Samsung screens short thriller film shot with Galaxy S23 Ultra smartphone

Tech

Published: 22 Feb. 2023, 18:31

Samsung screens short thriller film shot with Galaxy S23 Ultra smartphone

″Faith,″ a mystery action thriller film shot with a Galaxy S23 Ultra smartphone by director Na Hong-jin, during a screening event held on Wednesday at COEX in southern Seoul [SHIN HA-NEE]

Shooting a mystery action thriller set in a dimly-lit room in the dead of the night with a Galaxy smartphone “was a breeze,” said a Korean horror master.

Samsung Electronics on Wednesday held a screening event of “Faith,” a short film fully shoot with the Galaxy S23 Ultra smartphone.

First introduced during the Galaxy Unpacked event held on Feb 1, “Faith” is a 10-minute action thriller movie directed by Na Hong-jin. Na is known for his work in horror films including “The Wailing”(2016).

Director Na Hong-jin speaks during a screening event of ″Faith,″ a short film shot with a Galaxy S23 Ultra, held at COEX in southern Seoul. [YONHAP]

“We ran a number of tests to capture the scenes using the smartphone, trying to understand the camera’s performance and features, and the shooting went without difficulties,” said Na during the premiere event.

“Faith” was screened at Megabox’s Dolby Cinema at COEX, southern Seoul.

In the movie, a man wearing a blue trench coat fights his way into a rundown shop in the middle of the night, destroying everyone in his way to get what he wants.

The film was set inside a dark building with only a few light sources such as pale fluorescent lights and bright muzzle flash. But the texture of the actor’s skin coated with heavy make-up and thin scratches engraved on a metal key were clearly visible on screen, even in a dim-lit setting.

Na said that he found the quality of the scenes filmed with the Galaxy smartphone “surprising.”

“Filmmakers like I won’t be able to use a camera’s performance as an excuse for the final work, I thought after monitoring the footage,” said Na.

The S23 Ultra includes a 200-megapixel camera sensor called Isocell HP2, a major improvement over the previous 108 megapixels, and its improved Nightography feature allows better photography in low-light conditions.

Officially released on Feb. 17, the Galaxy S23 series garnered a record number of preorders, 1.09 million units, which surpassed the previous record of 1.02 million units of the Galaxy S22 series in 2022.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]