If you’re anything like me (and that’s a scary thought), then you probably hate opening up a YouTube video and realizing that someone shot it using vertical format on a smartphone. Is it really that difficult to turn your phone sideways? Well, for once, you might actually enjoy the fact that a video was shot in portrait orientation with the new short film, “The Stunt Double.” And that’s only because it’s directed by Damien Chazelle.
Chazelle teamed with Apple to work on “The Stunt Double,” a short film that celebrates the history of cinema through the perspective of the people that often never gets the glory and fame they deserve—the stunt team. And to help showcase the work of a stunt man, Chazelle filmed the whole thing vertically and used only an iPhone 11 Pro (and a post-processing app and a ton of additional equipment, obviously).
Here’s how the short is described:
“Watch as classic genres are flipped on their side, from action movies to silent films, spy flicks to westerns, reframing and modernizing the movie magic we know and love.”
Now, when it says genres are “flipped,” that is a literal use of the word, as the horizontal aspect ratio that is normally used in filmmaking is ditched in favor of the vertical format, aka portrait orientation. This is far from the first film project that has utilized the vertical format. Just recently, Quibi played with the idea of changing aspect ratios with its mobile streaming app, allowing you to watch projects in whatever orientation you prefer. Hell, Russian filmmaker, Timur Bekmambetov, is aiming to shoot a big-budget action feature film in the vertical format that will be released digitally.
READ MORE: Timur Bekmambetov To Direct A Vertical Format Action Blockbuster Film For Your Smartphone
But “The Stunt Double” might have the best crew ever assembled for a sideways production. With Chazelle, an Oscar-winning director, helming the short and Oscar-winning cinematographer Linus Sandgren writing the music. Oh and let’s not forget composer Lorne Balfe, who supplies the music for the upcoming “Black Widow,” as well as the new “Mission: Impossible” films. That’s a pretty powerful filmmaking trio.
However, is it enough to get people to watch “vertical cinema?” That’s yet to be determined. On a personal note, it looks wrong and is difficult to watch. But maybe it’ll sell a few more iPhones? Because that’s all Apple really cares about at the end of the day.