Fallen Angels - Experimental Cinematography

This pack contains a 37 slide PowerPoint and accompanying 18=page student booklet

All resources are human made - description below is an AI summary of the lesson:

Focuses on Wong Kar Wai’s Fallen Angels and its experimental cinematography.
Encourages students to contrast conventional Hollywood techniques with Wong’s subversive, expressive style.

Conventional Cinematography Recap
Hollywood norms: invisible camera, narrative-driven visuals.
Techniques include:
Establishing shots
Shot/reverse shot
Over-the-shoulder (OTS)
Long shots progressing to close-ups
Purpose: support narrative, not distract from it.
Experimental Cinematography in Fallen Angels
Wong Kar Wai (WKW) rejects conventional norms to create a visually expressive, character-driven experience.
Inspired by the French New Wave (Godard, Truffaut, Varda).

Key Techniques Used
Wide-Angle Lenses:
Distort space, exaggerate isolation.
Make cramped spaces feel expansive yet claustrophobic.
Canted/Dutch Angles:
Create unease, disorientation, and tension.
Reflect psychological imbalance and urban alienation.
Foreground Focus / Depth of Field:
Emphasizes emotional distance.
Often isolates characters visually within the same frame.
Step-Printing:
Creates a stuttering, dreamlike effect.
Represents temporal dislocation, fragmentation, and emotional detachment.
Subverts Hong Kong action cinema’s fluidity.
Visible Light Sources & Handheld Camera:
Adds realism and self-reflexivity.
Camera responds to character emotion rather than narrative.
Themes Explored Through Cinematography
Disconnection, loneliness, alienation, and unrequited love.
Reflects Hong Kong’s pre-1997 handover anxiety.
Camera becomes a tool for psychological exploration, not just storytelling.

Essay Preparation
Students are guided to:
Understand and explain conventional techniques.
Analyse how and why WKW subverts them.
Use examples to support claims about experimental style.
Link visual style to contextual and thematic meaning.