A report is currently making the rounds on the Internet that the upcoming horror blockbuster “28 Years Later” was filmed on some iPhone 15 smartphones - with a production budget of 75 million dollars. This was revealed by Wired magazine, based on an unofficial behind-the-scenes photo.
Smartphones, especially iPhones, have already been used several times in larger productions, whether for marketing purposes or to achieve a special look; the images can also give the impression of authenticity. However, the fact that a 75 million production uses iPhones as the main camera is probably a novelty. So why are they doing this? Because the iPhone 15 Pro Max may have an excellent camera on board and some quite professional features, such as the ability to record logarithmically in ProRes and on external SSDs. Nevertheless, it falls short of real cinema cameras in terms of image quality and workflow.
The most obvious reason would be for the attention - but if Danny Boyle is making a sequel to his zombie cult film “28 Days Later” after more than 20 years, he doesn't really need it. What about the look? “28 Days Later” was shot on MiniDV at the time, using Canon XL-1 camcorders with interchangeable lenses. They made it possible to shoot much faster and cheaper than would have been possible on film at the time. The trashy look also suited the movie theme perfectly.
So perhaps they wanted an aesthetic for the current film that didn't look too perfect in order to tie in with the first film? However, the circulating photo of the camera setup does not actually show a simple iPhone 15 Pro Max, but was shot with a fully rigged device. It appears that the iPhone is in a cage from BeastGrip with a 
DOF adapter, which can be used to connect full-frame lenses with an EF mount. “28 Years Later” is therefore not filmed with a normal iPhone camera - it remains to be seen what look is ultimately created. In terms of workflow, however, we can imagine few advantages.
DoP Anthony Dod Mantle had already shot “28 Days Later” with Boyle, as well as “Slumdog Millionaire”, for which he won the Oscar for Best Cinematography. “Anthony Dod Mantle's choice of camera and material is never a mannered end in itself, but always the result of a conscious decision in the service of the story being told” according to the citation when he received the Marburg Camera Award in 2011. So we can look forward not only to a trailer, but also to the first interviews with Mantle.
28 Years Later is due to premiere in theaters in June.
