Singer: A Short Film Shot on iPhone 17 Pro

Singer is the sixth Shot on iPhone short film by Australian filmmaker Kirk Mihelakos, and his latest project pushes mobile filmmaking further into narrative production.

Shot on iPhone 17 Pro, the film combines low-light cinematography, dialogue, carefully shaped lighting, and extensive post-production to create a finished film that feels far removed from what most people expect from a camera that fits in your pocket.

Watch the full film below.

With Singer, Kirk and producer Ali Wells wanted to push both the technical and storytelling sides of their iPhone filmmaking.

What initially seemed like a relatively simple production quickly became one of their more challenging projects. Shooting in low light with overlapping vocals and dialogue posed new challenges, and after the first day of shooting, the team ultimately decided to regroup and reshoot much of the film.

They used what they learned from the first shoot to rethink the production, address what wasn't working, and introduce new ideas to the project. The result became another step forward in Kirk's ongoing exploration of what's possible when shooting narrative films on iPhone.

There is a lot more to the story than we can cover here. Kirk documented the production in detail, including the challenges, lighting, camera setup, lenses, color grading, VFX, and the overall process of bringing Singer to life.

We also had the opportunity to sit down with Kirk and talk about Singer and his experience after making six short films on iPhone.

Our conversation goes beyond technical specs. We talk about why he continues to shoot on iPhone, how he approaches lens selection, rigging, lighting, and post-production, what he has learned from previous projects, and how all of these tools fit into a real filmmaking workflow.

Kirk also put together his own behind-the-scenes video from the production, giving an even closer look at the sets, camera setups, crew, and process behind Singer.

We're especially excited that Beastgrip gear played a part in the production.

Kirk used the Beastcage for iPhone 17 Pro as his primary rigging platform, along with our Pro Series 1.7X Telephoto Lens, side handle and mounting accessories, and SSD Clamp for external recording.

The Beastcage provided a secure foundation for building out the iPhone while allowing Kirk to move between different shooting configurations and lens setups.

One interesting part of Singer is that there wasn't one setup used for everything.

A significant portion of the film was shot directly through the iPhone's native 24mm main camera without an external lens. Kirk used it as a wide lens when the shot called for that perspective, showing that you don't always need to add an external lens when the iPhone's native camera already works for the scene.

Because external lenses are also mounted over the main camera, Kirk could move between the native 24mm perspective and an external lens while continuing to use the same primary iPhone camera. This also helps maintain more consistency across the footage.

For shots that called for a tighter perspective, Kirk used our Pro Series 1.7X Telephoto Lens on the main iPhone camera. It became one of his favorite lenses on the production, particularly for its optical quality and minimal vignetting when using filters in Open Gate.

Different shots call for different tools, and that's exactly how it should be.

One of the things we appreciate most about Singer is how all the different parts of the production come together in the finished film.

The iPhone 17 Pro and ProRes RAW provide an impressive amount of image information and flexibility in post. The lenses offer different perspectives. Lighting shapes the scene. Rigging makes the camera practical to work with. Each of these tools brings something valuable to the production.

But great tools alone don't make a great film.

It starts with the story and the idea behind it, and continues through the performances, directing, cinematography, lighting, camera movement, sound, music, editing, color grading, VFX, and all the creative decisions made throughout the production.

Kirk put a tremendous amount of work into the color grade and post production of Singer. The footage was graded in DaVinci Resolve, with extensive work on individual shots, including masks, creative effects, lens characteristics, and other adjustments. The film also incorporates VFX work from visual effects artist Van Tran, including environmental cleanup, atmospheric effects, and more complex visual changes.

Sound is another important part of the experience. Especially for a film like Singer, where music, vocals, dialogue, and atmosphere are closely tied to the story, what we hear is just as important as what we see.

And that's really the point. There isn't one thing that makes the final film work. It's the combination of everything.

The camera, codec, and filmmaking gear provide possibilities. The story gives those tools a purpose. The performances bring it to life. Cinematography and lighting create the visual language. Sound builds the atmosphere. Editing, color, and VFX shape everything into the finished experience.

Ultimately, it's the talent, vision, and hard work of Kirk and the entire crew that bring all of those pieces together.

We're proud that Beastgrip gear could play a small part in that process, and even more excited to see filmmakers like Kirk continue pushing what's possible with the tools available today.

Our conversation with Kirk didn't stop with Singer. We also talked about the current state of mobile filmmaking, including some of the limitations he still encounters after shooting six short films on iPhone.

One feature Kirk would particularly like to see is physical aperture control.

For filmmakers, having control over aperture would provide another way to manage exposure directly in-camera rather than relying as heavily on shutter speed, ISO, or ND filters.

That led us into an interesting conversation about the upcoming iPhone 18 generation and rumors that variable aperture could potentially be coming to future iPhone cameras.

If it happens, it could address one of the exact limitations Kirk brought up and add another useful level of control for filmmakers shooting on iPhone.

It's also a reminder of how quickly mobile filmmaking continues to evolve. Each generation brings new capabilities, but there are still plenty of areas where smartphones differ from traditional filmmaking cameras. That's part of what makes seeing where they go next so interesting.

Watch our full conversation with Kirk above to hear more about Singer, his filmmaking process, shooting with native and external lenses, post-production, the current limitations of iPhone filmmaking, and what he'd like to see from the next generation.

At the end of the day, the technology is only part of the story.

Singer is another great example of filmmakers taking a camera they already have in their pocket, surrounding it with the tools they need, and putting in the creative work required to turn an idea into a finished film.

Congratulations to Kirk Mihelakos, Ali Wells, and the entire Singer crew on the film.

We're excited to see what they create next.