Grief

When digital cinema first began to redefine production, FUGO Studios set out to test the boundaries of what was possible. As new cameras and devices emerged, we wanted to understand how far image technology had come and how creativity could push beyond hardware limits. That challenge led to a unique experiment filming the same short piece simultaneously with a professional cinema camera and a smartphone. The goal was not to compare specifications, but to explore workflow, lighting, depth of field, and what truly creates a cinematic image. The project demanded careful planning, creative adaptability, and a full post production process that meant creating two films in one. Though the tools have evolved since, the insights remain. This early test reminded us that filmmaking is never defined by equipment alone but by the vision, craft, and storytelling behind each frame. It is a belief that continues to guide our work today across every project we produce.

What It Taught Us About Filmmaking

This project reaffirmed something we still believe today: innovation starts with curiosity. At the time, smartphones were just beginning to shoot in high definition, while cinema cameras were pushing the limits of resolution and dynamic range. By testing both extremes, we learned that image quality means very little without intention, lighting, and emotion. Every experiment teaches us how to tell stronger stories and solve new creative challenges. The technology may change, but the art of visual storytelling stays constant, and that pursuit continues to shape every production we take on at FUGO Studios.

The Plan

With the rapid, ever-changing improvement in digital capture it’s sometimes hard to keep up with the latest technology. Well, thanks to the RED and other digital cinema cameras that rapid pace has slowed a bit, ushering in an “age” that is sure to be the standard for sometime to come. Even cell phones are capturing HD video now, rivaling the quality of some the consumer camcorders available. Enter the iPhone 4s: the first phone of its kind to offer an HD image at 1920×1080. After FUGO’s Eric Haviv stood in line like the rest of you to get his hands on the new iPhone, he came up with an idea: “Let’s shoot a movie on this!” And since we recently stood in a similar line to get our hands on the new RED, he had another idea: “Wait!….Let’s shoot a movie on the iphone and the RED at the SAME TIME!”. A unique workflow arose out of this idea. Capturing each shot leapfrog-style proved painstaking (both films were shot in about 20 hours!). The iPhone was shot with the Owle Bubo EnCinema SLR Lens adapter to allow the use of manual Nikon lenses, which produces the depth of field for the iPhone. And the post was no cakewalk either because obviously shooting a movie twice also doubles the amount of work involved in post: double the edit, sound, color correction, and VFX. Nevertheless, it was a success.

Q&A with Director Eric Haviv

We had a few questions on the project for Director Eric Haviv to shed some light on this impressive undertaking.

What is the film about?

The film is about a young girl dealing with the sudden death of her mother.

How did the idea come to film with two cameras?

It just so happened that the highest resolution cinema camera and the highest resolution camera phone were released at almost the same time. I thought it would be a fun experiment to see how a camera phone would hold up against one of the best digital cinema cameras ever made.

Any challenges during production?

There were tons of challenges we faced with the iPhone 4s. The iPhone honestly looked great when there were mass amounts of light present, but in low light conditions is where it really lacked. We were using the same lighting setups for both the RED Epic an iPhone 4s. The iPhone needed much more light, which we didn’t have and the end result definitely suffered because of that.

Were you surprised with the results?

I was a little let down with the iPhones results. Being the first time using the camera, a lot of the problems were unforeseeable. If we had to shoot on the iPhone again the results would definitely be far better. It still is amazing at the quality of video that can be achieved from a phone that costs a few hundred dollars.

What’s the biggest difference between the two cameras?

I can call my mom from the iPhone! The Epic is not this advanced yet. Maybe sometime in the near future they will develop this technology.

Written by D. Ross Kellett, Grief tells the story of a girl who loses her mother in a car crash. And finds an interesting way to help her grieving father. With a cinematic tone and cool VFX, the work contains excellent performances by Cathryne Minotto, Ryan Felton, Jade Nicolette, and Whit Davies. The film was also made possible with the help and generosity of H&A Jewelry.