From Realme Collaboration to Custom Camera Features on Realme 12 Pro Series: Claudio Miranda Talks to Gadgets 360

Realme 12 Pro and Realme 12 Pro+ made their way to India last week and are now on sale across various channels. Both phones from the house of Realme are packed to the brim and sport features like luxury watch design, 120Hz curved display, Sony sensors, and more. While there’s a long list of features, what intrigued us more was Realme’s collaboration with Top Gun: Maverick cinematographer Claudio Miranda. He also won an Oscar for his work in Life of Pi movie and brings a sea of his cinematic experience to the table. In an email interaction, Claudio Miranda discussed his collaboration with Realme and the custom camera modes for the Realme 12 Pro series. 

On collaboration with Realme to enhance the camera experience on the Realme 12 Pro series, Miranda started, “I was intrigued when the Realme team spoke to me about the idea of realising cinematic portraits on cell phones, and I thought it would be a very interesting collaboration, and that if I could take cinematic photos with my phone at my fingertips, it would mean that more people would be able to experience cinematic photography. Meanwhile, working with Realme contributes my unique artistic vision to smartphone photography. By customising Master Camera Filters, we can bring a cinematic touch to the images captured with the Realme 12 Pro Series, enriching the photography experience and allowing users to express their creativity in new and exciting ways.”

“This collaboration with a smartphone has provided me with an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of mobile cinematography. Collaborating with Realme provides an opportunity to work with state-of-the-art camera technology and contribute to its development,” he added.

Watch the Oscar-winning cinematographer Claudio Miranda putting the cinematic bokeh algorithm of #realme12ProSeries5G to test and create epic frames!

Know more: https://t.co/2Z7vyuClUv#BeAPortraitMaster pic.twitter.com/nv2FFxox9D

— realme (@realmeIndia) January 30, 2024

When asked about custom camera features introduced on the Realme 12 Pro series, Miranda explained, “It is about combining my ideas about shooting cinematic portraits with Realme’s imaging style. We collaborated to fine-tune the Mastershot Algorithm of the Realme 12 Pro Series, making the portrait imaging style more cinematic. This includes adopting the Cinematic Aspect Ratio of 2.39:1. Another collaboration is the inclusion of customisation Camera Filters inspired by my work on films such as “Life of Pi,” “Top Gun: Maverick,” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.”

Since this is Miranda’s first collaboration with a smartphone brand on the camera front, we wanted to understand his thoughts on smartphone photography. He said, “The accessibility of smartphones means that nearly everyone has the opportunity to be a photographer, and this has democratised the art form in many ways.”

Realme 12 Pro+

“The smartphone technology has developed rapidly and steadily approaching a point of professional creation. During the time I used the Realme 12 Pro+, I took a lot of photos. When taking portrait photos, the subject stands out and the background blurring is also very natural. It is difficult to tell whether it was taken with a smartphone or a camera. Moreover, such a small phone not only has five focal lengths but can even achieve a zoom of 120X. It is difficult to achieve such a comprehensive photography experience with such a small device in the field of professional photography. While phone photography may not replace the capabilities and image quality of professional cameras, it has certainly bridged the gap and provided a viable alternative for many situations. The compact nature of smartphones allows for greater mobility and the ability to capture spontaneous moments that might otherwise be missed,” he added.

One of the key highlights of this collaboration is the inclusion of customisation Camera Filters inspired by Miranada’s work on films such as Life of Pi, Top Gun: Maverick, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. 

He explains, “By incorporating these filters, we are aiming to provide young users with the ability to express their creativity and achieve professional-looking results right from their smartphones. Another significant aspect of our collaboration is the introduction of the Cinematic Aspect Ratio of 2.39:1 to the Realme 12 Pro Series. This aspect ratio is widely used in the film industry and has become synonymous with the cinematic experience. By bringing this aspect ratio to the smartphone’s camera, we enable users to capture photos with a wider field of view, creating a more immersive and cinematic visual experience. Overall, the collaboration between Realme and myself aims to combine the art of cinematography with smartphone photography, allowing users to elevate their creative potential and capture stunning visuals that evoke the magic of the big screen. Through the Master Camera Filters and the Cinematic Aspect Ratio, we hope to enable users to explore new dimensions of photography and express their unique artistic visions.”

Realme 12 Pro

Not many people may understand the difference between cinematic portrait mode and regular portrait mode, so why not ask the Chilean-born director of photography who won several accolades, including the New York Film Critics Circle Award, for his work in Top Gun: Maverick to break down this? He explains, “In my view, the initial distinction lies in its enhanced ability to convey the characters’ emotions. To achieve this, close-up shots with texture are essential, as proximity to the characters enables a more profound experience of their emotions. The second difference is the need for a cinematic tone in the style. It should be based on accurately reflecting the relationship between tones and incorporating some stylised optimisations inspired by the cinematic style.”

Lastly, we checked with Miranda about what advice he would give to users to get the best shots and photographs. “One of my habits is to get inspiration from movies, when I see a movie scene, I will take a screenshot or a picture and save it. When I am shooting, I will consciously remember how they compose the scenes in similar movies I have seen before. But the most important thing is to pick up the camera or cell phone to record, only by shooting and recording more can I take more good photos!,” Miranda explains.

Our review of the Realme 12 Pro is live, and very soon, we will be pushing the Realme 12 Pro+ review on Gadgets 360. Stay tuned.