When we were covering Apple’s event introducing their new trio of M3 chips and Macbook (which we’re excited about based on how they could be able to boost your at-home workflows), there was a little note at the end that caught all of our attentions.

Actually, there were two notes of interest.

One simply said, “This event was shot on an iPhone and edited on a Mac,” which was impressive but not entirely surprising perhaps. The other note was a “Thank you” which was addressed to Blackmagic and Beastgrip at the end of the video, confirming that the team behind the Apple event not only used an iPhone (specifically the iPhone 15 Pro) but also made use of the new Blackmagic Camera app.

So, in the spirit of encouraging not just any filmmaking or video inspiration, but smartphone videography itself, let’s peek behind the scenes into how this Apple event was pulled off and the tools used to get it done.

A Special Apple Event

As you can see in the video below, this special Apple event was presented as a Halloween-specific launch of the new MacBook Pro and iMac along with Apple’s new M3 family of chips. We usually get a few of these Apple events or keynotes each year, so they’re not wholly something out of the ordinary to view and review.

However, with Apple so hard-heartedly doubling down on their flagship iPhone being a video camera at its heart, it would have been more of a surprise if they didn’t use it to shoot the event this time. While the overall product is indeed quite impressive, regardless of what camera it was shot on, the real story here isn’t just what they shot it on, but how they shot it, and what tools were a part of the process.

Behind the Scenes of the Apple Event

Tagging on to Apple’s event video, the multi-billion dollar company also released a short, but informative, featurette about how the event was shot on the iPhone 15 Pro. In the video, linked below, we get to hear from the director about how well the iPhone was able to shoot in low light (which was a part of this Halloween-themed concept).

The team also reveals their workflow as how they were able to “supercharge” the video by using ProRes, Apple Log, and USB-C to get the most out of the iPhone 15 Pro’s recording capabilities. There’s also some interesting insights into their coloring processes and overall presentation.

What the video doesn’t fully address though is the tools the team used which come from outside the company. Which, most notably, includes the Blackmagic Camera app.

The Blackmagic Camera App

As we covered when first announced, the Blackmagic Camera app is the brand’s full digital film camera control iOS app which is designed to give your videos that cinematic, feature film quality. Also, it’s free—which feels important to mention.

Designed to serve as an add-on control app for your smartphone videography, the Blackmagic Camera app has a whole host of additional manual controls that you won’t always find in the iPhone’s native camera app. You can use the Blackmagic Camera app to control manual exposure, drop frame warnings, orientation locks, timecode displays, advanced media metadata, digital slates and even peaking and HDMI output options.

The app also features display LUTs, histograms, and an option to further integrate with Nucleus Wireless lens control. While the app obviously can’t fully replicate all of the bells-and-whistles which you’d find on a cinema camera, it does quite a bit to unlock the full camera capabilities of your iPhone.

Judging by the fact that the app was used on one of Apple’s biggest events shot on the iPhone 15 Pro, it’s getting their de facto recommendation, too.

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