
Apple’s New iPad Pro Ads Were Shot and Made Entirely on the iPad Pro [video] - plg
https://petapixel.com/2019/01/29/apples-new-ipad-pro-ads-were-shot-and-made-entirely-on-the-ipad-pro/
======
fermienrico
Everytime I see one of these "Shot on ____ ", I think about the following:

People used heavy film cameras, awful lenses, rusty shutters amidst a raging
war to take incredible pictures (Magnum photographers). If they had iPhone
cameras back 50 years ago, they'd kill to get such a small camera system in
their pockets.

Good photography (and cinematography) is largely a conceptual thing - put the
right brain behind the tools, however limited, and they'll produce incredible
content. This is hardly surprising. It is the Jimmy Hendrix equivalent of
using an eBay cheapie to shred incredible music. Or look up Robert Rodriguez's
El Mariachi film shot with a total budget of $7000. No shit!

~~~
rtpg
I definitely get this argument but take some pictures with the newest iPhone,
compare with some pictures taken with one of those fancy Canon cameras, and
the difference is night and day. With almost no effort a really nice camera
will produce shots that are extremely hard to do nicely with an iPhone

It’s also the difference between a random bike and something really well
maintained with tires pumped to perfection. Super expensive bikes won’t get
you to the Tour de France, but it sure makes riding a lot easier

~~~
joshvm
Aside from framing, the reason the footage looks is well-controlled lighting
and good camera mounting. Any camera will take a good photo outdoors in
sunlight, but indoors it's all about how the scene is lit.

SLRs have enormous sensors. The largest common sensor size in computer vision
is 1". That's smaller than micro 4/3\. APS-C and full frame are huge. Big
sensor means more photons, which means less noisy images. Combine that with a
big ol' lens and a good processor and you get nice well-exposed images without
any effort.

People are disappointed by phone images because they take snaps indoors or in
low light, and their pictures come out grainy and noisy. In the iPad Pro
advert the scenes are lit so brightly that the sensitivity of the sensor is
basically meaningless.

~~~
criddell
> People are disappointed by phone images

You think? I'm amazed by the photos I get on my phone (Pixel) and that my wife
takes with her iPhone. The low light performance is especially shocking.

I used to have an SLR and sometimes I think about getting a Leica just because
they are beautiful, but if I'm honest my phone is a better camera than I
really need.

~~~
zeristor
I have family pictures taken on a Kodak Discman from the 80’s, which is of
similar thickness but the photos are terrible.

So I appreciate the quality of mobile phone photography in such a small form
factor

------
josefresco
Reminded me of this:
[https://youtu.be/OkPter7MC1I](https://youtu.be/OkPter7MC1I)

~~~
faitswulff
Article for those unwilling to sit through a video:
[https://petapixel.com/2017/06/30/truth-shot-iphone-style-
ads...](https://petapixel.com/2017/06/30/truth-shot-iphone-style-ads/)

------
gumby
The cameras on phones are already so much better than what I could pull off
with an old snap camera in the film days. To me the improvement of camera
systems isn't in an of itself that interesting -- but the degree to which it
can give more/better data to software that can then produce a photo I'll enjoy
more than I could had I "done it myself": that's what matters.

I still have a snap (digital) camera to shoot things I can't with a phone. The
pictures aren't as good.

As a side point: what do I mean by can't shoot on a phone? On a whitewater
raft; climbing; on a multi-week backpacking trip (only one small, spare
battery needed); sleeping in the snow; has controls that can be used via feel
while wearing gloves; non-digital zoom. These are all niche applications and
while adaptors (cases) can be found to use a phone in these situations they
are much worse than just getting the right tool for the job. Which sits unused
on my desk more than half the time.

------
amelius
Offtopic, does anyone know a good app for video editing which kids age 8+ can
use? I'm thinking of normal film editing, but perhaps a stop-motion capability
would be nice, so they can animate their LEGO figures :)

~~~
goldenkey
iPhoto?

[https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207587](https://support.apple.com/en-
us/HT207587)

~~~
philwise
My wife taught the kids at primary school how to use PowerPoint. After they
were given a camera to take some pictures around the school, some of them
randomly figured out they could make stop motion animations. I was blown away.

Six year old kids can do amazing things, as long as their environment doesn't
railroad them down boring paths.

------
benj111
Don't these kind of articles just show that it's the craft of the professional
that makes the difference?

If a person can do something good with any old piece of kit, doesn't that say
more about the person than the kit?

~~~
chrisseaton
No because the kit can limit you.

If you tried to film this advert on a VGA webcam and edit it on an Amiga I
don't think you'd get results this good no matter how skilled the person was.

It may take someone skilled to get the best out of the kit, but they're
showing that they kit doesn't limit you.

~~~
jacobush
Though, you could get some awesome results from VGA webcam and edits on an
Amiga, I'm sure. :-D

~~~
theelous3
If the film maker was good, the output would be good regardless of the
terrible camera. It would just be a different ad. Not focused on flawless
lighting and gliding smooth lines etc.

~~~
ShinyCyril
An interesting example of this is an episode of DigitalRev's Cheap Camera
Challenge, whereby the filmmaker Phillip Bloom was tasked with producing a
short film using a Barbie with an integrated 240p camera:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VS3C183G8g](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VS3C183G8g).

------
qrbLPHiKpiux
Hats off to them. Film editing is such a time consuming mind numbing tedious
process for me. I have tried it with family videos with a normal keyboard and
mouse and to imagine doing it on an iPad, touch only...

~~~
miohtama
I have done some minor video producing with a proper equipment and then small
flocks on iOS / Android.

I understand the filming part, though iPad probably does not offer any
advantage of mobile cameras.

But is there a need to edit on iPad? Any laptop with a proper desktop UI is
much more powerful for this purpose.

~~~
petepete
iPad Pro has more than enough power to edit on, and when applications are
designed to be interacted with via touch or pencil, the experience is a
productive one.

I don't do video, but a photographer (Ted Forbes) who's YouTube channel I
really enjoy released a video yesterday about how he's switching to LumaFusion
and gave some reasons and thoughts on why.

[https://youtu.be/4fRJXJCEIyw](https://youtu.be/4fRJXJCEIyw)

------
Guest10928391
In this video someone mentions, "It was a really cool challenge". I think that
sums it up well. It's like hitting a nail into a piece of wood with a shoe.
It's technically possible if you're given the constraint and enough time, but
for your own sanity you'll wish you had a simple hammer.

~~~
patrickg_zill
Buck Knives used to have a demonstration where their knives could be used to
cut a bolt with a series of many light taps.

But if you want to cut bolts in real life you should probably use a bolt
cutter...

------
throwaway415415
This makes me kinda regret buying a different laptop. The iPad pro is perfect
except for the following reasons:

* It doesn't sit well in your lap. So if you don't have a table and you want to type that's annoying

* It's not a great environement to code and run tools

I wish it could fix these issues, but in truth I'm wondering if it could
without becoming a laptop.

~~~
ghaff
>* It doesn't sit well in your lap. So if you don't have a table and you want
to type that's annoying

I'm not sure why there isn't a better detachable keyboard/tablet system out
there. One of the main reasons I still travel with a tablet and a laptop (even
if it's only a small Chromebook) is that the laptop is so much more ergonomic
to just grab and stick on my lap which I often even do in, say, a hotel room
even if there's a table available.

~~~
LyndsySimon
Doesn't that pretty much describe the MS Surface Book?

~~~
ghaff
Surface is better but it’s still not really like a laptop. Though probably
comes closest. (I’m also not really in the Microsoft ecosystem so Surface
isn’t that attractive to me.)

------
louieadamian
This is great marketing, but I don’t see the purpose to arear facing camera on
the iPad. I have never needed the one on mine. I find it cumbersome to use and
the rear camera bump ruins the design on the new one in my opinion.

------
pier25
The camera is the least important aspect in getting a good image. With a good
lighting and good production even a cheap phone can get a good image.

------
kyriakos
With correct lighting and direction you can shoot a high quality ad on pin
hole camera made out of carton.

------
foolsgold
It's a poor craftsman who blames his tools.

~~~
21
But a good craftsman doesn't use shitty tools. Sure, he could work with
everything, but given the choice...

------
21
And tens of thousands of dollars of professional lighting.

Ask a pro photographer what he would prefer:

1\. a cheap entry level DSLR and ultra-expensive light setup

2\. the most expensive DSLR and cheap household light setup

Most would pick 1.

[https://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/its-not-about-the-
camera...](https://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/its-not-about-the-camera-
improve-photo-quality-with-better-lighting/)

~~~
coldtea
> _And tens of thousands of dollars of professional lighting._

There have been great (and even award winning videos) shot on iPhones (or even
cheapo dslrs/compacts) with no "professional lighting" or just natural light.

A random example:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eyr9NwyszNY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eyr9NwyszNY)

~~~
21
Your video shows no cloud full brightness summer lighting. Hardly what's
considered a difficult setup.

