How did they do this in Chungking Express?

[@stefanx5470]

I remembered Christopher Doyle said in one of his interviews that they had no choice to to under crank the shutter speed. They didn't have enough light, they didn't have enough time and budget; they had to shoot guerilla style because they didn't have permit to rig up the set... The brilliant thing is that their chosen solution not only mitigated the lighting constraints, but it also decoupled the dynamics of the main characters from the world around them. The rest is history...

[@belackjeffrey]

Great video essay on Chungking Express, but I see a lot of people confused in the comments about the logistics of actually replicating the "step-printing" effect. To clarify, this effect does not require a film camera and can be done with any video camera that can adjust shutter speed below 1/50 of a second. The "undercranking" he is referring to to create the blurred streaks of light is not related to the fps, it is tied to the shutter speed. Most digital cameras will not even allow you to shoot at framerates below 24fps. The slower the shutter speed, the greater the blur. The blur is also greatest in areas with the highest exposure and vice versa, hence why the objects in the background blurring the most are all light sources. This is also why the subject in these shots remains relatively unblurred, they are less exposed than the high points of the image. Anyone can do this with essentially any camera with manual settings and it is actually very easy. Hope that clears some stuff up.

[@belackjeffrey]

also should be noted that obviously blurring is highly correlated with the motion of the subject, so static elements in a frame will not blur as much, also contributing to the clearness on the human subjects.

[@merrygoround7557]

THANK YOUUU

[@Waryfuls]

Tyvm!

[@abhijithkp4708]

But how would i step print if i have digital camera

[@belackjeffrey]

@@abhijithkp4708 shoot at extremely low shutter speeds, example: 1/15 sec 1/10 sec 1/8 sec and duplicate frames in editing software. no film camera required

[@DuperSquadMaxman]

One of the best video essays I’ve seen on Chungking Express, by far! And a great rebuttal to those who criticize the film for being too “random.”

[@ellieb.5657]

its everything but random

[@KhaoskidZX]

Random cause their world only exist white films and kkk

[@Hiah.l]

Can I also add on that Andrew Lau, the cinematographer for the first half of Chungking Express is also one half of the directing duo for "Infernal Affairs", which Martin Scorsese eventually remake the film as "The Departed". Dude is like seriously underrated and virtually unknown outside of Hong Kong cinema.

[@jaredarenas7542]

One of my Film Studies professors ended up actually showing this video in class when we covered this movie. Very informative breakdown on one of the great aspects that contributes to Wong Kar-Wai's directing

[@Vishal006]

This was a beautiful, beautiful analysis that brought me a new perspective to view the film. Great stuff. More film analysis videos should be like this.

[@shelbsterous]

this is the most satisfying/fulfilling film analysis i’ve ever seen

[@spaceyman7076]

This is such a great video! Brilliant editing

[@flyingzone356]

I've learned so much about what is one of my all-time favorite movies. Thank you for your analysis.

[@陳定杰-h2k]

The best summary and analysis of ChungKing Express I have ever seen! You really show why the two separate stories were necessary

[@alexjcorona2605]

I remember watching a breakdown that explained the choice to under-crank was also down to a technical limitation. Operating on a minimal budget and shooting on low iso film stocks with lenses that weren't super fast, they used the under-cranking technique to gain extra stops to expose correctly. And then it stylistically evolved.

[@maxboucher]

Love the drawing effect!

[@AlexBoucher]

Thanks bro :)

[@ineffablefilms7713]

@@AlexBoucher Hey Alex, How did you do the drawing effect?

[@marasmusine]

@@AlexBoucher The final drawing made me giggle, thanks :)

[@decetre]

Putting into words what the movie made me feel and with brilliant editing at that. I guess that's an instant subscribe.

[@filmisjustmovingpictures]

That's such a great video! I always wanted to know how he did those shots and the connection to the story was beautiful!

[@MyBrokenPassport]

Thank you so much dude. This is my favourite film and your explanation of this filming technique is awesome.

[@tenessidavilasantos289]

Great video, made me understand the film better

[@billboucher1348]

👍👍Excellente analyse comme toujours. Très informatif et intéressant. Encore, encore! Merci. ❤

[@Jellybean-gz4cj]

Thanks you for this beautiful analysis. It has helped me further understand why WKW films are art. True art gives humans room to interpret, relate the art to life, and further reflect on life after the experience of seeing the artwork.

[@davidpieropan6242]

One of my favourite movie, thanks for this analysis

[@anirudhbabu9561]

This video demands more viewers

[@PopoMedic]

Great video. One of my favs since I was a kid.

[@dimkilago2958]

He also using the moving camera in the passage of the mobster as if sow panic and photos in an impressionistic style for the moments when 223 sees the women since anyway he is looking for the "eternity of moments in love". I like how he uses the rain to contrast with the sunny california utopia the girl has. The letter is literally almost ruined by the rain and the moment before leave also rain.

[@ahanafmuttaki6284]

love the last line! earned a subscriber!

[@vedantaware2904]

Really great analysis...u are underrated man...keep going...its such a beautiful film and wong kar wai is master of cinema he has influenced so many....

[@screenviewmirror2843]

I couldn't agree more!

[@王王-l8v]

Holy shit even though people have released vids before, this is the first time I've seen this despite being a WKW fan and this was super interesting - ty for showing this, will definitelyt ry this :))

[@JapanMediaTour]

Amazing film and amazing analysis, I love this movie too. Thanks for sharing!

[@marasmusine]

Thank-you for reminding me of this film! I used to watch this and Fallen Angels a whole bunch in my student days in the late 90s. They are the coolest damn films, just effortlessly cool. I just could not get on with 2046 at all.

[@Jaime20099]

You insanely captured the essence of this amazing movie! Thank you!

[@Doopye]

Well explained! I've been wondering how they did it. Thank you so much!

[@alanroche]

Great analysis. Really well done.

[@jacoblarrinaga4910]

Absolutely brilliant video mate, may you keep it up!

[@AlexBoucher]

Thanks, will do!

[@TheDoomer666]

​@@AlexBoucherwatched your catalog, subscribed immediately 💯

[@flawlesspiner1674]

I loved the way the film utilized California Dreamin, but I felt like the film was too abstract for me to really get what made it so special. This video helps.

[@JH-jh8ms]

This is also my favorite Wong Kar-Wai film! And my all time favorite romantic film.

[@AlexBoucher]

crazy how his best movie is the one he shot and wrote in less then a month, guy is not human

[@JH-jh8ms]

@@AlexBoucher He sure is not. I’m hoping “Blossoms Shanghai” is something special.

[@AlexBoucher]

I didn't know he was working on a new project! Now I'm hyped too.

[@Ayogenius67]

Yooo u nailed it😢😢 as I wanted it thanks Brosi

[@AlejandroAlvarez-rb7jj]

i just recently watch the movie and see that video too, dude both of yours, kar-wai and u are amazing

[@myironlung9651]

Such a good explanation and editing! Subscribed!

[@MrFrenchdisco]

Great analysis, made me wanna watch the film. Thanks!

[@reelwurld-studios]

Great breakdown. Thank you.

[@lonerider68]

TLDR: Low light scenes of Chungking Express required longer shutter speeds, which required under-cranking and step-printing, not the other way around. The fundamental practical issue in Chunking Express is that the scenes were extremely dark. Normal film productions have a lot of "studio lighting" (look up what gaffers do) but because Chungking Express was shot without permits in a run-in-gun style, they didn't have any of that and filmed only with "available light". So in order to get something that wasn't super dark... they *had* to use very long exposure times... like 1/6th of second. Once you do that... you are forced to undercrank (as you can't do anything more than 6 fps with 1/6s shutter speed). What is interesting is how the two cinematographer adapted and worked around those limitations. The first went with the actors moving fast leading to a a frenetic blurry style. The second has the actors more really slow (creating a timelapse type effect) and that lead to a very moody, contemplative style. Also I think Alex Boucher is wrong about under-cranking leading to very smear blur look... because at 3:10 he is conflating under-cranking with the 180 shutter angle rule (where the shutter speed is half the frame interval... (e.g. 24 fps with 1/48s and 6 fps with 1/12s ) with under-cranking... but that's not always true - the shutter angle rule is to have a little bit of "cinematic blur" but that's not always done.... look the Mad Max Fury Road, which undercranked, but kept a very fast shutter speed and did NOT step-print. When you do that... you get a very choppy, frenetic action scenes. Also I could be wrong, but I think Alex Boucher is wrong about Reservoir Dogs slow motion sequence at 2:25. That looks like it was shot in 24 fps and then slow down 1/2x or 1/3x. They might have step-printed to maintain the native 24 fps... but since they had plenty of available light... there isn't that much blurring. So again... he's kind of describing everything backwards.... what's important is the low light, and the slow shutter speeds... in Chungking Express - the under-cranking and step-print evolve out of that (where as the stylistic decisions inReservoir Dogs and Mad Max Fury Road come from completely different origins even through they might have some technique overlaps).

[@yacinemedellel9544]

Great stuff man. Keep it up.

[@austinthompson8302]

Awesome video! I loved it

[@denniszenanywhere]

This was my favorite Wong Kar Wai until I saw his other movie, the Days of Being Wild.

[@theblackrose3130]

Worth mentioning that step printing is used very extensively in animation. Its called twos in animation.

[@ambrose7196]

Wow. This is fascinating

[@AyoubCherkaouiGhattati]

bro that's amazing

[@VietVuHunzter]

How the hell? I just watched the movie yesterday and was wonder the exact same thing of how they shot the slow motion shots. Now KZbin recommended me this?

[@2park_]

Thank you! :)

[@deardaughter]

I see a lot of people on YT calling the under-cranking bit step-printing. How does one step-print if using a digital camera? Thanks for the video.

[@youyao]

amazing video essay

[@durpkied]

One critique: shutter speed is not tied to frame rate. The typical way most video is shot is with shutter speed double the frame rate. This is a common choice but not a rule. For example, a lot of films shot with budget cameras (DSLRs and mirrorless mostly) are shot at 24fps and 1/50 because DSLRs only go from 1/40 to 1/50.

[@franciszkaninspodglogowa]

hello! very good video essay. its like a separate work of art. aaand would you mind telling what's the song starting at 0:40? its gorgeous

[@pranavramraj5141]

Lovely video, enjoyed it🙏🏻

[@vivekanand5563]

An excellent analysis of an absolute awesome film. Another way to explain the difference in the stories... The first love story is on coke, and the second one is on weed. 😉

[@sorry4771]

great video

[@joelperry8187]

My cinema professor made us watch the movie. I’m here so I can try to sound like I know what I’m talking about in class and get extra credit.

[@giuseppebonanno6353]

Ok

[@gilbertshih4625]

Very helpful!

[@josepabloarellano9171]

Amazing

[@gautamdubey2822]

The best movie I will ever see

[@jorgeportillo1331]

greetings from another fellow creator from méxico! i really enjoyed these analysis, it's so well done and interesting In my opinion you should pivot your channel to only do these kind of analysis, I think you're very intelligent and culture to continue making clickbait videos of (watching every marvel movie) i think you should market your videos to this kind of analysis, i think it will suit you better.

[@PorcelainxMe]

Long ago, I saw some deleted scenes or some blue ray dvd easter egg or the likes... The 2 parts 2x characters seems unrelated or independent, but they were interwoven in each other lives 2 policemen, 2 strange women. One same deli takeout. One same escalator in the city. And so the deleted scenes was the blonde wig woman, brush past Ah Faye character whom was buying the Garfield plushie... I believe there was a scene where the policemen interacted too or did my memories betray me 🤔

[@da96103]

I remembered the policeman played by Takeshi touched Faye in one scene.

[@PorcelainxMe]

@@da96103 yes his famous line, the distance between us was 0.3cm or something when he brushed past her...

[@MbisonBalrog]

I think this same stuff used in Slumdog Millionaire

[@JackTse]

i enjoyed this, thanks

[@manjunatha5a]

You've got a new sub!

[@MOTYV_VIDEO]

Awesome VIDEO! How to make that stylish titles ?? Paint by youurself or buy somwhere? Thanx!

[@seloschki663]

such a good video!!!!!! thanks

[@justinaverillprasetya6193]

i just realized that shang chi's father was a cop

[@yxungvice]

gracias

[@nicosalmon3197]

Thank you :)))

[@mansichaudhary5206]

Can someone list more effects that are being used by cinematographers like this ?

[@cr3ations]

Nice video but are you sure you explained the undercranking effect correctly? How do you know they didn't shoot 24fps at a shutter speed of, let's say, 1/6?

[@lonerider68]

shutter speed of 1/6s limits frame rate of 6 fps (each of six frames taking 1/6 of a second). Shooting 24 frames at 1/6 shutter would take 4 seconds. The real issue is the Alex Boucher is describing the whole process backwards. The fundamental issue is that the scenes are extremely dark (normal productions have a lot of "studio lighting" but because Chungking Express was shot without permits, they didn't have any of that). So in order to get something that wasn't super dark... they *had* to use very long exposure times... like 1/6th of second. Once you do that... you are forced to undercrank and step print. What is interesting is how the two cinematographer adapted and worked around those limitations. The first went with the actors moving fast leading to a a frenetic blurry style. The second has the actors more really slow (creating a timelapse type effect) and that lead to a very moody, contemplative style.

[@lorenajezini1114]

great videooo

[@paulndorosh]

check shutter angle

[@mattblah7737]

I'm guessing this effect can only be achieved with film

[@belackjeffrey]

no digital cameras can do it, see my other comment

[@nadezleda]

Record 12 fps then duplicate de frames and the actor needs to move really slowly

[@adriangarridoserrano2947]

is it possible to achive the blurry movement in step printing if I cant lower my camera frames to 6 or 12 fps???. the minimun in my camera is 23.98.

[@lpjunction]

May be it is time to look around for a model of cell phone that films as low as 6 fps.

[@belackjeffrey]

the effect is tied to shutter speed not fps, see my other comment

[@belackjeffrey]

take a digital camera and try it yourself. you absolutely can record lower shutter speeds than your framerate, have done it many times on the sony a7iii. many other cameras can do the same thing to name just a few the panasonic gh series and fuji xt4 can both record footage at any shutter speed with no lower fps available other than 24.@@DeadManWalking-ym1oo

[@MbisonBalrog]

But why does messing with film speed make scenes feel way they do?

[@BAPTIZZED]

This.movie is vibes before vibes

[@masudashizue777]

I love this film but there is a point when you've played California Dreamin' one too many times.

[@unknownunknown5244]

Then how is the MC clear and the background blurred? Is it because of focus of the lens to the subject but the same fps and shutterspeed is applied in the fore and background?

[@belackjeffrey]

see my other comment

[@genuflext]

ok but what about Fallen Angels

[@ovariantrolley2327]

Chungkiiiiiiiiing.

[@janssenproductionsstopmoti9613]

Hey dude I have a question, how would I go about making the fast, slowed down blurred camera technique that is used in the first half of the movie in stop motion? Is it even possible?

[@belackjeffrey]

see my other comment

[@janssenproductionsstopmoti9613]

Where?

[@notmyrealpseudonym6702]

Not in stop motion as all the set is "stopped" and thus not blurred. Unless you chose a slow shutter speed, keep the main focus piece still, and shifted the background during the shutter being open so it "blurred".

[@ecemonel405]

genius

[@sujaykhona7227]

I think your explanation of the relationship between shutter speed and frame rate is incorrect. Shutter Speed is how long the sensor or the film is exposed to light, and framerate is how fast the frames are played. At 24fps, you can film with a shutter speed of 1/48, or 1/24, or 1/96, or any other fraction less than 1/24. You could also film at 1/6 and play it back at 24fps for a time lapse effect. At 6fps, you could also film with a shutter speed of 1/12 or even 1/6, or any other fraction. Shutter speed and frame rate are quite independent.

[@BakirTorkman]

Do you edit in premiere? Also Great video!

[@AlexBoucher]

Thanks! I edit in Final Cut

[@BakirTorkman]

@@AlexBoucher how did you do the chalk writing affect, it definitely makes the video pop

[@AlexBoucher]

It's tough to explain in a yt comment but here's the video I learned it from: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g5mafmVplsqqqM0

[@ChinsomanFilms1]

I think your explanation of framerate and shutter speed for undercranking is incorrect

[@koira1]

Low fps cameras

[@SHK.11]

Idk how i will say this but i thought that the two male characters are the same person😅

[@lumri2002]

Video Relativity

[@deebsmigs]

Great Video Essay! But it still didn’t cure my absolute distaste for this gimmick shot. That’s no fault of the filmmakers though. In film school, there was another student who thought Wong Kar wai was the best director ever. He never shut up about it. This kid also believed he was better than everyone. And if your opinion differed, then he looked down on you. You liked another director? Too bad, not as good as WKW. His student film was basically a ripoff of Wong Kar Wai. It looked so amateurish. Sorry. So whenever I see the slo mo scenes, I laugh.

[@ted__ryan]

Why not just keep it a mystery. 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@femboymadara]

ur rlly good at explaining things :))

[@Rukio002]

Last Soundtrack titles you use in your videos please...!