Searching Movie Makes $16m Worldwide

What’s going on in the world of mobile device filmmaking today? What should we even call it? Smartphone filmmaking? But what about tablets and GoPros? Mobile filmmaking? $7000 Steadicams are mobile. How about Filmbreaking? There’s even a thing called a “computer screen” movie. Because after a long day at the office, staring at your monitor and your smartphone, why not head to the cinema and pay $20 to watch… more screens for 2 hours.

But new American computer screen thriller SEARCHING is currently something of a hit at the box office, pulling in $16m so far. A lot of it appears to be smartphone screen too. I don’t know for sure, but presumably they shot the film using actual laptop and smartphone cameras.

I haven’t seen it, but some say it’s “shockingly effective, not just in creating a sense of constant, palpable tension, but also in the way it pulls off authentic, effective emotional beats”. How does this relate to smartphone filmmaking?

These type of films are not new, but they do illustrate how you can use the camera to tell a story in a different way. Rather than use the smartphone as you would a DSLR, you can use it as a smartphone – because this is actually what life looks like now, for most of us. We are constantly changing our view of the world through the various devices we own.

How often has someone walked into you on the street because they had 100% of their attention fixed on a WhatsApp conversation? Yet the camera in most movies still acts like humans of old. Moving calmly forward or back, looking directly ahead.

Smartphones can’t compete with bigger cameras for image quality. But what they can do is open up the options available to you to tell your story. People are making films on their smartphones. They’re also paying their rent, talking to their friends and ordering a pizza with the same phone. You can’t do that with an Arri.

I was filming a dramatic scene when suddenly a notification popped up from my mum asking if I received my birthday card. It’s confusing and distracting. Suddenly, I was divided between the movie I was supposed to making and the compulsion to reply, or Mum might think I’m ignoring her.

This is the world we live in now. Our films can reflect that by using the devices for what they are, as opposed to a poor version of something they will never be. Something to think about…

Watch SEARCHING on Amazon

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