Apple iPhone Shoots Parts of ‘The Avengers’

Update (11:38 a.m.): McGarvey has clarified with the International Business Times that he took one shot in 'The Avengers' movie on an iPhone 4. McGarvey explains that the shot was meant to be a cell phone user's image, and it is untrue that an iPhone was used to photograph any [full-length] scenes. He says the film was shot using an Arri Alexa digital camera.

Seamus McGarvey, director of photography for next year's Marvel blockbuster The Avengers, put Apple's iPhone to the test: he took a couple of shots with new product and told an interviewer the footage was good enough to leave in the finished film.

The beauty of photography or cinema is that you make every choice based on the content at hand. On 'The Avengers', I did a couple of shots on the iPhone and they are in the movie, McGarvey said. In fact, they are in the trailer!

One reason could be that the iPhone features an 8-megapixel camera that shoots videos in full 1080p HD at 30 frames per second. Apple says it might be the best camera ever on a mobile phone, but the company hasn't disclosed who supplied the camera parts.

The Avengers is Marvel's re-creation of the iconic superhero team for the silver screen, combining heroes from previous Marvel films including Iron Man (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Thor (2011) and Captain America: The First Avenger(2011).

Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans and Samuel L. Jackson will reprise their roles as Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and Nick Fury, respectively. Mark Ruffalo will don the purple pants of Bruce Banner and the Incredible Hulk, instead of Edward Norton, who starred in the 2008 film.

The Avengers has an estimated $220 million budget but McGarvey still chose the iPhone, which starts at $199.

I understand that sometimes there is no choice and you have to go for the cheapest option, but if you are limited for choice, you can still make poignant decisions that will affect the look of the film, McGarvey said.

McGarvey has shot more than 40 films since 1993, including High Fidelity (2000), The Hours (2002) and Atonement (2007). He will also be the cinematographer for the 2012 adaptation of the famous Leo Tolstoy novel, Anna Karenina.

The Avengers is scheduled to be released in the U.S. on May 4, 2012. Watch the trailer below, and then let us know in the comments section if you can spot which scenes from the trailer were shot with Apple's iPhone.