Watch: Michel Gondry's New Short is the iPhone Version of 'The Red Balloon'

No sooner did we report that indie stalwart Steven Soderbergh has shot his next feature on an iPhone than we learned that France's King of Quirk, Michel Gondry, has put his own iPhone offering out into the world. 

Détour, about a willful and lovable tricycle trying to make its way back to its petite rider, was created for Apple in one of the best pieces of branded content we've seen. Thankfully, it celebrates quintessential Gondryisms just as much as it showcases the iPhone 7's capabilities: it's replete with perspective tricks, practical effects, stop motion animation, a tambourine-heavy soundtrack, and loads of whimsy.

Apple has also released a series of behind-the-scenes clips that reveal some of the ways the director took advantage of the iPhone on his shoots. In true Gondry style, even his descriptions of the work are fantastical. In describing his love for stop-motion, Gondry says, "There is something magical about it because it's like an invisible man writing on the paper."

In the clip below, Gondry talks about trying to "shoot the night in the most honest way," and demonstrates how his DP Laurent Brunet used an app on the phone to successfully balance mixed evening light.