The hacked iPhone camera Apple built to shoot race scenes for F1

Talk about “shot on iPhone”. For its upcoming F1 movie, Apple tasked its engineers with building a custom camera module, using iPhone parts, to replace the onboard cameras that are used for F1 live race broadcasts. Here’s a closer look at the rig.

But… why?

As detailed by Wired (via MacMagazine), when director Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick) and cinematographer Claudio Miranda (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)  told Apple they wanted authentic, driver-perspective shots for the film, they also found themselves with a problem in their hands.

For aerodynamics and common-sense reasons, you can’t bolt a Hollywood cinema camera onto a Formula 1 car. And since the small broadcast cameras normally used during F1 races aren’t exactly optimized for cinema-quality footage, Apple saw this as a PR-worthy opportunity to get creative.

The company’s answer was to replace the standard broadcast module with its own iPhone-powered camera system, designed to fit in the same space, weigh the same, and survive F1-level stress.

iPhone sensor, A-series chip, and a custom firmware

Apple had to match the form factor of the existing F1 broadcast units, so the rig obviously looks nothing like an iPhone. But internally, it built in an iPhone camera sensor, and an A-series chip. Given production timelines, Wired speculates that it used the same 48MP sensor and A17 Pro silicon found in the iPhone 15 Pro.

Also inside: an iPhone battery, a neutral density (ND) filter over the lens to give filmmakers more control over exposure in bright conditions, all running on a custom iOS firmware just for this camera.

The footage was captured in ProRes Log, giving the production team full flexibility for color grading and matching with the rest of the film.

One technical constraint: F1 cars aren’t allowed to have active radios inside, so the crew couldn’t wirelessly control the camera. So, Apple built a custom iPad app that connects to the rig via USB-C. That’s how the filmmakers controlled settings like shutter angle, ISO, white balance, frame rate, and when to start or stop recording.

Footage captured with the system will appear throughout the F1 movie, which opens internationally starting June 25, and in U.S. theaters and IMAX nationwide, on June 27.

Apple TV+ is available for $9.99 per month and features hit TV shows and movies like Ted Lasso, Severance, The Studio, The Morning Show, Shrinking and Silo.