Campfire Haiku: Old Shanghai on new iPhone

A Haiku is an ancient Japanese poem that consists of 3 sentences and 17 syllables. Sentence 1, 3 syllables. Sentence 2, 7 syllables. Sentence 3, 5 syllables.

A Campfire Haiku is a series of cinematic Haikus, inspired by Vimeo’s weekend challenge, that shine a light on fascinating people, topics and places from around the world.

CAMPFIRE HAIKU: OLD SHANGHAI ON NEW IPHONE

This week, Yu, finally upgraded his iPhone 6 to the latest iPhone 11 Pro with its powerful all-new electric hob camera. He tells us: “There’s only so much you can read about its video features, the best thing to do is to go out there and try it for yourself.”

He decided to shoot some footage in an area that is going through its own mighty upgrade. A place that is way more ancient than Yu’s old iPhone 6.

Old Shanghai, situated inside the old walled city boundary has existed for nearly 500 years. It is due for redevelopment despite its historic and cultural treasures.

During shooting, we managed to learn a few things:

Buildings are in a decrepit state. It seems knocking them down and rebuilding is more cost efficient than repairing them.

The challenge is to modernise whilst preserving as much of the old city’s charm.

But what about the residents? Many relocated, having accepted offers of alternative housing in new high-rises.

Modern comforts make life easier, however the sense of community has been lost forever.

Today, the area is awaiting demolition and resembles a ghost town, with windows and doors, concreted over to prevent squatters.

As you stroll through its old alleyways and lanes, you can almost hear the life that existed once upon a time:

Old people gossiping, dogs barking, children laughing, couples arguing, dumplings frying.

Capturing what’s left of old Shanghai for posterity. Did the iPhone 11 pro, do it justice? Technophobes, should stop reading now.

Yu says. “The 4k footage shot using the Filmic pro app, in log2, and ‘filmic extreme bitrate’ is pretty impressive. You don’t get the full cinematic feel, you’re use to with bigger cameras but it isn’t bad.

Having said that, it hasn’t stopped renowned Hollywood directors shooting feature length movies with their iPhones.

In summary, for a piece of kit that fits into your pocket, it’s a powerful camera to have at your beck and call. And you can even use it to make phone calls.”

A film by Yu Kung
Music: Bu Liao Qing, Gu Mei
Shot on iPhone 11 pro / filmic pro app / Davinci resolve 16