GHOST IN THE SHELL;
Rupert Sanders 2017;
the Victoria Harbour, Kowloon, Hong Kong
The ghost in the shell is a science fiction story happening in a contemplated future. Humans’ traits, like vision, intelligence and strength, are amplified trough Cybernetic Improvements. An augmentation developer authorizes a secret project to exploit artificial bodies, namely “Shell”, which is able to accommodate a human brain rather than an AI. Our main actress, Mira Killian is chosen to be the test subject since her body is damaged beyond repair during a serious accident. However, her memories have tampered and she is appointed to be a counter-terrorism operative. Coincidentally, she starts to doubt the accuracy of her memories and betrays the developer while she was performing a task.
Inside this scene, an opponent of Killian is being chased by her. The man is checking whether he is out of danger and standing in front of a huge group of skyscrapers. This still was taken from the waterfront promenade nearby the Victoria Harbour in Tsim Sha Tsui (there was some modify and fusion inside the scenes) to see buildings on Hong Kong Island.
Still at 47:9
The tone is quite gloomy even though the colours existing in the scene are abundant. Most buildings are surrounded by virtual images or animations, which is not yet archived in the reality. So that the audience could be informed that the story has happened in the future.
Photo taken from Tism Sha Tsui
Comparing to the real one, mountains were erased to make a clearer background. Interestingly, the weather inside the film is always cloudy and there is no sun in this city. When technology becomes well developed as well as people get more unbreakable, the sky is not blue and clean anymore. I guess this is an irony made by the director to satirize people‘s selfishness.
Another still is taken after Killian just gets the truth. Batou is there with her since she feels very confused and helpless at that time. Thebackground is still taken from the same area.
Still at 1:05:52
However, the picture is less retouched than in the first scene. The reason might be contributed to the brilliant colourful light emitted by numerous neon lights, which could be considered as a unique identity of Hong Kong.
Photo taken from Tsim Sha Tsui to see Central
The landscape is highly restored in the scenes because we could easily recognize the IFC building, the Bank of China Tower, the HSBC building, and HKCEC from the still. However, the background is also fuzzier. The director successfully makes a flagrant contrast, which includes dark colour and sharp background colours as well as clear roles and indistinct backgrounds， between the protagonists and the surroundings in order to emphasize Killian’s confusion and pain of being cheated by the developer.
There are still many excellent shots framed in Hong Kong, such as Lai Tak Tsuen, Montane Mansion and many markets and streets full of the flavour of life. However, I cannot film and analysis every one of them. Hopefully, my report is able to express my understanding of this film.
Qi Jing 3035797004
There are some interesting observations in your comparison between the real and movie regarding the skyline of Hong Kong. With a few identifiable buildings in the skyline of the movie, you noted that other skyscrapers are “collaged” into the scene with accentuated neon lights which is considered one of the unique identities of Hong Kong. Do you think in the process of constructing the movie’s skyline, the director / production designer would like to present a generic metropolitan skyline or a loose (re)construction of (future) Hong Kong?
You can perhaps also look reflecting upon your observation of the mountains being erased in the movie. When developers propose a new building in that section of the skyline, the building addition is required not obstruct the mountain line (where lion rock is part of the chain) because this represents the distinct geography of the city. Therefore, I would argue this erasure is in fact an action to edit out Hong Kong in the movie. It would be great if you can refer to Davis’ Technology and (Chinese) Ethnicity of L7 to discuss further why “Hong Kong forms a perfect background for Ghost in the Shell”.