HOW TO Shoot and edit Cinematic mode footage

2022-05-31 -

1 Point and shoot

In the Camera app, swipe to choose the Cinematic mode. A yellow tracking box automatically follows the closest subject’s face. The background is blurred. If the subject leaves the frame, the background becomes sharp.

4 Take control

The camera places grey rectangles around other people that it spots in the background of the shot. During the recording process you can tap on any of these grey rectangles to turn them yellow and change the focal point.

7 Change focus

Blurred faces are marked by grey rectangles. Scrub the playhead to where you want to pull focus to a different person. Tap to turn their rectangle yellow, then double-tap to ensure that the camera continues to track them.

2 Auto pull focus

The camera focuses on the closest face. If the person turns away from the camera it automatically focuses on the background person. It will then refocus on the foreground person when they turn back to face the camera.

5 Depth of field

Tap the ‘f’ icon to summon the Depth slider. Drag this to change the amount of background or foreground blur. A smaller number (such as f2.0) creates a stronger blur. A larger number (f16) creates a weaker blur.

8 Share to Mac

To edit a Cinematic mode clip on your Mac, tap the Share icon. Tap Options and toggle on All Photos Data, then tap Done. Tap AirDrop and select your Mac. On the Mac, click Accept then choose the ‘Save to Downloads’ option.

3 Tracking lock

Double-tap on a person or object to activate AF Tracking Lock. Although the camera might recognise the presence of background subjects, it will stay focused on the chosen person or object, even if they move.

6 Edit clips

In the Photos app go to Albums. Tap on the Cinematic album to find all clips shot in Cinematic mode. Tap to choose a clip. Tap Edit, and you’ll see a yellow rectangle indicating which person or object is in focus.

9 Edit clip

In iMovie, click Import Media. Browse to the Downloads folder. Choose the capitalised .MOV version. Add it to the timeline. Click the Cinematic camera icon. Adjust Depth and click rectangles to change focus points.