Prize-winning South Korean director Park Chan-wook's latest film, "Night Fishing," has created a buzz in his native country -- it was filmed using 10 Apple iPhone 4s, three of which he himself controlled.
Park, who won the Cannes Grand Prix in 2004 for "Oldboy," also directed the 30-minute tale about a fisherman and a female shaman with his brother, Chan-kyong, and said the circumstances of its shooting gave making the film an unusual flavor.
"Movies that I directed before were meticulously planned ahead and shot just as pictured. Compared to that, shooting this film felt free, and everyone had an equal amount of say," Park told Reuters in an interview at his studio in Goyang, north of Seoul.
"Some scenes were shot from more interesting angles than previously intended."
Videos shot with smartphones already exist on websites, but this is the first-time a high-profile Korean director has made the attempt.
Park, whose films are known for careful framing and often tough subject matter, said the limitations of using a small camera brought fresh creativity and life to the film.
He added that there was another advantage -- shooting such films is inexpensive.
"When I grow older and less popular, there will come a time when I have to shoot films on low budgets. This experience has meaning in that it has prepared me ahead of time," he said.
SEOUL, South Korea – Acclaimed South Korean film director Park Chan-wook has discovered a new cinematic tool: the iPhone.
The director of South Korean movies "Old Boy," "Lady Vengeance" and "Thirst," said Monday that his new fantasy-horror film "Paranmanjang" was shot entirely on Apple Inc.'s iconic smartphone.
"Paranmanjang" means a "life full of ups and downs" in Korean. It is about a man transcending his current and former lives.
Park told reporters the new technology created strange effects because it is new but also a medium the audience is used to.
Park made the 30-minute film with his younger brother Park Chan-kyong, also a director.
SINGAPORE : Some iPhone 4 users got off to a bad start in the New Year when the alarm function of their phones failed to go off, apparently due to a bug in the smart phone's operating system.
The problem was first reported in Australia and New Zealand, which were the first countries to ring in the New Year.
And complaints have come fast and furious on sites such as Twitter.
iPhone user Ameer Assik Shahrir was one of those tripped up by the bug.
He had set his alarm for 7.30am, but woke up only at 8.30am.
He said: "This morning, I was late for breakfast by one hour, I was supposed to meet a few friends.
"If this was a school day, I would have been late by one hour and it wouldn't be good."
And it wasn't good at all for those who had to work on New Year's Day.
One of them called the Channel NewsAsia hotline.
Alex Lam said: "I set my alarm last night for 6.30 this morning. I only received a call from my colleague at 8am, and that was when I realised I was already late for work.
"I immediately went to work and noticed my colleagues were also late because their iPhone alarms also did not go off."
According to tech websites, users can avoid the problem by setting the alarm to the "repeat" mode.
The alarm function can apparently revert to normal on January 3.
Sites such as 9to5 Mac also report that only iPhones using specific versions of the iOS 4 operating system - in particular, the 4.2.1, 4.1 and 4.0.2 versions - may be affected. However, the extent of the problem is still unclear.
IPhone maker Apple has not made an official comment yet. But it had promised an upgrade of the operating system soon, following similar glitches in November when the phone's clock failed to register the switch from daylight savings time.
