'The Avengers': iPhone Filmed Part Of The Marvel Movie

UPDATE: McGarvey told The Hollywood Reporter that he had been misquoted and that none of the footage was actually shot on an iPhone. He claimed that he was speaking to the new technologies available to filmmakers, the iPhone being one of them. However, none of "The Avengers" was shot with an iPhone.

Even superheroes love their Apple products.

Marvel, first with Paramount and now Disney, has spent the past few years working towards "The Avengers," their massive superhero teamup film. Representing their most significant property, they've gone all out, both in marketing and production; rumor has it that the film has a budget of anywhere between $170 and $260 million. So, it may come as a surprise that they apparently needed to cut corners while filming; it may be even more surprising to find out just how they did it.

"The beauty of photography or cinema is that you make every choice based on the content at hand," Oscar nominated cinematographer Seamus McGarvey recently told the The Irish Film & Television Network. "On 'The Avengers,' I did a couple of shots on the iPhone and they are in the movie. In fact, they are in the trailer! I understand that sometimes there is no choice and you have to go for the cheapest option, but if you are limited for choice, you can still make poignant decisions that will (sic) effect the look of the film."

And we thought the film's director, Joss Whedon, had geek credentials already.

Looking at the trailer again, there are a few places we suspect the iPhone could have been used. At about 13 seconds in, there is a shot of a woman looking in fear in a window; it figures to be a quick shot, and isn't highly defined. At about 1:14, Steve Rogers and Tony Stark square off face-to-face, with tight shots making it possible that the iPhone could have taken them. Any other possibilities? Tell us in the comments.

For more, click over to The Irish Film & Television Network.

The Avengers Movie Trailer

Comments

[Donovan Cook]

05:16 PM on 10/25/2011

Seamus McGarvey is right, the new technology is amazing in fact I directed, RIDESHARE, a micro-budget comedy that is the world's first full-lenghth feature film shot ENTIRELY on the iPhone4. The picture is a little rough around the edges but it holds up way better than you would expect. Check out RIDESHARE on YouTube at, http://www.youtube.com/user/ridesharemovie. Also on FB at, https://www.facebook.com/ridesharethemovie

[-swift]

09:38 AM on 10/24/2011

I thought the buyapple story was very buyapple interesting. And the buyapple movie looks like a lot of buyapple fun. I am buyapple a big fan of Scarlett Johansapple and Robert Apple Junior. Oh, and make sure to buy Apple.

[latinabunny8]

10:49 PM on 10/23/2011

I know this has nothing to do with the article but I just can't help but say this. How many damn times are they going to have Black Widow do the same move that they showed twice in Iron Man 2. You know which one. The grab the bad guy by the neck with her legs and throw them move. Is the honestly the only move that she can do really well or what. Other than that, can't wait to see the movie.

[Madbunny]

03:42 PM on 10/23/2011

"At about 1:14, Steve Rogers and Tony Stark square off face-to-face, with tight shots making it possible that the iPhone could have taken them. Any other possibilities? Tell us in the.."

There is a plethora of HD capable cameras that are small and easy to use.
Here, HD Hero:1080p = 1920×1080 pixels (16:9), 30 fps, 15 Mbit/s data rate.
Sits in your hand easily. http://gopro.com/cameras/hd-hero-naked-camera/ (naked in this case being that it has no protective casing, not that you have to be naked to use it.)

A quick google-fu finds others that have astonishingly better specs than the iphone for relatively low prices.

[reym61942]

12:23 PM on 10/23/2011

Wow this is moronic. a potentially 260 million dollar megablockbuster was forced to film on a Iphone due to budget retrains? Wtf do they spend there money on? Silly hats and hookers?

[Viable Way]

11:34 PM on 10/23/2011

I was wondering the same thing. Wonder what I could do for $2,500,000 per MINUTE of film. Oh yeah, I could hire 50 people for a YEAR at $50,000. I guess hookers and silly hats cost more in CA.

[CSKAP]

11:58 AM on 10/23/2011

I have to say the movie looks like it may have potential but, with the PR machine working by the time is comes out, no matter what it will be a disappointment.

[Marcia75]

11:13 AM on 10/23/2011

L.A.M.E.

[David Gori]

08:32 AM on 10/23/2011

er... the all trailer totally sucks, iphone, iapple, iwtf or not: cars exploding in slow motion, dark background voice bubbling of despair, terror, and so on, and only you guys can do this "wathever-this-is"; and Cap is always serious, and Stark is always smart, and Thor is always notactingatall. Know what? We don't need the Avengers to save us from global terrorism/global supervillains... WE NEED TEAM AMERICA!

[Viable Way]

11:36 PM on 10/23/2011

I accidentally saw Captain America on sidereel and was NOT impressed. I go WAY back with comics. Back in the 1960's I spent my whole dollar allowance most weeks buying Superman, JLA, Green Lantern comic books for ten cents each. I kept most of them and sold them in the 1970's.

[SteveDenver]

01:30 AM on 10/23/2011

Oh bummer, I thought the AVENGERS was going to be a big screen tale of John Steed & Emma Peel told with unflappable British cool.

[Bryan Harley]

08:07 PM on 10/22/2011

You won't believe how they REMADE The Avengers... sweded. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aLgdMz0p5Y

[ReallySmarter]

05:13 PM on 10/22/2011

Way too much blatant promotion of apple... I actually thought you needed of those $250,000 cameras to shoot any hollywood movie (not even counting special effects), but actually you just need an iphone? silly me

[Ryan Webster]

05:02 PM on 10/22/2011

HuffPost , how much is Apple paying you to advertise it's products?????

[flapjacks5]

04:48 PM on 10/22/2011

This article reads like a PR stunt / ad campaign for the Avengers movie as well as Apple.

[Lateef Murdock]

02:40 PM on 10/22/2011

Argh! Too much Captain America without his mask on. I grew up with superheroes (no seriously. Wonder Woman baby sat me, Forge was my shop teacher and Peter Parker and I used to hang out and play Space Invaders at the arcade after photography class). I want see them in full costume kickin' some bad guy butt.

Don't want your face covered, don't take the roll. Sheesh!

[BlackJAC]

03:10 PM on 10/22/2011

Chris Evans did reject it three times.  Plus they've been trying to reconcile comic books to the real world lately; fighter jocks don't wear their full flight gear when not in the plane, and astronauts don't wear full vac-suits when in the spacecraft, so why would a comic book superhero keep his mask on when he's off the clock?

[Lateef Murdock]

05:38 PM on 10/22/2011

I think you misunderstood my point. When they are doing their superhero thingy, they should have the mask on.

A good example of this are Nolan's Batman movies. When he's fighting crime, he has on his mask. None of that costume without the mask because I want to show my face bs with Nolan. Bale wears the mask when he's in action. Period.

[SteveDenver]

01:31 AM on 10/23/2011

"they've been trying to reconcile comic books to the real world lately"

Sounds like an oxymoronic quest.

[fuzzynormal]

01:31 PM on 10/22/2011

Nobody should care. This is motion pictures. If it works in the context, it works.