Brow Beat

I don’t mean to shill for Nokia, but its N8 phone, which comes packed with optics by Zeiss (the same company that makes professional film lenses), was made for the movies. Recently, the company invited eight filmmakers to make short films using the N8. The camera is so good, you can’t even tell that the finished shorts—which were screened at the Edinburgh Film Festival last weekend—were shot using cell phones.

I especially loved JW Griffiths' winning film, “Splitscreen: A Love Story,” which showcases not only beautiful imagery but also precision sequencing and symmetry, and took home the $10,000 prize:

Also notable is “The Rider,” a Western short that opens with a picturesque landscape shot.

Though these films were shot by professionals, I hope the Nokia series inspires more people to push their high-end, pocket-sized devices to their full potential.

[via LaughingSquid]