iPhone 13 Pro
Image courtesy: Apple

It’s been no secret that Apple is focused on building up the iPhone’s cameras. Most of the significant updates for the iPhone over the past year have been video and photo-centered. Now, the iPhone 13 and it Pro siblings are getting some major updates that are super exciting for video shooters, namely its new cinematic mode.

Cinematic mode brings rack focusing to iPhone

The new cinematic mode creates a more cinematic look to videos shot using the iPhone 13 models. In this mode, the phone can replicate a rack focus effect that you often see in movies.

Rack focusing is a common film technique, where the camera operator changes the focus of the lens in the middle of a shot. For example, if a character points a gun directly at the camera, the camera operator may first focus on the gun and leave the character out of focus. Then, the operator will adjust the focus to focus on the character’s face and make the gun out of focus.

According to Apple, the iPhone 13 can automatically transition between the background and the foreground depending on what’s happening in the scene. So, if two characters are in-frame, and a character turns away from the camera, the iPhone will automatically change focus to the second character facing the camera. You can also manually select the focus point and lock it if you prefer to have more control.

Changing the focus after shooting

What really has us excited about the cinematic mode is what you can do with the iPhone 13 and 13 Pro Max. With both models, there’s a depth map built into their video files. So, this means you can change the focus point, even after shooting the video. This gives video editors tons of flexibility in post-production.

Apple iPhone 13 Pro cinematic mode
Image courtesy: Apple

More to come

Cinematic mode is a massive step for the iPhone line in the video space, and Apple isn’t stopping there. The company promises ProRes video support on the Pro models soon. Apple is getting serious about mobile video shooting and these updates are further proof of that fact.