Filmmaker Rian Johnson, the director of the Knives Out movies, has released an iPhone camera app built to give photos the look of his films. The app, called Chromagraph Camera, is on the App Store for $12.99 with no in-app purchases, according to a 9to5Mac report.
Built for personal use first
9to5Mac reports that Johnson originally wanted the app for himself. After trying a long list of third-party camera apps, he was looking for something simpler that combined custom image processing with controls for color, exposure, grain and halation, the glow that bright highlights give off on film. He then decided to share it publicly.
Johnson commissioned the app from cinematographer Steve Yedlin, and color science developer Eric Cameron also worked on it, the report says.
How it works
The workflow is meant to feel closer to shooting on film than to editing afterward. Users frame and shoot, and the finished look appears in the app's gallery rather than in a live filter preview. According to the report, Chromagraph does not lay a filter over the iPhone's default image processing. It handles the raw image data with its own methods, a point the App Store description also makes.
The gallery keeps full-quality raw files and applies the look live, so adjustments stay editable. The app offers tools to tweak color, tone and texture while preserving the core look, along with smaller exports for sharing and saving to the photo library. An auto-export option sends every photo to the library as a JPEG or HEIC with the look already applied.
Availability
Chromagraph Camera supports the iPhone Duo, 9to5Mac reports, though one review suggests the adapted interface for that device still needs refinement. At the time of the article, the app was the top paid download in the App Store's Photo & Video category.
The release adds to a growing field of camera apps that aim to replace the iPhone's built-in processing with a distinct, filmic style rather than offering a simple filter. Apple has not commented on the app, and the details above come from 9to5Mac's coverage and the app's App Store listing as described there.
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