Past Workshop Descriptions

Advanced Mobile Production

This in-depth, hands-on workshop is designed for filmmakers, content creators, and and media professionals who want to elevate smartphone filmmaking to professional broadcast and cinematic standards. Participants will gain a practical understanding of codecs — the foundation of image capture — and learn how recording formats impact image quality, file management, and post-production workflows. The session covers 10-bit LOG shooting and color grading, showing how to unlock increased dynamic range, richer color, and greater creative flexibility in post.

Building on this foundation, the workshop explores advanced mobile production techniques including ProRes RAW capture on the iPhone 17 Pro, AI-powered tracking with drones and gimbals for solo creators. From walking and talking shots to sports, action, and vehicle tracking, participants will see how mobile tools dramatically expand storytelling possibilities. We then introduce virtual production on a phone using JetSet, demonstrating how green-screen-style compositing and virtual environments can now be created on location, in real time, using only a smartphone.

Participants will then be introduced to native cinematic tools built into modern smartphones, including advanced slow motion, depth-of-field control, panoramic imaging, and spatial capture, with a focus on the iPhone 17 Pro while acknowledging rapid adoption across Android platforms. Finally, the workshop concludes with an introduction to LiDAR, AR, and spatial imaging, explaining how LiDAR improves low-light performance, enables 3D scanning and AR placement, and forms the foundation for spatial content designed for emerging wearable technologies. By the end of this workshop, participants will understand not just how to shoot on a smartphone, but be provided with a forward-looking toolkit for creating high-quality, future-ready mobile content that can stand alongside traditional film productions.

The Introduction to Independent Filmmaking, Camera Theory and Smartphone Filmmaking and Content Production workshops are recommended as prerequisites.

READ BEFORE REGISTERING
Prior to the class, please create a profile on Zoom and download the free version of the application. You will receive an email from LIFT with an invitation link to join the workshop one hour before the classbeginswhich will prompt you to open the application or web browser. Please ensure that you log in using a Zoom account with a profile name that appears as the same name registered for the class. If not, for security reasons, you may not be permitted to join. During the workshop, we advise that you keep your microphone on mute to minimize external noise and that you unmute when participating in class discussions. Please also arrive to the session on time for attendance and class participation. ONLINE workshops may be recorded for staff and facilitator assessment. Recorded material will not be made available to participants. Review all workshop policies before registering.

Location: Online
Category: Filmmaking Intensive
Maximum Capacity: 12
12 hours of instruction in 4 parts$200 /member$225 /nonmember

Wait List
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