Hand Held Hollywood officially ceased operations on September 17th, 2024. The site will remain online for archival and research purposes. The App Directory continues to receive updates as needed. If you’d like to contact Taz, the contact form is still functional. We also invite you to join Taz’s mailing list here.

Smartphone with a paintbrush and film clapperboard overlaid, symbolizing Hand Held Hollywood video editing or content creation.

Welcome to Hand Held Hollywood 3.0!

Because the site is rapidly approaching its 4th anniversary, I decided it was time to give the code a much-needed overhaul. Just adding a little chrome siding wasn’t going to cut it this time.

When considering the new design, I thought about all the sites I enjoy reading most. I’m not talking about content — I’m just talking about the experience of reading. Most of the sites I enjoy reading are clean, simple, and generous with space. They feel lightweight. By comparison, the old HHH design felt bloated and heavy, and never looked ideal on iPhones and iPads. So, I put the site on a major diet. Hooray!

The updated site also features a brand-spankin-new Filmmaker’s App Directory that finally allows app filtering! You can now limit your app search to specific devices (iPhone, iPad, etc.), filmmaking tasks (screenwriting, storyboarding, shooting, editing, etc.), and special criteria (HHH recommended apps, apps featured in the HHH book, etc.). This will make it much easier to find just the apps you need.

While I was fiddling, I was able to speed things up a bit. Pages still take a moment to load, but overall, things are much improved. I’ll keep working on that. I squashed all the bugs I could find (there’s always a few with a new design), but if you find something bugtastic or typorific, please let me know.

There’s one last benefit to the new design — my sanity. This new setup requires less back-end maintenance, and makes it easier for me to post smaller stories more often (a little more tumblresque).

I hope you dig the slimmed-down look and spiffy new directory. If you do, please take a moment and share this site with your friends. I would truly appreciate it.

Go make a movie!

Taz

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More to explore

Heading Into the Sunse— Hang on. I have a call.

Dear iPhone fanatics and filmmaking friends, This will be the final post for Hand Held Hollywood. To loyal HHH readers, I’m sure this feels somewhat overdue. Probably because it is.

Shang-Chi Poster

Shang-Chi Director Directed From His iPhone

I enjoyed reading this brief ScreenRant story, so I thought I’d share it here. It describes how Destin Daniel Cretton, the director of Marvel’s Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings, was forced to direct an important scene via his iPhone while in the hospital for the birth of his child! Sadly, it doesn’t divulge the details of that unusual workflow, but it’s an excellent reminder that we’re all toting the world’s most versatile piece of filmmaking gear in our pockets and purses!