Crazy Rich Asians Director Jon M. Chu Shoots 4K Short Film on iPhone XS Max

“Crazy Rich Asians” Director Jon M. Chu used an iPhone XS Max to shoot a short 4K film.

The short film was shot entirely without any stabilizers other than the native ones in the camera on the device. Chu also decided not to use any additional lighting and used only the fluorescent lights found on site. Once the footage was recorded, Chu’s team edited the clip on a computer, however, no colour correction or special effects were added.

In an interview with WIRED, Chu said that he was truly impressed by how well the iPhone handed shots with quick motion and how well the colours turned out despite being under fluorescent lights. Shooting in these conditions would have been a challenge to any videographer using professional cameras, however, Chu managed to pull it off using only an iPhone XS Max. During the interview, he said:

“I’m moving around a lot, and the focus was adjusting as I was moving, but it was finding the subject really well. There’s a shot at the end where I’m rushing toward the garage–that’s using the built-in stabilizers. It’s pretty smooth.

You can see the colors, they really pop. I did some shots in the daytime that didn’t make it into the movie, and the daylight images felt a little cooler. But shooting at night, the video warms up. You can adjust the colors however you want, but I was shooting with the defaults.”

YouTube video

The entire two-minute 4K short film, which is about a dancer Luigi Rosado and his rehearsal space, above. What do you think about the video Chu shot on an iPhone XS Max? Let us know in the comments below.

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