Filed under: Cool tools, Cult of Mac, Odds and ends, iPhone
iPhone video on the air
A Miami television station aired a story completely shot on an iPhone, as they covered the launch of the iPhone 3GS. The video looks pretty good, and once it was shot it was uploaded to Final Cut Pro for editing. Although you can trim the beginning and end of clips on the iPhone itself, you really can't edit.The story aired on WFOR's 5PM News. The reporter, Gio Benitez, also used the iPhone Voice Memo app to record his narration, so the piece really was a true iPhone production.
Here's a link to the WFOR web page and that contains a link to the video as it aired on the news. If you want to go directly to the video it is here.
Of course there is nothing new about video on a cell phone. It's been around for quite a few years, but with a faster processor giving the user a nominal 30 frames per second, decent video is now a reality.
Don't confuse the video from the iPhone with what a good consumer camera can do, and my Flip minoHD cam looks a bit better, but for capturing something on the fly, it's a nice thing to have.
One other note. If you upload the video to MobileMe or YouTube the phone will compress the video before you upload and it won't look nearly as nice when you get it right off the phone before that compression step.
Thanks to John in Indianpolis for the tip.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Liam Cole said 3:15PM on 6-23-2009
I think it looks really great.
It's good to see the few features which define the 3G from the 3GS working really well.
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Sebbi said 3:39PM on 6-23-2009
I own an iPhone, too ... but how is it possible that people go so crazy for features like video recording? It exists in similar quality on nearly every cell phone out there! At least in Europe and Japan ...
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Danny B goode said 3:46PM on 6-23-2009
Agreed how can people go crazy with the video. But hey reality distortion feild. Can't wait for my iPhone 3GS too waiting for the next phase of Apple iPhone released this friday in here Japan.
Greenie said 3:57PM on 6-23-2009
It's because when it gets on the iPhone, the feature is actually used because it's simple and of good quality.
Take the still camera for instance. Cameras have been on cell phones for a long, long time. But, if you look at the most popular cameras used on flickr, the iPhone is by far the highest mobile phone used. It's actually, the second most popular camera all around.
http://www.flickr.com/cameras/
Now with video on an iPhone, watch how it rises in the rankings of video sites.
Bearxor said 3:43PM on 6-23-2009
Great, something else for my news director to ask me if we can do.
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Brian Burns said 4:01PM on 6-23-2009
The lady anchor said "it's $299.00."
Ugh.
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Martin said 7:56PM on 6-23-2009
With as many different possible prices AT&T has set for the thing, I don't think we should fault someone for that.
mannymix said 4:07PM on 6-23-2009
Yeah, when I saw this air I couldn't believe how interesting it was, CBS4 around here is a pretty "savvy" station.
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Mulder said 4:56PM on 6-23-2009
What do you mean by it compresses the video before upload? Does this change the original video file that is stored on the iPhone? Can you not just sync the file that is in the photo app over to iPhoto and still have the original quality it was shot at?
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YodaMac said 5:19PM on 6-23-2009
Yes, your original movies are intact, but the uploaded versions are 320x480 instead of full-size.
I think that's what he was referring to.
Taking them off your iPhone directly into iPhoto will maintain their full resolution. It's just the uploads to MobileMe and YouTube that get automatically compressed for the web.
DigMo! said 5:13PM on 6-23-2009
Anyone else out there having problems with the video orientation. My video recordings work perfectly on the phone, in iPhoto and in QT but if bring them into iMovie this happens
http://img38.yfrog.com/i/t6d.png/
I am left handed so I am wondering if this is an issue.
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waiownsyou said 10:28PM on 6-23-2009
We need more info on the prob but honestly, it looks like an accelerometer problem. Maybe youre not giving it enough time to adjust to its orientation in your hands before you hit the record button, which explains why part of the video isn't flipped, only the beginning few frames.
Also, cocks.
Julio3094 said 5:14PM on 6-23-2009
Thats funny I live in miami and those interviews were taken at "The Falls" which is a very nice mall here i was right in front of the guy when he interviewed that priest guy so funny never expected to see what the videos were all about.
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Spencer Schoeben said 6:40PM on 6-23-2009
The people at the end made an error. It's not $299, it's actually $199 or $299 with subsidization.
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iLLz said 6:40PM on 6-23-2009
http://www.anythingcoolnow.com/index.html
great iphone tips here
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mark said 6:53PM on 6-23-2009
"so the piece really was a true iPhone production." Except for the part where it was edited on an NLE.
I like the iPhone too, but do not understand the hype over video recording. Big deal my V3 could do it more than 5 years ago.
When the iPhone can do traditional B roll editing, with a preview monitor and program monitor at once, let me know. That will be something to tout.
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Tom said 4:01AM on 6-24-2009
Yes, your V3 could do this 5 years ago. Would you like to show us a video you shot with your V3 to show off the superb quality of the recording? ;-)
Seriously, I think the video recording thing is a good example to show how Apple does things. They don't put a thousand features in a product that work poorly, instead they put a feature in only if it_really_ works. Yes, other cell phones had video recording capabilites years ago, but it plain simply sucked! No one would ever use it for any serious purposes, because the video quality just sucked. But still, on every ad banner for mobile phones they would say "yeah, with video recording" and everybody laughed about the iPhone because it doesn't have that too. Now that the iPhone does have video, it is again years ahead of what other cell phones have. It has good quality, it works reliable, it's easy to get the file off the phone or on the web. I missed that with all ohter cell phones so far.
sallen23 said 1:21AM on 6-24-2009
thats the Falls Store in Miami, Fl.
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mannymix said 5:11AM on 6-24-2009
Yup!
Thats where I work
Movies @ the falls :D
Jörg Tittel said 5:51AM on 6-24-2009
Okay, correct me if I'm wrong here, but if this dude had to wait three hours to get his iPhone, how was he able to record the people standing in line in the morning? I don't care to watch this "news" clip again to check whether he filmed those people after he got his device, but perhaps I'm onto something.
What I'd like to see next is a news article on Engadget/TUAW which has been copied-and-pasted (all on an iPhone!) directly from Apple's press releases.
Oh wait, that's how you guys seem to do your content anyway.
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