Apple’s film genres are becoming increasingly diverse, and the 2024 Lunar New Year film is a pink-themed musical.
Released on January 10, 2024, “Listening to Songs with You” is Apple’s first Lunar New Year musical film. It tells a love story set on New Year’s Eve in 1990s Shanghai, shot with the iPhone 16 Pro series, and directed by Michael Gracey, the director of the Hollywood musical “The Greatest Showman.“
Michael Gracey told us that Apple invited him specifically to make a musical. This genre is not common in China, so what kind of effect would a niche genre, universal theme, nostalgic visuals, and the iPhone’s imaging capabilities produce?
“Love, So Simple”
Going home for the New Year, relatives love to ask two things at the dinner table: how much you earn and if you have a partner. The protagonist of this Lunar New Year film, Xiao Wei, is one of the “victims” of these questions.
Xiao Wei embodies many traits of contemporary young people. When asked when he will get a girlfriend, he passively resists, using anime wallpapers to dodge the question and complaining that elders don’t respect his thoughts.
Despite his worries about love, he actually yearns for true love, but it doesn’t come easily. There are many social apps, but the person he cares about doesn’t reply. His parents connected over a cassette tape, but that was at the end of the last century.
Then, something magical happens. Because of a cassette tape his father gave his mother, Xiao Wei unexpectedly travels back to the 90s, meeting Xiao Man, a girl who, like him, is pressured to marry and makes him start believing in love.
As they part, they dance together in a rainy alley. When Xiao Wei returns, he sees Xiao Man’s phone number still written on his palm, realizing it wasn’t just a dream.
The plot of “Listening to Songs with You” is not complex, but the musical genre makes it special, featuring three classic 90s songs: “Not Every Love Song Has a Beautiful Memory,” “I Am Willing,” and “Love, So Simple.“
“Love, So Simple” can also be understood as the theme of the entire film. Director Michael Gracey said they wanted to tell a story about love and genuine interaction.
Love is an “eternal truth.” No matter the time or place, people always yearn for love. However, the way we communicate with others has changed with the times. Today’s social interactions are digital, making face-to-face interactions and physical touch more precious.
The elders in the film serve as a contrast to the young people, dancing ballroom, rowing in the park, and listening to songs together all night. Their love is simpler than young people imagine.
Setting the story in 1990s Shanghai creates a visual nostalgia, with unique music, distinctive style, and rapid technological development. It was a hopeful era. To quote a line from “The Dream Factory,” “1997 has passed, and I miss it.“
Dancing with the Camera
Even just watching the well-coordinated and beautiful group dance scenes in “Listening to Songs with You,” you can tell this was a labor-intensive short film project. However, the film had a tight schedule, with six to seven days of rehearsal and five days of shooting.
In addition to the final film, the rehearsal process was also shot with an iPhone.
Michael Gracey shared that he used to film rehearsal scenes with an iPhone, but the final cut would be shot with professional equipment. This time, he used the iPhone 16 Pro for both tasks simultaneously. He didn’t feel any scene required a traditional camera for better quality.
The film features environments like dimly lit alleys and dance halls with strong light contrasts. Initially, the director was concerned about noise in the footage, but the iPhone performed excellently, capturing details in shadows and a wide dynamic range. Even without post-production, the footage looked impressive during filming.
The scene where the male lead sings “I Will” and performs a solo dance is likely memorable for many viewers. It was shot using iPhone’s most advanced video format: 4K/120 fps.
High resolution and frame rate mean capturing rich details. After recording, you can adjust the frame rate during editing to change playback speed, achieving cinematic slow-motion effects.
Michael Gracey loved this segment, describing it as “very balletic.” Watching the playback on a high-resolution large display, both he and the crew were amazed by the image quality.
In everyday life, he often shoots at 120 fps. He believes any scene involving action, especially dance choreography or fight sequences, is best captured in 4K high frame rate.
After recording, the director uses the “mixing” feature. By selecting “cinematic effect” and adjusting parameters, it enhances voices in the frame while retaining some ambient sound, making dialogue more cinematic. This feature is indispensable in a noisy dance hall.
The new “Camera Control” button on the iPhone 16 series is a frequently used feature for photographers.
With a simple press, the camera opens for quick shots. By sliding a finger, you can adjust exposure, aperture, zoom, and other parameters during shooting, making the process more convenient and efficient.
Of course, the iPhone has a significant advantage: it’s more flexible and lightweight compared to traditional cameras. For musicals, the portability of the equipment makes it easier to achieve the desired cinematic language.
In the past, shooting a close-up shot between two people required leaving enough space for the camera body or using a telephoto lens, sometimes compromising image quality by switching bodies and lenses. But with an iPhone, you only need one device while maintaining 4K quality.
With the iPhone, you can execute complex camera movements, capture unique angles, weave between actors, and mount it on bikes, tape decks, or even attach it to the chest and ankles. Choreographers describe it as “dancing with a camera.”
While the iPhone is the most prominent device on set, the crew also uses iPads to view multi-camera footage simultaneously. The director says this is not new; it’s a traditional method in the film industry.
Music and Film: Both Forms of Record
The story of Apple’s New Year film seems to be becoming more global. In 2023, “Little Garlic” explored how young people can be themselves. In 2024, it focused directly on a topic everyone has felt but gradually avoids discussing: love.
While the theme of love is universal, the musical format is not common in China. Michael Gracey understands this but believes it’s what makes “Want to Listen to Songs with You” unique.
His film career has almost always been related to music. Besides his famous work “The Greatest Showman,” he also directed the biopic “Better Man” about singer Robbie Williams and the documentary “P!NK: All I Know So Far.”
A common misconception about musicals is that characters suddenly burst into song. However, Michael Gracey believes that musicals use songs to advance the story, express characters’ inner thoughts and feelings, and visualize them.
On set, there are many movable scenes, much like a theater. For example, when the male and female leads perform a duet, the scene transitions to an ice rink, a cinema, a subway, and a kitchen, symbolizing their visions of the future.
These scenes are not special effects but are filmed live, with the key being intricate art design. When the male lead gets up to dance, showcasing his inner drama, it’s achieved through the movement of glass doors and changes in lighting.
The power of music transcends language and culture, influencing both audiences and filmmakers. Michael Gracey is Australian, but that doesn’t stop him from loving classic Chinese songs.
After filming a Lunar New Year movie, several classic Chinese songs lingered in his mind for a long time. He says that’s the charm of classic works; you might remember their melodies weeks, months, or even years later.
He also mentioned an interesting detail on set: choreographer Ashley and his assistant couldn’t speak Chinese, but they sang Chinese songs while choreographing by mimicking the pronunciation. Their singing amused the Chinese crew members.
For Apple, musicals are also a new venture. After making several Lunar New Year films, Apple continues to explore different storytelling methods. Meanwhile, technology is advancing, providing more creative space.
Director Jason, who has filmed behind-the-scenes footage for Apple’s Lunar New Year films for several years, has witnessed this process. When shooting the behind-the-scenes of Apple’s 2020 Lunar New Year film “Daughter,” the quality of slow-motion footage couldn’t reach 4K, maxing out at 1080p.
Whenever an Apple Lunar New Year film is released, people often question—how can we achieve such effects with an iPhone in our daily lives when the creative team has professional personnel and equipment?
Of course, as a Lunar New Year film, “Listening to Songs with You” still requires many traditional equipment and personnel, including dolly tracks and grip technicians. However, mixing, camera control, 4K/120 fps shooting mode, and cinematic lens language are skills anyone can learn.
Perhaps, there’s no need to focus on what we don’t have. Michael Gracey believes that having filming equipment that everyone can carry around, pulling it out of your pocket to capture moments, is already significant.
He gave an example: when he wanted to capture a sunset while the crew was busy setting up another shot, he could simply pull out his phone and capture the scene at the perfect moment. With traditional filming methods, by the time all the equipment was set up and ready to shoot, the moment would have passed.
If you also want to shoot dance videos with an iPhone, he suggests using the free Blackmagic Camera App for more professional settings.
In a way, casually recorded images, like music tapes, can preserve memories and emotions, closely connecting with a past time.
At the end of “Listening to Songs with You,” a couple walks away in an alley, leaving a sense of suspense. Can the male and female leads, separated by time, eventually be together? The director tells us the ending is open; he doesn’t know if Xiaowei will go back to find Xiaoman, and everyone can have their own interpretation.
Michael Gracey says that when someone talks about love, they look deeply into the other person’s eyes, revealing their hopes for the future. The most touching scene in the film might be Xiaowei’s parents looking into each other’s eyes while dancing. Xiaowei once did the same, expressing his feelings to Xiaoman through dance on a rainy night.
The story stopping here is also beautiful. Romance is like a broken tape or a set that will eventually be dismantled, but music and images somehow endure. When you press play, memories flood back, reminding you of a past that is forever lost and cannot be repeated.
Source from ifanr
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