Watch How the ‘Midnight’ Manga Was Brought to Life With a Smartphone
Osamu Tezuka’s classic manga Midnight — which ran for a short period between 1986 and 1987 — has been adapted into live-action. Directed by Takashi Miike, the whole film was shot entirely on iPhone 15 Pro.
Tezuka is described by some as the “God of Manga” and Midnight is considered a hidden masterpiece. The live-action adaptation, published by Apple, features Kento Kaku, Yukiyoshi Ozawa, and Konatsu Kato.
Kaku Kento is an actor and writer much loved by fans across Japan, known for recent works such as My Family, Tokyo MER, and House of Ninjas. Yukiyoshi Ozawa is an established character actor across TV and film, known for recent works such Assistant Inspector: Daimajin (2023) and One Last Bloom (2022). Konatsu Kato is a young actor emerging onto the film scene with the lead role in White coffee and with appearances in TV dramas such as NHK’s The 13 Lords of the Shogun.
Midnight is the name of a late night taxi driver — who in this live-action adaptation is played by Kento Kaku — who roams the streets of Tokyo offering help to those who need it.
Midnight intervenes in a conflict between a young woman, played by Konatsu Kato, struggling to take over her deceased father’s truck driving business and fight off a nefarious local gang, lead by a boss played by character actor Yukiyoshi Ozawa. He joins Konatsu in a thrilling car chase across neon-lit Tokyo as he helps her find her feet.
“Mr. Tezuka is something of a god among manga artists so it was an honor to take on the challenge of expressing his work using only iPhone,” director Takashi Miike says. “As we were shooting, I naturally began to challenge myself to think about how we could make a work unique to iPhone, beyond the usual approach to a film. I truly felt that the iPhone has the power to do things that a conventional movie camera can’t.”
Miike goes into more detail that what is typically found from those involved in previous Apple productions.
“Action mode accurately captures the facial expressions of subjects in a scene in a dynamic way, while reflecting their emotions and thoughts. For example, in the scene where Kaede hears news of her father passing away, furiously rushing out to show her sadness. Thanks to iPhone 15 Pro and Action mode, I was able capture such a scene. It is beyond what a conventional stabilizer can do without compromising the high-quality of the film. It is truly a magical feature,” Miike continues.
“While Cinematic mode gives the film a more cinematic look, I was even more impressed by the ability to adjust the focus after shooting. You can focus on whatever you want, whenever you want. I hope that game-changing features like this that are impossible with regular photography equipment will be added more and more, and that it will break the conventional thinking of filmmakers.”
Miike’s film was published in tandem with a behind-the-scenes video (below) that showcases how the team rigged and used the iPhone to capture scenes across a wide range of conditions.
Apple also provided PetaPixel with the below photos from the production:
The 19-minute short film can be streamed now above and on Apple’s YouTube.
Image credits: Apple
