Wong Kar-wai: Distance and Time

18mm-equivalent frame from outside the doorway, low camera at waist height. A fixed foreground obstruction — the dark wooden door panel and its frame — occupies the left third and hides the woman's left shoulder and the left half of her face. She is pushed to the right edge of frame, seen in three-quarter profile from behind, the top of her head cropped by the frame edge. One hand presses flat on the door panel. Only light: the courtyard window inside, hard and low from the right, dust visible in the beam; the rest of the room falls into cold shadow. The woman is about forty; her face, hair and clothing are exactly as in reference image C01 — do not restyle her. The room is exactly as in reference image L01: an old house shut for years, dust in the air, a bare wooden table, one window onto the courtyard. No text, no watermark, no frontal full-face portrait, no symmetric centered framing, no even fill light, no plastic bucket, no modern lamp, no visible second person.

Small handheld reframing, not shake; total camera travel under 30 cm. The door panel stays fixed in the left third of frame. She starts with her hand pressed on the door, then the door swings inward a hand's width and she steps half her body through and stops. End with her standing still just inside, right edge of frame, still in profile, left shoulder and half her face still hidden by the door frame. Normal speed throughout, no slow motion. Maintain: C01 identity and clothing, L01 room, window light hard and low from the right. Avoid: her turning to face camera, a second person entering, the door slamming, any plastic bucket or modern lamp.

25mm-equivalent frame from the inside corner of the room, camera fixed. A fixed foreground obstruction — the open door panel — occupies the right third and hides the woman's right arm and right hip. She is pushed to the left edge, standing with her back to camera, head slightly turned toward the table, the top of her head cropped. Deep in frame on the bare wooden table stands a single cup of tea with a thin column of steam. The cup of tea on the table is exactly as in reference image P01. Only light: the courtyard window, hard and low from the right, dust and steam visible in the beam; the rest of the room falls into cold shadow. The woman is about forty; her face, hair and clothing are exactly as in reference image C01 — do not restyle her. The room is exactly as in reference image L01: an old house shut for years, dust in the air, a bare wooden table, one window onto the courtyard. No text, no watermark, no frontal full-face portrait, no symmetric centered framing, no even fill light, no extra chairs added, no visible second person.

Camera locked off, no push, no pan. The door panel stays fixed in the right third of frame. She starts with her back to camera, then turns her head a few degrees toward the table and stops; the steam above the cup keeps rising straight. End with her head held toward the table, still seen from behind, right arm still hidden by the door panel. Normal speed throughout, no slow motion. Maintain: C01 identity and clothing, L01 room, P01 cup of tea unchanged in position, window light hard and low from the right. Avoid: her face turning to camera, the cup moving, steam disappearing, any second person appearing in the doorway.

85mm-equivalent macro frame at table height, camera fixed; no person in frame. A fixed foreground obstruction — the horizontal rail of a chair back — crosses the lower third and hides the base of the cup. The cup is pushed to the right edge of frame, a straight column of steam rising and cropped by the top edge; one tea leaf floats at the surface. The cup of tea on the table is exactly as in reference image P01. Only light: the courtyard window, hard and low from the right, the steam lit from behind so it reads white against cold shadow; dust visible in the beam. The room is exactly as in reference image L01: an old house shut for years, dust in the air, a bare wooden table, one window onto the courtyard. No text, no watermark, no symmetric centered framing, no even fill light, no hand entering frame, no modern mug, no printed logo on the cup.

Camera locked off, no push, no pan, no rack focus. The chair rail stays fixed across the lower third of frame. The steam starts rising as one straight column, then the single tea leaf at the surface turns half a circle. End with the steam still rising straight and the leaf stopped at its new angle; the base of the cup still hidden by the chair rail. Normal speed throughout, no slow motion. Maintain: P01 cup exactly as given, L01 room, window light hard and low from the right. Avoid: any hand or person entering frame, the cup sliding, the steam blowing sideways or vanishing, the liquid level changing.

85mm-equivalent frame at table height, camera fixed, shot through furniture. A fixed foreground obstruction — a vertical chair-back spindle — occupies the right third and hides the woman's wrist and forearm, so only her hand reads clearly. Her hand is pushed to the left of frame, fingers extended toward the cup; the cup sits at the right edge, steam cropped by the top edge. The gap between fingertip and cup wall is about two fingers wide. The cup of tea on the table is exactly as in reference image P01. Only light: the courtyard window, hard and low from the right, rimming her knuckles; dust and steam visible in the beam, the rest of the room in cold shadow. The woman is about forty; her face, hair and clothing are exactly as in reference image C01 — do not restyle her. The room is exactly as in reference image L01: an old house shut for years, dust in the air, a bare wooden table, one window onto the courtyard. No text, no watermark, no frontal full-face portrait, no symmetric centered framing, no even fill light, no face in frame, no second hand.

Camera locked off; micro reframing only, under 10 cm. The chair spindle stays fixed in the right third of frame. Her hand starts hanging at the edge of the table, then the fingertips reach toward the cup and stop about two fingers' width from its wall. End with the fingers curling back slightly without ever touching the cup; wrist and forearm still hidden by the spindle. Normal speed throughout, no slow motion. Maintain: C01 identity and clothing, L01 room, P01 cup unmoved, window light hard and low from the right. Avoid: the hand touching or lifting the cup, the cup sliding, her face entering frame, a second hand appearing.

25mm-equivalent frame close to the subject, camera fixed. A fixed foreground obstruction — a hanging cloth door curtain — occupies the left third and hides her mouth and eyes, leaving only her jawline, chin and the side of her neck readable. She is pushed to the left edge, in profile, the top of her head cropped by the frame edge. Deep in frame behind her, out of focus, the cup on the table with a thinner column of steam. The cup of tea on the table is exactly as in reference image P01. Only light: the courtyard window, hard and low from the right, skimming her jawline and neck; dust visible in the beam, the rest in cold shadow. The woman is about forty; her face, hair and clothing are exactly as in reference image C01 — do not restyle her. The room is exactly as in reference image L01: an old house shut for years, dust in the air, a bare wooden table, one window onto the courtyard. No text, no watermark, no frontal full-face portrait, no symmetric centered framing, no even fill light, no eyes visible, no second person.

Camera locked off; micro reframing only, under 10 cm. The door curtain stays fixed in the left third of frame and keeps her mouth and eyes hidden. She starts with her jawline lifted a few degrees, then her head tips down as her gaze travels toward the floor, and the muscle on the side of her neck tightens once. End with her chin lowered and held, eyes still hidden behind the curtain. Normal speed throughout, no slow motion. Maintain: C01 identity and clothing, L01 room, P01 cup unmoved and out of focus behind her, window light hard and low from the right. Avoid: her turning toward camera, her eyes becoming visible, the curtain being pulled aside, a second person behind her.

18mm-equivalent frame from the corner of the room, camera on the floor, looking along the floor; no face in frame. A fixed foreground obstruction — a table leg — occupies the left third and hides the first segment of the trail. On the floor, a wet trail broken into exactly seven short separate segments runs from the table edge toward the base of the window, each segment catching the hard window light; the farthest segment lies at the foot of the window. The toe of her shoe enters at the very top edge of frame, cropped. Only light: the courtyard window, hard and low from the right, so the wet segments read as bright slivers against dry dusty floor; the rest in cold shadow. The room is exactly as in reference image L01: an old house shut for years, dust in the air, a bare wooden table, one window onto the courtyard. No text, no watermark, no symmetric centered framing, no even fill light, no footprints, no puddle, no plastic bucket, no visible second person.

Camera locked off on the floor, no push, no pan, no tilt up. The table leg stays fixed in the left third of frame. The seven wet segments start still, each holding a bright highlight; one highlight shifts slightly as a drop settles, and the dust in the light beam drifts. End with all seven segments still present and countable, the farthest still at the foot of the window; the first segment still hidden behind the table leg. Normal speed throughout, no slow motion. Maintain: L01 room, window light hard and low from the right, exactly seven separate wet segments — do not add, merge or dry any of them. Avoid: the camera tilting up to a face, anyone walking through frame, the trail becoming one continuous line or a puddle.

85mm-equivalent frame looking down past the table, camera fixed. A fixed foreground obstruction — the edge of the wooden table top — crosses the upper third and hides the crown of her head and her eyes; only her hand, forearm and a sliver of her shoulder read. Her hand is pushed to the right of frame, hovering above the floor; below it the wet trail broken into short separate segments runs away to the left toward the window. Only light: the courtyard window, hard and low from the right, rimming her fingers and the wet segments; dust visible in the beam, the rest in cold shadow. The woman is about forty; her face, hair and clothing are exactly as in reference image C01 — do not restyle her. The room is exactly as in reference image L01: an old house shut for years, dust in the air, a bare wooden table, one window onto the courtyard. No text, no watermark, no frontal full-face portrait, no symmetric centered framing, no even fill light, no eyes visible, no puddle, no footprints.

Camera locked off; micro reframing only, under 10 cm. The table edge stays fixed across the upper third and keeps her eyes hidden. Her hand starts hovering a palm's height above the floor, then one fingertip lowers and presses into the third wet segment. End with the fingertip lifted again, a small wet shine left on it, the hand held just above the floor; her eyes still hidden by the table edge. Normal speed throughout, no slow motion. Maintain: C01 identity and clothing, L01 room, the wet segments separate and unchanged in number, window light hard and low from the right. Avoid: her face entering frame, the hand wiping or smearing the trail into a line, a second hand, anyone else in frame.

18mm-equivalent frame from the corner of the room, camera on the floor at shoe height. A fixed foreground obstruction — a chair leg — occupies the right third and hides her lower leg and ankle as she passes. Only her shoes and the hem of her clothing are in frame, pushed to the right edge; her body is cropped away above the knee. The wet trail broken into short separate segments leads away from camera toward the base of the window. Only light: the courtyard window, hard and low from the right, throwing a long hard shadow of her leg across the dusty floor; the rest in cold shadow. The woman is about forty; her face, hair and clothing are exactly as in reference image C01 — do not restyle her. The room is exactly as in reference image L01: an old house shut for years, dust in the air, a bare wooden table, one window onto the courtyard. No text, no watermark, no frontal full-face portrait, no symmetric centered framing, no even fill light, no face or torso in frame, no second pair of feet.

Camera locked off on the floor, no push, no pan; the subject moves through frame instead. The chair leg stays fixed in the right third of frame. Her shoes start at the table edge, then she walks along the wet trail toward the window — eight footfalls in total, and between the third and fourth she pulls one half-step back before continuing. End with both shoes stopped at the foot of the window, heels together, her lower leg still passing behind the chair leg. Normal speed throughout, no slow motion. Maintain: C01 clothing, L01 room, the wet segments still visible on the floor, window light hard and low from the right. Avoid: the camera tilting up to her face, her shoes stepping on and smearing the wet segments into a line, a second pair of feet, more than eight footfalls.

25mm-equivalent frame at the window, camera close to the subject. A fixed foreground obstruction — a thin hanging window curtain — occupies the left third and hides the left side of her face and her left shoulder. She is pushed to the left of frame, seen from behind in three-quarter back view, the top of her head cropped by the frame edge; her hand is raised only halfway toward the glass. Beyond the glass the courtyard is a flat pale emptiness, overexposed. Only light: the courtyard window, hard and low from the right, so she reads as a dark silhouette with a hard rim on her shoulder and knuckles; dust visible in the beam. The woman is about forty; her face, hair and clothing are exactly as in reference image C01 — do not restyle her. The room is exactly as in reference image L01: an old house shut for years, dust in the air, a bare wooden table, one window onto the courtyard. No text, no watermark, no frontal full-face portrait, no symmetric centered framing, no even fill light, no person in the courtyard, no reflection of another figure in the glass.

Small handheld reframing, not shake; total camera travel under 30 cm. The window curtain stays fixed in the left third of frame. She starts standing still with her back to the window-light, then her hand rises to half the height of the glass and she withdraws it back against her side — this withdrawing second is step-printed: long-shutter trails on the hand plus repeated-frame stutter, while the curtain and the dust behind her stay at normal speed. End with the hand flat against her side, her body still, left side of her face still hidden by the curtain. Maintain: C01 identity and clothing, L01 room, window light hard and low from the right, empty courtyard beyond the glass. Avoid: smooth slow motion of the whole frame, her hand reaching the glass, her turning to face camera, any figure appearing in the courtyard or reflected in the glass.

18mm-equivalent frame from just behind her shoulder, camera fixed. Two fixed foreground obstructions: the out-of-focus back of her neck and shoulder fill the lower left corner and hide the bottom-left corner of the window, and the window's cross-bar muntin and the thin hanging curtain cut the frame into panes. Through the glass: an empty courtyard — a bare wall, a patch of dusty ground, nothing else and nobody. Only light: the courtyard daylight, hard and low from the right, blowing out the pale ground; the interior falls into cold shadow. The woman is about forty; her face, hair and clothing are exactly as in reference image C01 — do not restyle her. The room is exactly as in reference image L01: an old house shut for years, dust in the air, a bare wooden table, one window onto the courtyard. No text, no watermark, no frontal full-face portrait, no symmetric centered framing, no even fill light, no person in the courtyard, no animal, no silhouette or reflection of another figure in the glass.

Camera locked off, no push, no pan, no rack focus. Her out-of-focus neck and shoulder stay fixed in the lower left corner; the window muntin and curtain stay fixed across the frame. The courtyard starts empty and stays empty: a little dust lifts off the ground and the curtain edge moves once in the draught. End on the empty courtyard with nothing having entered frame and her shoulder unmoved. Normal speed throughout, no slow motion. Maintain: C01 identity and clothing, L01 room, window light hard and low from the right, the courtyard completely empty. Avoid: any person, animal or shadow entering the courtyard, her turning around, a reflected figure in the glass, a final camera push.