Two New iPhones, Two Short Films: Kirk Mihelakos Pushes Mobile Filmmaking Further

Apple's latest iPhones offer two very different approaches to mobile filmmaking. The iPhone 18 Pro brings advanced camera capabilities and professional video features, while the iPhone Duo introduces a completely different form factor focused on versatility, multitasking, and everyday use.

But what happens when a talented filmmaking team puts both devices in their hands?

Filmmaker Kirk Mihelakos and his team recently released two impressive short films, each shot on one of Apple's latest devices. While these phones differ in camera capabilities and professional workflows, both projects show how much you can accomplish with creativity, experience, and the right tools.

We previously featured Kirk's short film Singer, shot on the iPhone 17 Pro with Beastgrip gear, and discussed the production process with him on our podcast.

Now Kirk and his team are back with two new projects: One More Thing, shot on the iPhone 18 Pro, and Two Lives, a horror short film created entirely on the iPhone Duo.

One More Thing follows the polished production approach we've come to expect from Kirk and his team. Despite an incredibly fast turnaround, the film delivers beautiful cinematography, carefully planned shots, and a gripping story.

The team fully leveraged the iPhone 18 Pro's advanced camera capabilities, combining its native features with professional filmmaking accessories, lighting, and color grading to achieve a cinematic result.

One particularly interesting detail is how Kirk approached depth of field.

Unlike his previous projects, One More Thing is the first film where he didn't add any artificial background blur in post-production. Instead, the team used the iPhone 18 Pro's new variable aperture system, shooting the main camera wide open and pairing it with external telephoto optics, including our Beastgrip 1.7x Telephoto Lens, to achieve natural background separation.

The wider maximum aperture subtly improves shallow depth of field, while external telephoto lenses add reach and help create stronger subject separation through careful framing and composition.

It's a great example of how the latest camera improvements, combined with external optics, give filmmakers more creative control directly in-camera, reducing the need for certain post-production effects.

And considering how quickly the film came together, the results are even more impressive.

Image Credits: Kirk Mihelakos

For their latest project, Kirk and his team took on a completely different challenge.

Two Lives is a horror short film shot on the iPhone Duo, a device that wasn't designed with the same professional filmmaking capabilities as Apple's Pro models.

What makes this project particularly impressive isn't just the final result. The entire film was scripted, shot, and edited on a single iPhone Duo in an incredibly short time.

Kirk also released an extensive behind-the-scenes video documenting the entire production process, including the challenges they encountered and the creative solutions they developed along the way.

If you're interested in mobile filmmaking, it's definitely worth watching.

Kirk and his team also released an incredible behind-the-scenes video documenting the entire creative process, from getting their hands on the iPhone Duo and developing the script to shooting, editing, and completing the final film. It's a fascinating look at how quickly the project came together, the challenges they encountered, and the creative solutions they found along the way. 

Unlike the iPhone 18 Pro, the Duo doesn't natively offer ProRes recording or the full range of professional camera features available on Apple's Pro lineup.

That presented some real challenges for the team.

To work around these limitations, they used the third-party Log Cam app for additional camera controls and recording capabilities. They then edited the film in LumaFusion, incorporating BlackRAW Studio into the color-grading workflow.

They did all of this on the iPhone Duo itself.

The team even recorded many of the film's sounds with the same device.

While this approach introduced additional technical challenges, it's remarkable how much they accomplished without relying on a traditional computer-based post-production workflow.

Of course, capturing a film like Two Lives took more than just the phone.

The team used our universal Beastgrip Pro rig to integrate the iPhone Duo into various filmmaking setups, including sliders, vehicle-mounted rigs, and other camera support equipment.

They also used the Beastgrip 1.7x Telephoto Lens to tighten framing and create different perspectives. For certain close-up shots, they combined the telephoto lens with our Close-Up Filter, allowing them to capture details that would otherwise be difficult to achieve with the phone's native camera.

The production setup also included ND filters, helping the team manage exposure while maintaining their desired camera settings.

One advantage of the Beastgrip Pro is its compatibility with standard mounting accessories and filter systems, letting filmmakers use equipment from different manufacturers instead of being limited to proprietary solutions.

It's a practical example of how a flexible rigging system and external optics can help filmmakers get more out of a smartphone, even when the device itself wasn't designed for professional video production.

Despite the technical challenges and incredibly tight production schedule, Kirk and his talented crew pulled it off. The cinematography looks fantastic, and the final result is a testament to their creativity, skill, and ability to make the most of the tools at hand. It's another great example of what's possible with mobile filmmaking when talented filmmakers have the right technology.

Looking behind the scenes of these two productions reveals just how different Apple's latest iPhones are when it comes to filmmaking, especially in terms of camera capabilities and production workflows.

The iPhone Duo brings a unique user experience, with its form factor offering new possibilities for multitasking, everyday productivity, and content creation. It's an interesting device for experimenting with different creative workflows, and Kirk's team has shown it can be pushed far beyond what most people expect.

But for professional filmmaking, the iPhone 18 Pro clearly has the advantage.

Its advanced camera system, variable aperture, professional recording formats, and greater control over the image make it a much more capable tool for demanding productions.

That doesn't mean the Duo can't produce great-looking footage. Two Lives proves that it absolutely can. But achieving those results takes more work and a willingness to navigate limitations the Pro models don't have.

At Beastgrip, we've always focused on helping creators get more out of their smartphone cameras, whether they're shooting with the latest Pro model or experimenting with something completely different.

Our universal Beastgrip Pro rig is a great example of that flexibility. Designed to work with a wide range of smartphones, including the iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 Pro, it allows filmmakers to switch between devices while continuing to use the same rig, external lenses, filters, and professional camera support equipment. With standardized mounting options and compatibility with a wide range of accessories, it provides the freedom to build and customize a setup around the needs of each production.

For filmmakers who prefer a more dedicated solution, we also offer our precision-engineered Beastcages for iPhone Pro models. Built specifically for each device, these rigid aluminum cages provide precise lens alignment, secure mounting options, and a solid foundation for everything from compact handheld setups to complex professional camera rigs. With interchangeable lens and filter mounts and a wide range of compatible accessories, Beastcages offer even more ways to customize a setup for specific shooting requirements.

Both approaches have their strengths. The Beastgrip Pro offers versatility and compatibility across different smartphones, while Beastcages provide a more integrated, device-specific solution. Which one makes the most sense depends on how you shoot, the equipment you use, and the type of setup you want to build.

And as Kirk's two films demonstrate, our optics can be used across very different devices and workflows. From the iPhone Duo to the iPhone 18 Pro, the same Beastgrip 1.7x Telephoto Lens helped the team explore different perspectives and bring their creative vision to life.

Ultimately, great filmmaking isn't just about having the most advanced camera. It's about understanding your tools, knowing their limitations, and finding creative ways to tell a compelling story.

Congratulations to Kirk and the entire team on two outstanding projects. We're excited to see what they create next!