Knives Out director Rian Johnson releases $13 iPhone camera app
Chromagraph Camera applies the colour processing Johnson and cinematographer Steve Yedlin use on films to iPhone photos.
Key facts
Story- Chromagraph Camera is a $13 iOS app made by director Rian Johnson and cinematographer Steve Yedlin.
- The app bypasses parts of Apple's image processing and applies the colour look used on Johnson's films.
- It has only a few primary settings.
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Chromagraph Camera
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Rian Johnson, the director of Knives Out and The Last Jedi, has built an iPhone camera app that gives phone photos the colour look he uses on his films. The app, called Chromagraph Camera, costs $13 on iOS. Johnson made it with his longtime cinematographer, Steve Yedlin.
The app skips some of the steps Apple uses to process images on the iPhone. It then applies the same colour grading Johnson and Yedlin use on film productions. Yedlin uses the same colour mathematics on his films.
The app is simple to use. It has just a few main settings. Johnson said he wanted a way to make his phone pictures look closer to his film work.
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Why he built it
Johnson is a known devotee of analog photography. He is often seen on set with a Leica M6 camera, using it to document productions on film. Even so, he said a phone is sometimes the easier tool to reach for.
That led him to ask whether iPhone photos could be shaped to match the colour work he does on his movies. The app is his answer to that question.
What it means for users
For iPhone owners who like a filmic look, the app offers a low-cost way to get colour grading usually reserved for film productions. At $13, it is a one-off purchase compared with many camera apps. How the app compares with Apple's built-in camera features in everyday use is not yet known.
It is not yet known whether the app is available outside the US store or whether a version for other phones is planned.
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