Big news for the “iPhone filmmaking is becoming a thing” crowd today.
While there were already plenty of ways for you to make your smartphone videography look more cinematic that don’t have to do with adding overlays in post, it’s at least nice to know that some of the best tools for such an act will now be able to support Apple LOG from your iPhone 15 Pros.
FilmConvert Nitrate and CineMatch are both tried-and-true color grading suites that work with Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, and Final Cut Pro X. While they’ve offered a wide variety of support for different levels of cameras over the years, this is a major step towards making the iPhone 15 Pro a more true cinematic option.
Let’s take a look at what this new support means for your and your possible iPhone cinematography needs.
FilmConvert Nitrate and CineMatch
Known in cinematic and video editing circles as a quality film emulation and grain suite that offers support for a wide range of camera profiles, FilmConvert Nitrate is a top-notch tool for those looking to kick the cinematic elements of your video footage up a notch.
With this update, FilmConvert has offered these new support options in the CameraPack Downloader within the plugin. If you’ve updated already, you should have the new FilmConvert Apple LOG support to dive into.
CineMatch is a similar plugin that works to match your different LOG profiles from your different cameras and convert them into a more usable REC.709 format. CineMatch also has a suite of LUT support and color correction and grading tools which can further help you tweak and tone your footage to your cinematic liking.
Working with Apple LOG Footage
One of the biggest selling points of the new iPhone 15 Pro (and Pro Max) has to do with its new Apple ProRes LOG video recording. As you’ve probably seen with the TV commercials showcasing an iPhone 15 Pro being used to shoot an Olivia Rodrigo music video, Apple is putting a lot of weight behind this new recording format.
That being said, while it is super helpful to have with a smartphone, and a major step up from recording options in the past, it’s gotten a bit of flack both from high-end cinematographers who have compared it to some of your more typical cinema cameras, as well as confusion from amateur creators unsure of what to do with the neutral colors.
Fittingly, working with FilmConvert Nitrate and CineMatch is actually a great option for both as it should provide a simple and direct way to match, correct, and grade your footage with a seasoned plugin that is designed specifically for this type of work.
Price and Availability
If you’re interested in checking them out, FilmConvert Nitrate and CineMatch are available for both Windows and Mac and are available on the FilmConvert website here.
Licensing range from $125 for single plugins to $174 for all platforms.
