Zombies, Shot On iPhone

PRESENTED BY POLL THE PEOPLE

New week vibes are here, and so is the new iPhone 16 — the first device to carry Apple’s AI system, Apple Intelligence. Of course, lines for the device went around the block all over America. But as cool as the iPhone 16 is, there’s an even more exciting story featuring an iPhone 15 that we cover below…

DAILY TOP TRENDS

The iPhone Goes Hollywood With 28 Years Later

28 Years Later, the next installment in filmmaker Danny Boyle’s popular zombie franchise, is the biggest movie to date — by a long shot — to primarily be shot on an iPhone.

The Big Picture: Apple has touted that its smartphone cameras are the most powerful ones the average person can buy. By getting the greenlight to be used in a big-budget Hollywood blockbuster, iPhones may have truly reached the status of being a movie studio in your pocket.

Behind the Scenes: Sony Pictures’ $75 million-budgeted 28 Years Later boasts returning Oscar-winning cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle… using a camera most of us have in our pocket.

• Wired confirmed that the film was shot using an iPhone 15 Pro Max as its main camera, which was outfitted with an aluminum cage that allows for different lenses to be attached to the phone — all of which the production tried to keep quiet with NDAs.

• Part of the reason is that the iPhone 15 is the first of the devices that can shoot 4K “log” files, which, like typical pro cinema cameras, have a lot of flexibility to be edited in post-production.

• Additionally, the production put “action cams” on farm animals in what we’re sure will be the most chaotic shots imaginable. (They’re dubbed “GoatPros.” Genius.)

Closing Credits: 28 Years Later isn’t the first movie to be shot on an iPhone — indies like Sean Baker’s Tangerine and Steven Soderbergh’s Unsane did so years ago. But by leveling up to a Hollywood studio film, don’t be surprised if Apple starts to market iPhones as an essential tool for the next generation of filmmakers… and maybe require them for some AppleTV+ productions.

Go Deeper: Boyle’s zombie franchise has always experimented with cameras — 28 Days Later was one of the first movies to be shot using the $4,000 Canon XL-1 to achieve a lo-fi digital look that’s now become iconic.

Together with Poll the People

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Brands Get The Glitch

Amazon and Twitch are debuting a new gaming experience in Fortnite, dubbed The Glitch, that allows brands to create customizable integrations that affect the gameplay — almost like product placement in movies that serves a story purpose.

Why It Hits: In-game marketing can feel inorganic in most cases, so creating a world where brands can literally be a part of the action may be one of the most exciting forms of advertising available to companies trying to recruit a younger audience.

Between the Lines: The Glitch, described as “an integrated galaxy of brand-customized playable worlds,” was formally announced this past weekend at TwitchCon.

• Built by developer Look North World (which is run by Halo co-creator Alex Seropian), The Glitch pits two teams against each other in an elimination challenge.

• Brands can program “glitch events” within the game. For example, Domino’s (one of the inaugural partnering brands alongside Peloton) has an in-game pizzeria where players can eat a slice of pizza to restore their health.

• As part of the rollout, Twitch has tapped several top livestreamers to stream themselves playing the game, walking potential players (and brands) through how they experience the world.

Closing Thoughts: Brands have the potential to get a lot of exposure by joining The Glitch. Andrea Garabedian, the global head of brand partnerships studio at Amazon Ads, told Variety that the experience would have a “strong gameplay loop,” because people would play it and stream it on Twitch, and then fans would watch those steams. A popular game integration may make advertising a viral place for young players to visit.

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DEEP DIVES

• Read: Bloomberg profiles Xbox president Sarah Bond about the future of the gaming company, including a transition to cloud gaming and the potential of a handheld console.

• Listen: Don’t Kill the Messenger chats with Hollywood legends Paula Wagner and Rick Nicita about their illustrious careers as agents, studio executives, and for Wagner, Tom Cruise’s producing partner.

• Watch: WSJ has the go-to guide on all the latest features of Apple’s new iOS 18 software.

62.3% of you voted No in Friday’s poll: Do you watch Shark Tank?

“The Sharks don’t usually like anything, especially if it’s a brand-new idea!”

“I don’t watch it, but my elderly parents do and love it.”

“It has no appeal for me. Life is too short.”

“Interesting and entertaining!”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join our Poll Of The Day newsletter so your opinions can shine. Discover how your views line up with your peers’, check out cool insights, and have some fun. It’s data with personality.

QUICK HITS

→ Entertainment / Media

🏒 Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters is now signaling that the streamer is finally, maybe, potentially open to bidding for major sports rights.

💀 The Boys comic co-creator Garth Ennis and The Equalizer co-showrunner Adam Glass are launching a new horror-focused book publisher, Ninth Circle.

⚾ LA Dodgers player Shohei Ohtani looks to have played the greatest game in MLB history by starting the 50/50 club.

→ Technology

💸 OpenAI is set to raise the largest VC round in history — $6.5 billion.

✈️ Supersonic air travel is coming from Boom… but maybe not as fast as first thought.

🚀 NASA enlisted Intuitive Machines to build a communications network around the moon.

→ Creator Economy

🧑‍💻 Tumblr reported a 350% uptick in users after X was banned in Brazil.

🤖 Meta’s chatbot is mostly being used in WhatsApp.

✂️ YouTube is starting to let users avoid a takedown by editing their videos to remove material against Community Standards.