Sweet photograph,
@hydroazuanacaine! My very first own camera was a OLYMPUS mju ZOOM 140, my parents got me for my 18th birthday. I used the shit out of this thing, and I still have it (somewhere). Anyway..
Anyone know how to get the extended exposure blur effect on a phone camera? Been wanting to try for awhile, but....
You noticed that a rather unique film was used here? I assume with "extended exposure" you mean longer shutter speeds? And no, this on it's own won't necessarily produce this
halo effect around light sources. If you simply want blurry/grainy images, that's easy..
Other than creating this by accident, I guess one needs to have full control over 'the exposure triangle' (meaning shutter speed, aperture and ISO) in order to experiment with this. I don't know if or which smartphones can be operated this way. You can try physical filters or play around in postprocessing. Alternatively you can run your finger across your forehead after a long hot day (or eat a fat-dripping burger instead) and smother the lens of your phone with it; acts like a physical filter and will soften and create a shimmer around highlights, but will also blur the rest of the image.
I have the impression that the aperture plays a key role here. Stopped down, one gets more pronounced starburst effects, until diffraction hits. Wide open, especially with older lens designs (meaning fast vintage prime glass), this halo effect (and others) is more likely to occur and can be seen as an optical defect (caused by different types of aberration) or as a feature, depending on your philosophical/artistic viewpoint. How much of this applies to phones, I don't know.