Here’s How You Can Use Any Smartphone to Create Cinematic Footage

Can MKBHD's Team Make ANY Phone Look Cinematic?

So, the prompt for this YouTube video is pretty straightforward. The Studio put together a challenge where various members of the MKBHD team were assigned different smartphones—ranging from the budget-friendly CMF Phone 2 Pro to the high-end Samsung S25 Ultra—to create high-quality, "cinematic" intros.

Marquez (MKBHD) and Brandon then watched these intros and attempted to guess which phone was used for each project based on visual cues. It’s a fun game and nice content to sit and enjoy, but for filmmakers or videographers looking for tips, tricks, and advice, there are some nice insights to be gained by reviewing the techniques used by the team members in the video.

The Smartphone Cinematic Sequences

Some of the different cinematic sequences shot by the team in the video above ranged from an “Oppenheimer-style” intro about a speaker who could "break physics". It utilized some colorful sand for texture and a projector to create practical floor effects without masking.

There was also a car-commercial-esque intro that used letterboxing to hide the soft corners of a cheaper phone's ultra-wide lens, as well as a high-energy sequence featuring a robot arm and a Crocs shoe. We also got some documentary-style narrative work and a VFX-heavy sequence featuring basketball and math equations, with a focus on high dynamic range.

You can watch the different cinematic sequences for the different crews from MKBHD’s team below.

• 00:00 Shot on a Phone
• 00:32 The Editing Team
• 03:04 The Audio Team
• 07:53 The Design Team
• 10:13 The Meme Team
• 13:20 The Producer Team
• 16:16 The Dream Team
• 18:13 Final Guesses

Pro Filmmaking Techniques and Tricks

Overall, it’s a fun exercise that can offer interesting insights into how top YouTube content creators tackle the challenges of film and video production today. The crews gave some nice looks into how they problem-solved, creating “cinematic” footage, using techniques like the following:

• Post-Production: The use of log shooting, extensive color grading, noise reduction, sharpening, and adding digital grain or "halation".
• Practical Effects & Lighting: Rather than relying solely on digital effects, they used Amaran 100x lights, physical sand, and custom rigs for stabilization.
• Audio Design: The team emphasized the importance of sound elements, utilizing royalty-free music libraries for cinematic tracks and specific foley effects to enhance the visuals.

If you found this style of content informative and interesting, you can watch more videos by The Studio crew or just keep up with some of your favorite content creators and their newest adventures and episodes.