Capturing the essence of Tibetan culture

To celebrate Losar, or the Tibetan New Year, which fell on Feb 21 this year, residents of Tuiwa, one of the highest villages in the world at an altitude of 5,070 meters, gathered at the frozen Puma Yumco Lake, under the dim light of dawn, to cut through the ice and scoop up the first ladle of the holy water and pray for good luck in the coming year. Then, they joined hands, formed a circle, singing and dancing.

A group of young filmmakers, equipped with just smartphones, went to the village in Nakarze county of Lhokha city, Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region, and recorded the scene of traditional celebration and the villagers' reverence for nature.

The 5-minute film, Before the Snow Melts, sees the landscape and tradition of the rural village from the perspective and narration of a Tibetan young woman, Pema Yangjen. It features her and a childhood companion collecting water from the holy lake, the aforementioned new year celebration, and her dance toward the backdrop of a grand picture of nature that merges her into the mountain, the lake and the wilderness.

Attracted by the geographical uniqueness and well-preserved culture of the village, while taking the high altitude, extreme weather and thin air into consideration, the team took iPhones to complete the work.

Gan Wei, director of the film, said that the phones have saved the team of 10 from lugging heavy equipment and enabled them to shoot smoothly at minus 20 C albeit experiencing high-altitude sickness and sometimes, strong gales.

He was speaking at a "Today at Apple" session in Shanghai on June 27 to share their shooting experience of the work.

Gan recalled how the staff chased the herd in motion on the uneven ground, the phone in hand to capture them, and how they used the cinematic mode to shoot the young woman dancing in the backlight to create a soft, silhouette effect or give face close-ups to highlight her immersion in dancing.

Producer Zhang Jiajie said, the shooting process was full of unexpected situations. They were once chased after by a Tibetan mastiff and had to throw out their equipment to get rid of the beast.

Greg Joswiak, Apple's senior vice-president of Worldwide Marketing, said that the young — the most connected and mobile generation — can capture ordinary people, and can make something extraordinary. These people, as well as their products, have the chance of doing that more than anyone and anything in the past could.