Apple has released one of the most unusual advertisements illustrating the iPhone 11 Pro’s battery staying power, as it lasts for an epic five hours, 19 minutes, and 46 seconds. That’s the time the phone was able to shoot 4K video of the astonishing Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg Russia, and apparently all in one take. Under normal circumstances, this would have been a little too much; but if life’s stresses are getting you down, it may be exactly what you need.
In Apple’s trailer for the full version, which it describes as, “a cinematic journey through Russia’s world-famous museum,” it’s said the 5-hour film was shot in 4K on an iPhone 11 Pro; but Apple actually stopped shooting before the battery was done, as even after recording all this, there was still plenty of strength left in the battery too. In total, shooting the over five hours of footage which makes up the film used 81% of the iPhone 11 Pro’s strength.
During the film, we are taken on a tour through 45 galleries and take in 588 of the artworks on display there, and even see a selection of live music and dance performances too. This is not a static, emotionless viewing experience. The camera roams around slowly but constantly, taking in ever more incredible architecture, art, and decor. Sweeping, ethereal music punctuates periods of quiet, where you only hear the air moving around you, giving the scene a calming, almost haunting quality.
There’s a lot to see and hear. The Jordan Staircase right at the start is incredible, but take a look at the gallery sequence from around one hour 29 minutes to two hours 18 minutes, where we meet artists at work as we glide through the dark hallway and the camera dives deeply into paintings to give different perceptive and wonderfully immersive experience. The scene has both periods of silence and music, all expertly placed for maximum effect.
Then you’ve got the visuals, which although utterly stunning, are disappointingly only in 1080p on YouTube rather than the 4K resolution the film was apparently shot in, presumably due to the ridiculous size of the final file. If one minute of 4K footage takes around 375MB, then the movie itself would take up nearly 120GB of space. Try uploading that to YouTube. No matter, while we’d love to see some of the 4K footage, the Full HD version is still eye-popping.
Technically impressive when looked at as a piece of film, especially when you consider it was shot on a smartphone, it’s a rare chance to enjoy a museum many of us will never get to visit in real life. It’s also very relaxing, removing the viewer from the world for… well, up to five hours. Take a few moments to watch at least some of it today.
