iPhone movie HIGH FLYING BIRD – First Trailer

So here it is, the first trailer for Steven Soderbergh’s 2nd iPhone-shot feature film HIGH FLYING BIRD.

We heard some heavy rumours that Soderbergh had followed up on his first iPhone shot movie UNSANE with a 2nd one. But although the details of the film had been confirmed – like title, cast and subject – there was still no official confirmation regarding the format.

So now we know – yep, it is indeed shot on an iPhone. And the trailer really looks great. To my eyes, an improvement on Unsane.

Having announced his retirement some time ago, he’s now back with a string of features. He has a new working relationship at Netflix that starts with this sports drama around the subject of professional basketball.

High Flying Bird follows sports agent Ray Burke (André Holland) as he embarks on a plan to take down the NBA and return control of the game to those who play it. Watch the High Flying Bird trailer below.

Compared to Unsane, the trailer looks a lot more polished and punchy. You have to admit, those images look great and I would doubt your average film watcher would know this is supposedly shot on a consumer-level camera.

The trailer looks slick and cool and I don’t find myself trying to convince myself this is great looking this time. This really is great looking.

Of course there will always be negative comments and people claiming it’s a gimmick. But the more films we see using this format, I believe the less we will hear those comments.

The rest of the High Flying Bird cast includes Zazie Beetz, Melvin Gregg, Sonja Sohn, Zachary Quinto, Kyle MacLachlan and Bill Duke, all working from a script by Moonlight writer Tarell Alvin McCraney. Also, look out for appearances from real NBA stars like Reggie Jackson, Karl-Anthony Towns and Donovan Mitchell.

“This trailer is incredibly intriguing, mostly because of the suspense it builds around a plan that we don’t fully understand yet. It dances around the idea of how this sports agent will upend the system that keeps team owners rich and players under their control, but Soderbergh’s style makes this feel like a different kind of heist than the one he tackled in Ocean’s 11. It’s almost like a bridge between that franchise and that political series K Street he did back in 2003, with a little bit of Ballers thrown in there.” Slashfilm.

Although Soderbergh said he used Moment lenses for Unsane, rumours are that he switched to Moondog Labs anamorphic for this one.

And according to IMDb:

Aspect Ratio 2.35 : 1

Camera: iPhone 7

Lenses: Moondog Labs Anamorphic Adapter, Moment 2Xtele

Cinematographic Process: Digital Intermediate (4K) FiLMiC Pro Log (4K) H264 (4K) (source format)

Edit: the iPhone 7 is an error and he in fact used iPhone 8+ phones (this is according to FiLMiC Pro via twitter)

Offhand, 3 iPhone 8 Pluses, in rotation, not concurrently, with the @MoondogLabs 2.40:1 anamorphic adapter, shooting 4K FiLMiC Extreme at 24fps — FiLMiC Pro (@FiLMiCPro) January 19, 2019



We’re very much looking forward to seeing this when it hits the Netflix screens on February 8, 2019.

Synopsis

In the midst of a pro basketball lockout, sports agent Ray Burke (André Holland) finds himself caught in the face-off between the league and the players. His career is on the line, but Ray is playing for higher stakes. With only 72 hours to pull off a daring plan, he outmaneuvers all the power-players as he uncovers a loophole that could change the game forever. The outcome raises questions of who owns the game – and who ought to.

Eager to learn more?

Join our weekly newsletter featuring inspiring stories, no-budget filmmaking tips and comprehensive equipment reviews to help you turn your film projects into reality!



