Resident Evil director Zach Cregger explains why the iPhone is vital to his work

There have been a number of high-profile movies technically shot on iPhone, but in most cases they are using the same professional cinematography kit they would use with other cameras, including lenses costing tens of thousands of dollars.

Resident Evil director Zach Cregger uses his own iPhone in a rather different way, taking an approach that could be useful to amateur and professional filmmakers alike …

There’s an ongoing debate about how meaningful it is to claim that a high-profile movie, ad, or keynote video was shot on iPhone. Naysayers argue that the quality is all down to the professional lenses, lighting rigs, and editing employed, while those on the other side of the fence point out that everything was captured by the iPhone sensor.

Cregger mostly sidesteps all of that, describing his own use of an iPhone for shot planning, creating photo boards that accurately represent the image that will be captured by each of the Pro lenses he intends to use.

We grew up with video games informing our visual sense just as much as movies and television did, and I feel like I’m able to make a movie that involves the gameplay. [Here] I have a wide angle lens, our protagonist is in the center of the frame as he’s moving, we’re following locked right behind him when he looks right and we swing, right. His attention is dictating where the camera goes, and I think that the effect of that is is a much more immersive horror experience where you’re feeling informed.

I’m a hyper prepper. I’ve got the iPhone that is, like, always on me. I’ll go to the location with my cinematographer and I’ll use Cadrage, an app that approximates different lenses, and I will basically plan out the sequence. I will know exactly what shot is going to cut to what shot, and I will print out these images and everyone will know we’re using this lens for these shots. This is what’s going to be in the frame, and there’s no guesswork.

He does, however, add that an iPhone is all that you need to make a movie, even if his own budgets give him access to rather more expensive kit.

Anybody can make a movie with what’s in your pocket right now.

At the other end of the scale, I use my iPhone in a similar way to him when planning my own amateur videos. I take still photos to create a photo board so that I have a visual reference for each of my planned shots. The videos themselves may be shot on my Blackmagic rig, my iPhone, or some mix of the two.

You can watch Cregger talk through his process for Apple TV here.