UPDATE
18 June 2025
Apple presents Big Man, a short film shot on iPhone 16 Pro from director Aneil Karia, starring Stormzy
Apple presents Big Man, a new short film shot on iPhone 16 Pro, produced in association with Somesuch and #Merky Films, directed by Academy Award-winning director Aneil Karia, and starring UK music legend Michael “Stormzy” Omari.
Big Man tells the story of Tenzman, a world-weary musician, and two bright, industrious kids who come into his life by chance. Soon, the trio find themselves on a journey — one that will reinvigorate a sense of warmth, spontaneity, and optimism in the faded star, before revealing a better way forward for them all.
“I’ve never shot an entire piece of narrative filmmaking on an iPhone before, and it’s been a really invigorating process,” said Karia. “iPhone is much smaller than the traditional cameras used for television, film, or music videos, and the lightness and flexibility that comes with that is boundless in a sense. I like trying to strive for an intimacy with characters, and sometimes a big camera is not particularly conducive for that.”
“With iPhone, you now have this amazing camera in your pocket,” said director of photography Stuart Bentley. “If you’re hungry and passionate about cinema, there’s no reason you can’t make an amazing film. You can use Cinematic mode for shallow depth of field, and it automatically pulls focus to follow the action. It’s got an incredible dynamic range and can handle low light, and shooting with Apple ProRes Log gives you even more options in post.”
Big Man utilises many of the latest camera features on iPhone 16 Pro to capture the true beauty of everyday life. Slow-motion scenes were captured in 4K 120 fps, which added a dynamic quality to a trampoline sequence at the pier. Cinematic mode added a beautiful blurred background and foreground effect to a scene where the boys see the sea for the first time. And low-light capabilities enabled the team to shoot multiple scenes outside at night, in dimly lit arcades, and dark music studios.
Big Man premieres today on Apple’s YouTube channel at 8 p.m. BST.
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