If you go to one of the live blogging sites and follow...

"10:56
But that’s not all: it records HD video, says Steve. 720 p at 30 frames per second. “It’s real HD video.”

* Tap to focus video
* Built-in video editing
* One-click sharing
* LED Flash will stay on to illuminate scenes for video recording.

With a few taps you can e-mail, MMS, send to MobileMe or YouTube.

Read More http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/06/live-blog-apple-wwdc/#more-41449#ixzz0qBz1gEI1"

Very interesting development. I predict a lot more video-style accessories and a lot more projects being shot on the new iPhone. Not going to replace "real" cameras but will definitely make an indent in the low-end and micro budget world.

Dan

Ahem... The iPhone won't be the first. The HTC EVO also does 720p video:

Sprint HTC EVO 4G video recording quality demo (http://www.intomobile.com/2010/06/01/video-sprint-htc-evo-4g-video-recording-quality-test.html)

Studio Daily Blog Editing Gets Small on iPhone 4 (http://www.studiodaily.com/blog/?p=3375)

Hey, iMovie for the iPhone, cool! When are they gonna have FCP for the iPhone? LOL!

Well, Steve Jobs did say that the next version of FCP would be "awesome".

Andrew :-)

Ahem... The iPhone won't be the first. The HTC EVO also does 720p video

You're right, the iPhone wasn't first... But you know it's going to be way more popular...

Very interesting development. I predict a lot more video-style accessories and a lot more projects being shot on the new iPhone. Not going to replace "real" cameras but will definitely make an indent in the low-end and micro budget world.

I think it might be a viable solution to use for behind the scenes footage... For anyone in a breaking news situation... For celebrities to make revealing video scandals... The possibilities are endless! :)

Right now... I'm bracing myself for the influx of iPhone 4 videos on YouTube upon its release. :P

There are already a few very good iPhone video editing apps since the 3GS came out last summer. Reel Director is one such app.

Since the new iPhone shoots in HD...it should definitely be interesting.

I wonder if the iMovie app will allow the use of music brought from iTunes? (for personal use of course).

sorry to burst the parade but 720 is very quickly becoming the new SD. I have yet to see any sort of impressive 720P from consumer products let alone a phone. looking to be impressed though about 4+ years and counting. Rather have better quality SD than horrible 720P

I can imagine spontaneous commercial creation...

Walk into your fav restaurant shooting vid. get a few pan shots of the whole place, video your waiter/waitress, the presentation of the meals. Video comments from your friends, Take a snapshot of the logo. Edit the spot with music, titling and VO and present to the manager at the end of the meal! "Wanna barter the meal for a spot I just put together?"

Matt:

I come from the exact opposite direction. I have been shooting primarily 720P since the inception of the Varicam, through all of my P2 cameras. Oh yeah, a good percentage of Planet Earth was shot on 720P Varicam. I have shot a lot of broadcast and delivered product to the studios that has been shot at 720P and output to 1080 60i from my Aja Kona 3. 99% of non-engineer people cannot tell the difference. 1080P is overrated and is really only of supreme importance when the project will be projected theatrically. On normal sized monitors and the web, I find 720P to look totally acceptable as do my clients. Most of the Canon 5D MKII footage I shoot ends up being downconverted to 720P via Compressor.

While I will concede that things may be a little different for consumer gear than pro gear, the Go Pro HD camera 720P looks amazingly good. Hopefully the footage from the iPhone 4G will look as good. I hope that they equip it with a true wide angle lens. Forget the zoom stuff.

Resolution does not automatically equal greater quality.

Robert:

Sad thing is that you are probably outlining a good portrait of trying to make a living in video production in the future. Video is becoming as ubiquitous as computers and cell phones so what will be the market for professional quality video/film when everyone is just doing it themselves?

Dan

Well Dan, from going through this exact scenario in the music production/recording biz about 15 years ago, I knew it was only a matter of time til it hit video production. The only good news is that most of my music clients who bought their own recording gear would still come in for final mix/mastering because of my ears and attention to detail.
Hopefully the same will apply in the video world but with Youtube being "the standard" people have become used to, it is a bit disconcerting.
We'll see!

In the mean time, I might just do the "insta-spot" thing as a fun exercise!

I think the iphone capabilites, to shoot video are great. You will see alot of new iphone movies.

Remember though just because someone has the tools to do it doesn't mean they have the skill.

SLR's are cheap now but pro photographers still have work, computers are powerful enough to do any programming but we still by software and builders still have work despite the tools being low priced and easily accessible at DIY stores.

I'm sure some people will try to shoot a friends wedding on their iphone but at the end of the day people still want professionals because we are the ones will the skill and knowledge in that area.

I don't know Jonathan. I used to echo your words back when I had a $70,000 Betacam and this new toy, the Sony VX-1000 hit the streets. Who would ever use a DV camera for professional production? Wouldn't clients and networks still pay for quality? They did, to a point but that camera really started the ball rolling.

Now multiply that equation times a thousand and that is where we are today. I think it is becoming nearly impossible to make a living as a still photographer, the number of working pros making their living in stills has reduced over 78% in the past fifteen years. While the use of video has become much more common, the public's perception of what is quality in regards to production has dropped amazingly quickly.

I seriously think that it will become almost impossible to just make a middle class living in production very soon, for many, it is the reality today that while they can work in the industry, many of us are constantly losing work to clients who will just "do it themselves" or will "do it in-house". Can we, as pros do it better? Definitely. But the bar for what is acceptable is lowering by the minute. I have clients who tell me all of the time, "yes, we know you can make it look professional, but we just don't have the budget to hire a pro, we will just do it ourselves".

I have a sort of client who booked me for three days of shooting for his new website two weeks ago. We did a location scout and had a production meeting. He has dabbled with video before in the past but really doesn't know what he is doing. He booked me three days of shooting. The production days approached and he "shot some tests" and sent them to me for a look. He then proceeded to tell me that he was just going to "do it himself". This is camera, lighting, sound, teleprompter and he is the on-camera talent. He is too cheap to hire a pro to do it right. His website is a new venture, he doesn't want to spend the money on a pro to do it right. He thinks his talent is good enough. Now he is talking about hiring me to do post. I am not holding my breath. This is reality today, this is happening quite a bit.

There will be a lucky and talented few who will continue to make good money with their skills and talent in production. But tools like the new iPhone will definitely take away some work from some pros on an ongoing basis. 720 30P and iMovie are good enough for the vast majority of non-broadcast, non-high end video. And in this economy, frankly, most clients are having trouble making ends meet. This even includes the studios. I have seen press junkets cut in half as far as crew, gear and number of interviews because even Warner Bros. can't spend the money, this was on an A-list feature I was booked on a few weeks ago. It is affecting everyone at every level.

Dan

Remember though just because someone has the tools to do it doesn't mean they have the skill.

Maybe not BUT they have the ability to undermine the VALUE of the work being done AT a professional level...

I used to echo your words back when I had a $70,000 Betacam and this new toy, the Sony VX-1000 hit the streets.

The VX-1000 was the "shot fired across the bow". The PD150 WITH DVCam and 7.5IRE setup was the "beginning of the end" death knell. We shot a BUNCH of stuff for broadcast on the PD150, transfered to BetaSP BEFORE going into post and as long as we were careful, we ALWAYS met broadcast restrictions of "NO DV!"

Don't ask, don't tell...

And for the record, up until that point, I shot EVERYTHING in BetaSP, rented at $200 (UVW100) to $650 (BVW600) a day. Clients didn't want to pay for gear anymore so... we did what we had to BUT we ALWAYS pointed out they weren't getting what they COULD if they would only budget for better gear...

When I went to BUY, I had the choice - a used UVW100 or a new PD150 for the same price. I chose the PD150.

I agree with Dan. This is a tough situation. We can do so much more with professional tools that were once too expensive to own as a small operator, but that ease also trickles down to the consumer level.

The problem I see is a combination of what Dan mentioned as the massive lowering of standards along with a generational approach to spending. Frankly, the younger generation does not want to pay for anything (unless it has an Apple logo :) ). As a business owner, you can not compete with a do it yourself attitude. Nothing you will say can change that situation.

Who knows how much the workload will survive, but I know I am not buying anything big ticket moving forward as the clients just do not want to support the need for the purchase.

Cheap little DOF machines seem like the best business purchase in the next few years.

We all like to argue about image quality and codecs, but in most cases it just does not matter. The image quality bar is most often exceeded anyway. Which I also agree with Dan, 720p is great. I shoot most everything in 720p60. This gives me the option to get 24p or 30p from the footage that looks pretty darn good and interlaced is never in the picture. If 1080p60 was around I might use it, but on my 1080p plasma, the 720p60 Blu-ray output looks stunning to my picky eye.

A tool like this new iPhone is the right machine at the right time. For a vast amount of people, they will think that shooting a video on their iPhone and editing it on their iPhone is good enough. I am sure you will see plenty of iPhone footage broadcast as well. News, crash cam, undercover footage, the footage will probably look pretty good too.

It is the time we are living in.

Dan

I can see it being used in situations for "news" like on CNN "Ireport" and other news sites where people can share their news shot with their own gear.

I can also see this being used illegally on a large scale. Perverts are going to just love this thing.

Also how are concerts and performances going to restrict the use of video cameras when it is built into the phone? You can't tell people not to bring their phone into a concert.

I think the video camera in a phone concept is neat but I also think we are opening up a Pandora's box. We might as well kiss privacy goodbye. Now the entire world will be paparazzi.

Tom -

That horse already left the barn... but yep, increasingly we have ZERO expectation of privacy if we aren't behind our own locked doors (OK, turn off the webcam...).

Now if there is a cell phone anywhere within a couple hundred feet, if something happens, it'll probably be "memorialized". Good or bad, it's pretty easy for anyone to "capture" a moment, and put it on YouToob for the world to see in all its glory... scary really, but there it is. Behaving badly is a hazardous thing... particularly if you are newsworthy or potentially of interest to the "authorities".

The only variable is how good or bad the video & audio quality will be - if the "content" is newsworthy, quality becomes secondary. Of course the equipment costs to create reasonably high quality content are becoming cheaper and cheaper, and stuff that's passable can be produced from really CHEAP "toys".

I still think there's a place for quality edited "content" shot multicam, but your "product" has to be noticeably better to have value. And of course, depending on the situation, that "value" has to compete with "free" or almost free, and you'd better know how to present, promiote, and promise quality in a way that a "customer" realizes what they get for the cost.

There's also an element of the "nut behind the viewfinder" - knowing how to shoot and get the most out of your equipment will still create SOME added value over the pimple faced kid with the iPhone "shooting" the same thing, but how much is certainly a diminishing figure.

"Now the entire world will be paparazzi. "

You should try living in LA or NYC, it has been this way for about a decade already.

D

A few weeks back I worked on the concert video for the "Glee" show at Radio City Music Hall--my assignment was audience shots (tech note: we had 12 cameras shooting iso, mostly Varicam, but I was on my trusty 1DMKIV for the enhanced sensitivity in the house). Last night I was watching some of the footage with the director and we both noted how many people were "watching" the show through their cel phones or point-and-shoots in video mode. Considering how much some of these people paid to attend the show, it seemed nothing short of bizarre that they were content to view it on a three inch screen.

When I was a teenager I dreamed of having a video camera that was portable enough to have with me at all times, and here we are. Some people are going to make really creative things with their cameraphones, others will capture priceless moments that they may cherish forever. Most will barely get around to watching what they shoot. One wonders if maybe they will end up missing out on experiencing a certain percentage of their life this way.

I guess they can always enjoy the replays on their MindScreen™ when they are chilling away their latter days in a nursing home?

Andrew

Which leads to the question...
"...is there life after Apple?"

If there is, Steve Jobs will rework the design of the user interface.

Andrew

Which leads to the question...
"...is there life after Apple?"

Yes,... mine! I do not own a single apple device and amzingly I am happy and still get my work done.

I jest, Apple makes fine products and even better marketing. I believe many don't want to consider life without Apple.

"...is there life after Apple?"

Yes, but you must purchase it from the Apple Store and it can only be accessed through iTunes. ;)

OK...that's just not funny! (giggle, snicker, chuckle)

I'll admit I'm an Apple geek and have been for over 25 years. I've always used their systems in my profession/s and honestly they have never let me down. As for the iLife concept, that I just don't get. As long as I can do the work I need to do and the stock keeps moving up, I'll be a happy camper.

So I'll throw this into the mix...will Zacuto's iphone grip fit the iphone 4? Think I can fly it on my Blackbird? HaHa!

Maybe that Apple Time Machine (http://www.apple.com/macosx/what-is-macosx/time-machine.html) "backup" unit has a more sinister purpose than we first realised?

Andrew

There is a post over on the LAFCPUG board from an editor who is having to edit a cooking show that was shot by the client on their Flip camera. Of course, the audio and video quality, really everything about it is awful but this is production for many in 2010. Don't hire a competent crew, don't know what you are doing, just whip out your Flip or iPhone and shoot a TV show. It will be goooood.

Dan

Can you hook up a Nanoflash to the flip phone? At least you could get 4:2:2 out of it. :0

A few weeks back I worked on the concert video for the "Glee" show at Radio City Music Hall--my assignment was audience shots (tech note: we had 12 cameras shooting iso, mostly Varicam, but I was on my trusty 1DMKIV for the enhanced sensitivity in the house). Last night I was watching some of the footage with the director and we both noted how many people were "watching" the show through their cel phones or point-and-shoots in video mode. Considering how much some of these people paid to attend the show, it seemed nothing short of bizarre that they were content to view it on a three inch screen.They may eventually get bored with the novelty of recording everything on video. Over 20 years ago when my eldest daughter was born I bought a Sony Video8 camcorder & recorded her every move. Later on I recorded plays & concerts at her school. I recorded some outdoor concerts & music festivals. I eventually realised that I was not enjoying the gigs & concerts as I had previously because I was viewing them on a 2 inch screen & stopped taking the camcorder along.

Subsequently that Video8 camcorder was replaced with a Hi8 camcorder but unfortunately that machine died about 7-8 years ago so even if I could find all those tapes of my daughter & several years coverage of the Cropredy Festival I actually have nothing to replay them on.

Beware if you purchase one

Some iPhone 4 models dropping calls when held left-handed, including ours (video) -- Engadget (http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/24/some-iphone-4-models-see-signals-drop-to-0-when-held-left-handed/)

Besides the whole video component of this phone, at least here in the States, buying requires you to sign up for indentured servitude to AT&T. They are absolutely the most horrible, unreliable, rip-off cell provider in the country.

It amuses me too that in this awful economy with so many unemployed and broke, that people will spend multiple thousands of dollars a year just to have a toy like this that lets them always be connected 24/7. The iPhone is a cool toy but that is really what it is, an unnecessary toy that people have conned themselves into accepting as a necessary part of their lifestyle. And the fact that in the U.S., they have to pay exorbitant amounts of money to use a provider who constantly has dropped calls, spotty service and who routinely double and triple bills people and gets away with it because people are too in love with their toy to hold AT&T accountable, makes me scratch my head. I had AT&T as my service provider for three years and they routinely would double and triple bill me, then cut off my service when I wouldn't pay the second or third bill in a single month. It was borderline extortion, it happened over and over and short of me making fighting AT&T my full time career, there wasn't much I could do about it other than to drop them and move to another provider.

The iPhone is definitely cool but the service provider portion of the ownership makes it not even in consideration for me. Too much money for bad quality service. Here in LA, several of the producers I work with tell me that their iPhones are close to useless because of the poor AT&T service. What is the point?

Dan

As cool a toy as the iPhone is, AT&T won't get another penny from me if I can help it, been there, done that, seen the crazy accounting.

Other providers have some pretty cool Google android based phones... having a micro computer (effectively) in my pocket does have its attractiveness... if the price is cheap enough, as it often is when the various providers run specials, grabbing a "smart phone" makes some sense.

The thing that's been on my mind lately is that "content providers" probably need to start gearing content delivery (at least as an option) to the "small screen", meaning the 2.5"-5" sort of LCD/OLED they can put on a phone fairly easily and cheaply. I've begun to suspect that for many people these "microcomputer/phones" have the potential to replace a computer for a large portion of the "average use", just as many have abandoned "land lines" for a cell phone.

If my suspicions are correct, these small, touch based, net enabled "toys" may rapidly replace the desktop/laptop - so for the content producer, the target changes drastically from a 1024x768 or 1280x720 (what used to be 640x480) back to a small, lower resolution widescreen format. And as already noted, "competition" for eyeballs becomes that much greater as the "consumer" becomes the "creator".

Interesting times...

My biggest disappointment so far is the iMovie app; it's much more basic than I thought it was going to be (and I wasn't expecting Final Cut Pro!)

For people complaining about AT&T. Just wanted to let you know you buy iPhones legally unlocked in Belgium (because simlocking isn't allowed by law). They do cost you around 600-700 euros though.

My biggest disappointment so far is the iMovie app; it's much more basic than I thought it was going to be (and I wasn't expecting Final Cut Pro!)

There's a company in Kelowna, B.C. called Vericorder who's made an editing app for news gathering called 1stVideo. It seems to have some good potential for mobile journalism and cuts-only editing.

It was featured in The Vancouver Sun a few days ago:
A hand-held TV studio (http://www.vancouversun.com/business/hand+held+studio/3185241/story.html)

There is a post over on the LAFCPUG board from an editor who is having to edit a cooking show that was shot by the client on their Flip camera.

Oh crumbs, it's 1989 all over again. Desktop publishing and the nascent 'self publish' print model. All going to pot.

When I set up my company in 2006, we had plans for editing from client-supplied rushes. Two jobs was all it took for a quiet withdrawal from that offering. You can edit the material, and you can make a story out of it, and you can improve it beyond recognition - but the huge disconnect between what you can cut out of their rushes vs what you can cut from well-shot rushes took clients by surprise - and not in a nice way.

I've cut stuff shot on Flips - conference delegates interviewing other conference delegates - and what took the client by surprise was the sheer time it took to process the video and audio into something watchable. Noisy video doesn't compress well, audio with a rear-facing microphone doesn't sound good in interviews.

And 720p isn't 'HD' in any way except in 'on box marketing'. Good SD can be bumped up to 720p and look better than 720p shot badly - or even well, using something like a Flip.

Certainly 720p is due to be the SD of the web, but the limit isn't the 720p, it's the 1 Mbit per second constraint - and even if your software tells you you can download 8 Mbits per second, 1-2 Mbit is the only way you're going to get past congestion, contention and packet shaping.

Urgh, lost the thread here.

I'm upgrading early to iPhone 4's video because it's 720p and more importantly 16:9 - I am giving my Flip camera to my 6YO son because he can use it better than I, and I was happier with the 640x480 video from the iPhone than I was from the HD Flip. Especially audio.

Therefore... 'Harumph' --> the considered response of a grumpy old bottom-burp.

For people complaining about AT&T. Just wanted to let you know you buy iPhones legally unlocked in Belgium (because simlocking isn't allowed by law). They do cost you around 600-700 euros though.Apple also sells the unlocked iPhone direct in other countries in Europe e.g. UK & France.

Here in France all three mobile providers offer the iPhone & they will unlock them for free after you have been a customer for 6 months prior to that a small charge is made. In the UK unlocking is either free or a small amount (15-20 pounds) although you are still obliged to continue to subscribe for the period that you originally signed up for (12/18/24 months).

Video of actual editing video on the new iPhone IGM: iMovie app for iPhone 4 (Video Review/Tutorial) (http://www.insanely-great.com/news.php?id=11163)

Lucky Brits, the new iPhone is available for a mere £99 when you sign up for a £30 per month service plan. Brits can also purchase the phone unlocked and have options for 12, 18 and 24 month plans as well as pay as you go because there are six service providers in the UK market.

If I lived in the UK, I would own an iPhone. Over here, I make do with my iPod Touch and a cheap T-Mobile pay as you go. Kind of ironic that in Apple's own market, the iPhone is a huge rip-off with the worst service provider on the market. The AT&T system is massively overwhelmed and owning an iPhone in LA is a frustrating exercise in dropped calls and slow data downloads.

Shame.

Dan

BTW, those of you desperate enough to let AT&T bend you over should read this. You may have some big surprises when you check your AT&T bill The real cost of AT&T's basic data plan | ZDNet (http://www.zdnet.com/blog/apple/the-real-cost-of-at-ts-basic-data-plan/7362?tag=content;selector-blogs)

Dan

Found this link on an iPhone-related site:

"Apple of My Eye" - an iPhone 4 film - UPDATE: Behind the scenes footage included on Vimeo

And there you go - someone with production experience, a little (pun intended) bit of grip equipment, and a story...

Micro-productions on a micro budget, produced on micro cameras. Definitely will alter the landscape.

I was playing around a bit with the video function today. In low light situations the frame rate drops from 30fps to 24 fps.

I shot a few different things and so far there doesn't seem to be a variation (i.e. 20fps or 27fps).

Not that big of a deal really, but I thought I'd mention it. Maybe somebody will create an app where you can lock frame rates.

...if Apple allows that sort of thing.

Micro-productions on a micro budget, produced on micro cameras. Definitely will alter the landscape.

I still don't think indie filmmakers will go for it... It doesn't have a shallow depth of field! :P

Ahh ... but that's exactly where the "reality distortion field" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality_distortion_field) comes in handy. They'll never even notice! :-)

Andrew

I am quite sure this is not a First, but thinking back to the beating of Rodney King, the shooting of Neda in Iran and other 'events' for which there may not have been a professional cameraman .. this new iPhone may let us all become widows for the world.

YouTube - iPhone 4 Short Film - "156 Turns" - Pikes Peak International Hill Climb with Ducati Multistrada. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5JQdgvzuL0&feature=player_embedded#)!

Yes, the average consumer is now equip with devices that shoot very high quality HD video. They also have at their fingertips, access to online and offline free, or inexpensive HD video editing software.

Have a wedding coming? Event? Video biography of a loved one? Need video for a news program? Short documentary?

Who's needs that professional anymore?

A feature film has already been made using a cell phone. However, the story fitted this.

Worldchanging: Bright Green: The World’s First Cell Phone Feature Film (http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/004150.html)

Just because you have a word processor doesn't mean you're a novelist.