Cinematography
Cinematography is typically known as a method in a camera is used to convey the message of a film. However, there is more to this art form than just the placement of the camera’s eye. Cinematography processes multiple facets that are used to construct a motion picture. The type of film stock, format, color, lighting, composition, et cetera. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon will be the focus when discussing said elements.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was directed by Ang Lee, made in China and released in the year 2000. The film takes place in early 19th century China and follows the intertwining lives of Li Mu Bai — played by Yun-Fat Chow —, Yu Shu Lien — played by Michelle Yeoh —, Jen Yu — played by Ziyi Zhang — and Jade Fox — played by Pei-Pei Cheng. The connection between each character manifests because of knowing of Li Mu Bai or his legendary sword called the green destiny. The film showed that composed scenes tended to start with extreme long shots, though they were used mostly to establish scenes at specific times. Then the extreme long shot would evolve into wide shots, medium shots and close-ups.
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| Establishing shot of the town hosting Li Mu Bai's famed sword. |
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| Guard patrolling the grounds. |
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| Guard looking off into. |
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| Guard senses something that just passed by on the roof. |
The director of photography for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Peter Pau, used a rhythmical and innovative mixture of crane shots, wide shots and close-ups. Pau’s methods were used to capture as much action as possible with — crane and wide shots — while allowing the viewer to see what is going on in a character’s world — close up shots. Pau was hired because the director, Ang Lee, only worked with the drama genre. Thus, help was needed to plan the gravity-defying martial art scenes. To achieve the product that audiences see in the final rendition of the film, Pau needed to analyze other films that he worked on earlier in his career. Each shot was character driven to compliment the strength of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, its multi-layered characters.
The fight scene that took place in a luscious bamboo forest between Li Mu Bai and Jen Yu perfectly exemplifies the goals set out by Pau. The movie was filmed on Eastman as well as Kodak 35mm film and colored by Technicolor. These specifications definitely shine through in the bamboo forest. The 35mm film allows for enough space to be shown in both wide and close up shots and the color bleeds off the screen vividly capturing lively greens and calm blues. It adds a sense of wonderment and compliments the artistic nature of martial art combat.
Throughout the scene, the lighting switches a couple of times from harsh contrasting light to soft light seemingly coming from an overcast sky. This allowed for a subtle visual switch. The change of light changed the camera’s focus. When the harsh light reigned throughout the scene, beautiful contrasting extreme wide shots were used to bring a high level of framing to the composition. Once the lighting became soft, more close up shots were used to bring focus back solely to the actions of the characters. In addition, the colors portray Li Mu Bai's sense of whimsy while playing around with Jen Yu.
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| Jen Yu (left) making the first move against Li Mu Bai (right). |
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| Jen Yu (left) locked in combat with Li Mu Bai (right). |
The composition of the characters during the fight was expertly done and excellently told a story from the character’s thoughts and feelings toward each other as well as both character’s individual worlds. As mentioned, the cinematography was purposefully used to highlight the characters and their traits. This is mostly evident during close-ups of the character’s faces. It put the audience directly in a position to semiotically read facial expressions. This gives the audience a view into the motivations that carry Li Mu Bai and Jen Yu throughout the scene. During the beginning, both characters started traveling in opposite directions, using the bamboo to guide them. Close up shots of both character were used interchangeably to show communication between the characters. The aesthetic was excellently carried out through due to the cross dissolves allowing for all movements to be present while they stare into each other’s eyes.
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| Jen Yu staring at Li Mu Bai. |
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| Cross dissolve used to focus on her intense stare. |
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| Cross dissolve used again to bring focus to Li Mu Bai. |
In conclusion, Peter Pau brought an abundance of cinematic artistry into Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. His cinematography presented the martial art scenes with grace and kept them visually intact with no breaks in the flow. The camera also told more than just the plot story. It told the story of the characters in an up close and personal manner. Every technique was used for the main purpose of framing and highlighting Lee’s multi-layered complex characters.
Sources
Evanerichards. (2013, December 06). The Cinematography of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (2000) – Evan E. Richards. Retrieved February 13, 2019, from http://evanerichards.com/2009/377#comments
IMDb. (n.d.). Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Full Cast and Crew. Retrieved February 12, 2019, from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0190332/fullcredits
IMDb. (n.d.). Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Technical Specifications. Retrieved February 12, 2019, from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0190332/technical?ref_=tt_dt_spec
Koehler, M. (2018, July 10). "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" Film Analysis. Retrieved February 12, 2019, from https://www.lightsfilmschool.com/blog/getting-smart-with-story-structure-crouching-tiger-hidden-dragon
Xie, B. (2016, July 26). Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: A Lesson from Cinematographer Peter Pau. Retrieved February 11, 2019, from http://www.reelasian.com/industry/crouching-tiger-hidden-dragon-a-lesson-from-oscar-winning-cinematographer-peter-pau/
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