Apple Shares 'Shot on iPhone' Short Film By Lulu Wang for Chinese New Year

[MacRumors]

Apple today shared a new video in its ongoing "Shot on iPhone" series, this time highlighting a short film about a Chinese New Year legend reimagined as a contemporary coming-of-age story.

Directed by American filmmaker Lulu Wang, "Nian" tells the story of a little girl who grows curious about a mythical creature that lives in the forest and – so her parents say – likes to eat children.

But when her rice cakes are mysteriously eaten in the woods one day by an unseen presence, the little girl begins to wonder if the legend is really true, and fearlessly decides to seek out the creature, who turns out not to be quite as monstrous as her parents' stories suggest.

The heartwarming 12-minute short film was created by the team behind the Golden Globe nominated film "The Farewell" and was shot with an iPhone 12 Pro Max. Apple also included a behind the scenes look at how the film was shot.

Apple has shared several prior videos and photographs in the "Shot on ‌iPhone‌" series. Click the relevant tag at the bottom of this article to see all of our previous coverage.

Article Link: Apple Shares 'Shot on iPhone' Short Film By Lulu Wang for Chinese New Year

 

[locrumo]

"Additional hardware used." That means the iphone was only data storage device?

 

[LiE_]

"Additional hardware used." That means the iphone was only data storage device?

They will use a rig like this.

Edit:
Or we can watch the BTS and see they don’t ?

 

[locrumo]

They will use a rig like this.

View attachment 1721352

Total cost $ 89.990

 

[Spacetime Anomaly]

For those with questions, there is literally a making-of video in the same post.

 

[LFC2020]

The Chinese big foot ? coming to Apple TV + soon.

 

[Oblivious.Robot]

Do you think Apple will ever stop pandering to China?

 

[flottenheimer]

Nice work but a little depth of field here and there would have looked wonderful.

 

[IGI2]

What app did they use on the iPhone to record videos (beside the stock Camera app)?

 

[rp2011]

wow. just wow.

 

[citysnaps]

"Additional hardware used." That means the iphone was only data storage device?

Rather than speculating saying silly stuff, why not take the time to watch the "behind the scenes video" where you can see that was clearly not the case?

 

[citysnaps]

Do you think Apple will ever stop pandering to China?

How is the above short film "pandering to China?"

 

[Amazing Iceman]

They will use a rig like this.



Edit:
Or we can watch the BTS and see they don’t ?

That’s what I thought at first, until I watched the BTS.
This is the first high quality Shot on iPhone film I have watched that doesn’t use any additional lenses.
The only extras are gimbals, and other attachments to hold it in place. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Well done from beginning to end. You can’t tell it was filmed on a phone.

 

[Eric.chen3742]

Total cost $ 89.990

Hey $90 is a bargain compared to a $1099 phone.

 

[senttoschool]

How is the above short film "pandering to China?"

It isn't. He's just anti-China everything, including anti-Chinese culture and anti-Chinese American.

 

[mi7chy]

That's a long ad. My attention span for ads is normally about 30 seconds max.

After watching it though I think Nian is symbolic for Tim Cook. Don't be afraid and reward.

 

[shurcooL]

Hmm, somewhat surprising to see it doesn’t use HDR (Dolby Vision) which the iPhone 12 just got.

 

[Infinitewisdom]

Do you think Apple will ever stop pandering to China?

No. Companies go where the money is. Lots of money is in China. Thus they go there. That's capitalism for you. To rage against that is to rage against the whole ideal that got your country to the position that it's in now (assuming you're American).

 

[jumpcutking]

It’s exciting to see the possibilities. As a media producer, and filmmaker... it’s awesome to see the potential.

 

[Arsenikdote]

That’s what I thought at first, until I watched the BTS.
This is the first high quality Shot on iPhone film I have watched that doesn’t use any additional lenses.
The only extras are gimbals, and other attachments to hold it in place. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Well done from beginning to end. You can’t tell it was filmed on a phone.

Maybe its because I am a photographer who is getting into cinematography, but I can completely tell. I am not saying it wasn't great to show what CAN be done with such an accessible device, but I could certainly tell they didn't use high end gear. And I am not saying that because I am "pixel peeping" or anything like that. Just the way the story "feels" and looks and how you engage with the content is different. One easy example is when the Nian was running away from the fireworks, in multiple shots it is VERY dark, and that is not just "the mood" but a limitation of the device. As a viewer you almost feel like you have to squint to see in the dark when the story should show you what you are wanting to see. Also, as someone else pointed out, a HUGE lack of depth of field throughout the piece also "felt" less professional. I could give many more examples, but for telling the story and engaging the audience, there are elements that are missing that you get when you spend more money.

That's a long ad. My attention span for ads is normally about 30 seconds max.

/sarcasm ?? If so ??? ....if not ? it says "short film"

Hmm, somewhat surprising to see it doesn’t use HDR (Dolby Vision) which the iPhone 12 just got.

Not sure why you think that but if you watch the BTS they talk about how it allowed them to capture such a wide color gamut during production.

 

[mjtomlin71]

 

[Darajavahus]

Why just 1080p?

 

[AppleInLVX]

I thought it was lovely. Cute story, with a nice ending.

 

[shurcooL]

Not sure why you think that but if you watch the BTS they talk about how it allowed them to capture such a wide color gamut during production.

I saw they mentioned that, yet the video uploaded to YouTube is SDR, not HDR. Unless it’s available in HDR somewhere else, but I’m not seeing that.

 

[DeepIn2U]

The Chinese big foot ? coming to Apple TV + soon.

The Nian in a pic or store front giant statue ... that would be cool and entertaining for youth and some imaginative adults.

Do you think Apple will ever stop pandering to China?

Wow, is that all you got from this? Would it be too hard to just enjoy the artistic value of the visuals, the underlying story without some kind of negativity on a political level? Try to just enjoy the story for what it's worth, not everything needs to be a statement of political values, ideals and thoughts.

I'm not downplaying your thoughts and views, these are valid. I'm hoping you can appreciate just the art of the video or if you don't that's cool too.

wow. just wow.

I thought the visuals were quite nice ... especially the Nian run view ... less shaky blur camera vs view from the hand what running sensation is like.