Why was 28 Years Later filmed on an iPhone?

Danny Boyle 's 28 Years Later, which once again stars behind the camera, is currently making waves all over the world. The film, which has received rave reviews from critics, is also on the way for two sequels. One of the most talked about technological issues in this film was the use of iPhones. While phones were used in the filming of the film, special equipment with 20 iPhones attached was used in some special scenes. So why was the film shot with iPhone cameras?

In fact, Boyle’s post-apocalyptic 28 Days Later made cinema history in terms of both style and suspense by capturing the eerie silence echoing through the streets of London with Canon digital cameras. The film’s fast and brutal zombies managed to keep the audience on edge thanks to these low-resolution, shaky images. In the sequel, 28 Years Later, which came years later, Boyle turned to a completely different technology: the iPhone.

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Speaking to Wired, the film's director said that some scenes in the film were shot using 20 iPhone Pro Maxes in a single setup, creating a "poor man's bullet time" effect. In other words, the slow-motion, multi-angle action scenes that are synonymous with The Matrix were created with a much more portable and low-budget system.

But the phones weren't just used in the action scenes, they were used throughout almost the entire film. According to Boyle, the iPhones were actually the main cameras in the film after some settings, such as autofocus, were turned off and accessories such as special lenses and stabilizers were added.

Boyle is no stranger to Apple technology, having also directed the Steve Jobs biopic. However, this time his choice was based entirely on practical reasons. Most of the shooting took place in the Northumbria region of England, which has preserved its natural texture for almost a thousand years. Boyle emphasized the mobility advantage offered by the iPhone by saying, “You can’t move around with large equipment in such plain and human-free areas.”

“Shooting with a phone allowed us to move very quickly without needing large equipment,” said the director, adding that they were able to bring the post-apocalyptic world, which is alone with nature, to the screen with the simplest form of technology.