feature, along with the price tag of zero dollars (including no subscriptions for the app - although the cloud storage feature has a cost) is what sets this app apart from existing apps such as Filmic Pro.
The Camera tab provides a simple interface that closely resembles Blackmagic cameras. It allows you to quickly adjust camera settings such as frame rate, shutter speed, ISO, WB, and tint.
Additionally, the app has a full set of professional monitoring tools – including histogram, zebra, focus peaking, frame guides, anamorphic de-squeeze, audio levels, false colour, and more – and also supports the use of 3D LUTs.
Now your phone isn’t about to replace a high end cinema camera, but with additional tools like these it can be much simpler to use a phone in a professional setting or begin learning the technical elements behind filmmaking without the need to invest in a new camera.
Even relatively simple features such as entering project metadata including reel and scene numbers or allowing for timecode can make such a difference compared to using the standard iPhone camera app.
Using the Blackmagic camera app allows you to store your footage directly onto your phone or to upload it to a shared project within Blackmagic Cloud. This allows a remote editor to instantly see the recorded clips as they are uploaded which could be super beneficial to some productions.
There’s also an option to upload proxy versions as you go. And there's an inbuilt chat function which allows for instant feedback between the remote editors and the shooter.
More and more productions are looking to utilise phones in order to create authenticating feeling content for social media and even narrative productions. It’s great to see Blackmagic taking the lead here and offering an excellent option for allowing simple and professional tools in this space.