Director, filmmaker, editor: Kong Chun Yin
Photographer: Kong Chun Yin
Actor: Justin Leung
Music
Aphex Twin – QKThr
Justin Leung – casette
Justin Leung – Your Volcanisms
Ryuichi Sakamoto – 20210310
Tim Hecker – Analog Paralysis
Theme and Subject
This is a documentary of Wah Tat Industrial Centre (華達工業中心) in 2023. Wah Tat Industrial Centre is located at the heart of the industrial area in Kwai Chung.
Wander Film Studio was one of the largest and most advanced film studios in Hong Kong in the 1950s-1960s, with its original site located in Kowloon City. The studio relocated to Castle Peak Road after a fire in 1952. Between 1953-1973, during the heyday of Cantonese film production, a total of 1287 films were produced by the film studio located on Castle Peak Road, Tsuen Wan. The studio produced some of its own Cantonese films, such as 十兄弟 (1959) and 大冬瓜 (1958). Following the rapid development of the manufacturing industry and industrialization of Hong Kong in the 1970s, as well as the construction of Kwai Chung Container Terminal, Kwai Chung was rapidly developed into an industrial area. In 1973, the site of the film studio was sold and redeveloped into Wah Tat Industrial Centre, with the name being a nod to the site’s history.
After half a century, with the decline and relocation of the manufacturing industry, few printing, textile, and other light manufacturers remain in Wah Tat Industrial Centre. However, the relatively cheap rent of industrial buildings appeals to many starting small businesses and those in the creative industry. Wah Tat Industrial Centre houses a community of artists, designers, musicians, and photographers. Live music venue Sai Coeng (細場), as well as local brewery Yardley Brothers, are examples of affective spaces of community that emerged from the growing presence of the creative industry in the area.
Methodology
Research
I, along with a few other fellow musicians share a studio space in Wah Tat Industrial Centre. In the couple of months that we moved to Wah Tat, we discovered many other underground musicians and local bands who also have studio spaces in the industrial complex. Networks of artists, photographers, musicians, and small creator businesses could be found throughout Wah Tat.
The historical background of Wah Tat Industrial Centre, particularly its past identity as a film studio was the most fascinating part of the research. Looking into photo archives and documentation of the site gave me a better understanding and visualization of the process which resulted in its current day form. Its transformation over the decades shows its constant cycle of being shaped by and shaping the cultural development in Hong Kong.
To prepare for taking the photographs, I studied the works of great architectural photographers Eugène Atget and Berenice Abbott. Observing their photographs helped me practice and experiment with different techniques to capture and approaching the space and ambiance of my surroundings. Most importantly, it inspired the tone of this series of photos, to portray how light interacts with the Wah Tat Industrial Centre.
Photography
I chose to capture the building using film. It captures the truest representation of the space conveyed to the human eye, and best replicates the experience.
I shot black and white film on a Konica III, a Japanese rangefinder camera from the 1950s. Using a rangefinder camera allowed me to take a step back and put some distance between myself and the building. I could take more time to think and compose each shot, giving me a more intimate connection with the atmosphere, and unveiling a more introspective process.
Black and white film as a medium tends to bring the focus to the composition of light and shapes, rather than color, which I find is fitting for capturing the industrial building, which is mostly composed of inorganic shapes and patterns. It also helped with applying the principle of chiaroscuro to my photos, the high contrasts of shadows giving a sense of dramatism and perfect for capturing the rough concrete towers that make up the surrounding space. The lack of lighting within the industrial building creates a moody lighting effect to convey the eerie presence of the structure. Moreover, it is the preferred format of the architectural photographers from whom I’ve taken inspiration, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Eugène Atget, and Berenice Abbott.
Video Production
The most straightforward way to approach documentation was to navigate through the industrial centre like we do every day. I invited my studio-mate Justin Leung to walk around the complex and noted him to simply focus on what he found interesting. The video follows our typical route around Wah Tat, stopping at various locations to take photo stills.
The intro to the video is a stop motion of the nearby industrial area of Kwai Chung, setting the tone and pacing for the video. Tracking shots were used to follow the subject of my video in navigating the different spaces. Wide and medium shots were used to capture the outline and shapes formed by buildings.
The soundtrack is a selection of ambient work by some of my favorite musicians, with textures that reflect the emotions conveyed to me by the different spaces of the building. I find ambient music to be most fitting for the documentation, as it leaves space for the photography stills to tell the story of the architecture. Justin Leung, whose work I have used throughout the video, also composed the final song as the concluding piece for this documentary.
Reflections
The production of the video essay gave me a greater insight into the industrial area of Hong Kong. Using different visual techniques with film helped me gain a new perspective on approaching the space and atmosphere created by structures. It also made me aware of how architecture is constantly being shaped and shapes our cultural surroundings.
References
The Industrial History of Hong Kong Group (2020, April 14). Wader Film Studio. Industrial History HK. https://industrialhistoryhk.org/wader-film-studio-%E8%8F%AF%E9%81%94%E8%A3%BD%E7%89%87%E5%BB%A0/
華達製片廠. 香港影庫 – Hong Kong Movie Database. https://hkmdb.com/db/companies/view.mhtml?id=366&display_set=big5
(2017, July 30). 華達製片廠. Wader Studio. https://gwulo.com/node/37346#16~22.3643~114.1322~Map_by_GovHK-Markers~100
(1966). DigitalRepository@HKUL. https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1c18js71g#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-1808%2C-163%2C6135%2C1977
博軒 (2020). 半世紀港澳怪現狀: < 一本集香港及澳門，半世紀以來的生活趣味小掌故！>. Systech-Publications.
Leung P.-K. (2000). Urban Cinema and the Cultural identity of Hong Kong. In The Cinema of Hong Kong: History, Arts, Identity (pp. 227-51), edited by Fu, P. S. and Dresser, D. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
O’Neal, H., & Abbott, B. (1982). Berenice Abbott: American Photographer.
Szarkowski, J. (2005). Atget.
Dal Verme, E. (2016). Storytelling for Photojournalists: Reportage and Documentary Photography Techniques.
Featherstone, D. (1991). Observations: Essays on Documentary Photography.
Kong Chun Yin 3036068826
Good work! I enjoyed watching your video and with the suspenseful music, it enriches the ‘secretive’ history of the industrial center you are investigating in. You have also included some of the historical context of your site in your text, that helps audiences to understand more of your intention to document the site.
To further improve your research, I think it will be great if you can showcase the archives (e.g. old newspapers / photographs) you found in the video and your text. Moreover, rather than just showing the current conditions of the industrial building, try to tell a story with your visuals!