2017 Digital Storytelling Contest, Short Form, 3rd prize

How China Is Changing Your Internet

Production

The New York Times

In China, what was once known as the land of cheap rip-offs may now offer a glimpse of the future—and American tech companies are taking notice. Walled off from American apps like Facebook, China’s homegrown apps like WeChat have been combining e-commerce and real-world services in ways that have Western companies playing catch-up.

Now with over 700 million users, WeChat can be used for almost everything like paying bills, hailing a taxi, booking a doctor’s appointment, sharing photos and chat.

In an increasingly digital world, visualizing the Internet and its powerful relationship to the real world has become a challenge to all storytellers from newspapers to Hollywood. This project combines motion graphics, vfx, sound design and cinematography—with a sense of humor—to explore the relationships WeChat currently offers Chinese users, and may offer Western users in the future. This is an exploration of storytelling with an important message: technology may come with a price.

Production team

    Director, Writer, Video, Graphics, Editing: Jonah M. Kessel
    Writing: Paul Mozur
    Production Assistance: Sarah Li