Sound: PERIOD, SILENT and ORIGINAL modes
A decade has a sound as well as a look: the narrow band of an optical track, the hum of a motor, the hiss of tape.
The three modes
Set the sound with the SOUND mini button (the speaker icon on the plate under the dials) or with MENU › SOUND › AUDIO. Both change the same setting, and the app remembers it between launches.
| Mode | What the clip's sound becomes |
|---|---|
| PERIOD (default) | Your voice and the room pass through the decade's sound chain: its frequency band, its channels, its wow and flutter. On top sits the medium's own noise bed: the projector or camera motor, crackle, or tape hiss. |
| SILENT | Only the medium's bed, without your sound. This is not total silence: you hear what the machine itself sounded like, as you would in a room with a silent-film projector. |
| ORIGINAL | The iPhone's audio as recorded, untouched. |
Each decade page shows its sound chain, with the band drawn as a bar, under The sound of the 1950s and its equivalents.
The SOUND button's cycle
The button steps through ORIGINAL → PERIOD → SILENT → ORIGINAL. Since a new install starts on PERIOD, your first taps go:
- PERIOD → SILENT (the speaker icon is crossed out);
- SILENT → ORIGINAL;
- ORIGINAL → PERIOD again.
The icon turns orange whenever the mode is not PERIOD, and the display shows "♪ PERIOD", "♪ SILENT" or "♪ ORIGINAL" for 1.5 seconds after each tap.
Hearing the bed while you shoot: SPEAKER FX
While you record in PERIOD or SILENT, the camera plays the medium's bed quietly through the speaker, so you hear the motor run as you film. MENU › SOUND › SPEAKER FX sets how loud.
| SPEAKER FX | Effect |
|---|---|
| OFF | No bed in the speaker, and the panel clicks are muted. |
| LOW | Quiet. |
| MID (default) | Medium. |
| HIGH | Loud. |
In ORIGINAL no bed plays. SPEAKER FX also sets the volume of the panel's clicks and clunks. It is remembered between launches.
The VU meter
While you record in CINE, a VU meter on the right edge of the viewfinder shows the live level of the microphone. It only appears if the microphone is allowed. Glance at it to check that the microphone is picking you up.
The microphone permission
The microphone is asked on the SET UP page of the first launch, and again when the camera starts if you haven't answered. Without it you can still shoot video: there is no VU meter, and the camera can't record what it hears. Siri and Shortcuts captures need the microphone too (see Siri and Shortcuts). To change your answer later, open iOS Settings › Privacy & Security › Microphone.
Where PERIOD sound does not apply
- IMPORT keeps the original audio of the video you import. PERIOD sound isn't applied there.
- The end card added to saved and shared videos is silent.
Clips are recorded as mono AAC at 44.1 kHz.