TBWA\Media Arts Lab & Apple: The powers of puppy love & iPhone 17 pro squeeze hearts in Apple’s Chinese New Year film

Puppies melt hearts and gain attention. This year’s annual Apple iPhone Chinese New Year film capitalises on this fact of human behaviour. Glad I Met You, directed by awarded filmmaker, Bai Xue, blends live action with stop-motion animation into the story of Lin Wei and a lost dog named Little White on a journey of funny and heartwarming incidents, as they ultimately find a home in each other and Lin Wei’s spark for life is rekindled. The film illustrates the undeniable impact animals can have on people’s lives while it also underlines the powers of the iPhone 17 Pro camera system – from 8x optical-quality zoom to the precision needed to capture intricate details of hand-built puppets and sets created by BUCK.

Each character features custom internal armatures and over 20 hand-painted mouth expressions, all brought to life frame-by-frame to match voice performances by well-known Chinese actors. And the film features live-action sequences that use the 8x optical-quality zoom enabled by the 48MP Telephoto camera, 48MP Ultra Wide, 4K 120fps recording for cinematic slow motion, Cinematic mode, Action mode, and low-light capabilities.

“Everything you see on screen in the stop-motion portion was built by hand, with care and love,” noted Ege Soyuer, creative director at BUCK. “There’s something magical about knowing that what you see on screen actually exists in the real world, under lights, on a miniature set, moved millimetres at a time by real people.”

Director, Bai Xue, stated, “The most important shot in this film comes when the dog, Little White, runs toward Lin Wei. Using slow motion magnifies the emotional impact by extending the moment.”

Lead animal coordinator, Hao Shuai, added, “When shooting, large devices tend to distract animals during takes, but iPhone is so small that it eliminates many of the hurdles we’d normally face.”

“Shooting on iPhone opened up more possibilities and broadened our imaginations,” commented cinematographer, Gao Wei Zhe. “We can use 8x optical-quality zoom to focus on a character while still capturing the wider environment. The lightweight design of iPhone also enables perspectives similar to those of animals.”

Beyond the film, the campaign encourages users to capture their own pets during Chinese New Year. Popular Douyin pet content creator, Ke Ming, who voices one of the animated characters in the film, hosts an interview-style behind-the-scenes vlog. He films himself and the set simultaneously using Dual Capture, while speaking with the production team about the filmmaking process. Two how-to videos and creator collaborations also demonstrate features such as 8x zoom and the Center Stage front camera.

The full campaign spans broadcast, digital, and social platforms.

Credits
Client: Apple
Creative Agency: TBWA\Media Arts Lab, Shanghai
Production Company (Live-Action): Shooting Gallery
Production Company (Stop-Motion): BUCK
Character Design (Stop-Motion): Mackinnon & Saunders
Sound: CODA Music
Finishing: Heckler

Main Film:
Director: Bai Xue
DOP: Gao Weizhe
Director of Animal: Hao Shuai
Editor: Qiao Lin / Yuqing
Music: Gao Xiaoyang / Varqa

BTS:
Director: Jason Kahgiap
Producer: Areta Mak
Camera Operator: Huang Hai Bo / Liang Jun / Sura Tian
Camera Assistant: Fan Fei
BTS Editor: Kang Kang