Apple executives recently sat down and explained the technical work that went into making Cinematic mode on the iPhone 13 a reality.
One of the more intriguing additions to the iPhone 13 is Cinematic mode. The feature, in effect, allows users to take video in Portrait mode. In other words, iPhone 13 users can record video and focus in on a particular subject and have the rest of the scene be blurred. Rapidly adjusting the focus between foreground and background subjects is a classic filmmaking technique and now it’s simply part of the iPhone 13 feature set. Even cooler is that users can adjust the depth of field after the fact in iMovie or Adobe Premiere. Even more impressive is that Apple’s implementation can even “anticipate when a prominent new subject is about to enter the frame and bring them into focus when they do.” Apple is clearly championing Cinematic mode as a huge iPhone 13 selling point. Apple’s iPhone 13 page boasts that it’s the “only smartphone that lets you edit the depth effect after you shoot.” Apple explains that it studied master filmmakers during the creation process of Cinematic mode.
