Cinematographer Leung Ming-Kai, or Kai to his friends, is someone working at the top of his game. His images are soulful, and his process of getting them from the script to his brain and then onto the screen is a thing to study.
Kai has been shooting all over the world. His latest project, All Shall Be Well, is a heartfelt drama with deep, emotional shots that help contribute to the film’s tone and staying power.
We got the chance to sit down with Kai and talk about his process and the film.
Let’s dive in.
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1. Hey Kai! All Shall Be Well marks your second collaboration with director Ray Yeung. How has your collaboration evolved since Suk Suk?
Aesthetically, there are similarities between the two films: each employs realism with restraint, yet is deeply emotional. I think this sensibility is inherent in Ray’s storytelling, so the second time around, a lot of decisions between us were able to go without saying. Our usual process of exchanging visual references and storyboarding or shot-listing was the same, but I think we were more confident, and our planning was more about the broad strokes.
Also, this time, Ray is tackling broader social issues. Not only is All Shall Be Well about sexual minorities, it also deals with traditional family values, the clash of social classes, and the housing crisis. The film also involves many more characters. So he and I talked more about these characters and locations. We wanted to show their differences, but we were also confident in our ability to keep a consistent aesthetic, because we know each other well.
2. How does your background at Columbia University with Ray impact your creative process?
We put emphasis on narrative, context, and subtext, and how they can inform the visual aspects of a movie. Each shot has to be for a story or character purpose, instead of just being pretty. This is kind of in Columbia’s DNA. The way we read a script, and tactics like breaking scripts down into emotional beats, all come from our Columbia education.
3. All Shall Be Well, like many of your films, is uniquely attuned to notions of class and social rank. How did this emphasis shape your approach to the cinematography in All Shall Be Well?
In the script, Ray already skillfully put in locations that give opportunities for the audience to feel the difference in social ranks. The upper-middle-class apartment of Angie and Pat, the public-housing apartment of the brother’s family, the super-cramped apartment of the daughter, the subdivided flat, the flower shop, the garage, etc. Our amazing production designer Albert Poon, whom we worked with before on Twilight’s Kiss, also dressed each space nicely with the different social classes in mind, without being obvious.
When we were shooting, one important element was of course the light source in each location. For Angie and Pat’s apartment, we chose an apartment with big windows, and we also augmented the source, so that the audience would feel like natural light fills their home. And at night, we used a big, soft, warm light, to feel comfort and family warmth. The colors of the lights are also more uniform.
For public housing, we used harsh, cold, overhead lights. Even when there is warmth, that light is harder and stuck in the corner. Natural light barely penetrates into the apartment. And the color temperatures of the lights are more mixed. Not only do these choices give the feeling of different classes in the film, they are also realistic representations of some of the radically different living situations in Hong Kong.
We didn’t do a lot of wide establishing shots, even for exteriors. We focused on the smaller details that give life texture in order to feel the spaces and the class differences. The fancier water boiler and the big bedroom vanity in one home, the cramped desk filled with models in another; we kept keen eyes on those.
4. As someone who grew up in Hong Kong, many locations in Ray’s films must be familiar to you from childhood. How does this personal connection influence your visual storytelling?
It’s an advantage when I know the vibes of various locations and what they represent, and what makes them special compared to other places. That helps me to make sure those life details come across on screen. Sometimes, it can be something small: the taller-than-usual trees, the odd mix of street vendors, etc. Revisiting familiar locations with a scene or story in mind also encourages me to think more deeply about the lives of the people there.
Being familiar with those places also helps avoid them becoming overly exoticized. Ray’s films are deeply rooted in real life as opposed to escapist adventures, so I hope my familiarity, especially with the more working-class neighborhoods, is helpful.
5. You have quite a global set of credits, including films from Georgia and Thailand. How have these global experiences shaped your approach to filmmaking, and what impact did they have on your textured work in All Shall Be Well?
The Georgian short was actually shot in Brooklyn! But its director Dea Kulumbegashvili is from Georgia, and it was a Georgian story. And I’ve worked in Thailand a lot, especially shooting for director Anocha Suwichakornpong. I’ve also shot in the Philippines, India, Malaysia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Being at Columbia and in New York at the start of my career allowed me to collaborate with directors from different cultures. Their film aesthetics and sensibilities were so varied, it was like working across different film worlds, and that is so exciting for a cinematographer. Their sense of timing, use of space, preferred perspectives, mood of story, and emotional distance from their characters were influenced by their cultures and artistic heritage. I had to adapt and learn, and that is very fun for me. I have been really lucky to have chances to work with all of these talented directors from diverse backgrounds.
6. What does the phrase “poetry in everyday life” mean to you, and how did you aim to capture this in All Shall Be Well?
“Poetry in everyday life” was something director Ray Yeung said to me when we started shooting Twilight’s Kiss. That film is a romantic story between two men in the twilight of their lives. We wanted to depict the kind of ordinary people who are living all around us, and to lead audiences into their shared love and loss. We paid special attention to their houses; the lighting had to be realistic, and with just enough manipulation to let their emotions come across. The camera only moved at a handful of special moments in the story.
I think this also applied somewhat to All Shall Be Well, since we also wanted this movie to feel like we are in the real world of Hong Kong. But we were dealing with a wider range of emotions – happiness, grief, anger, peace. So we had to use a wider range of tools. We employed more different types of camera movement and lighting. We even use different sets of prime lenses for different parts of the story: the happy family life (CP3), the solo grief (Mamiya 645 with focal reducer), and the sweet flashbacks (Leica M). But all of these tools have to be used with care so as not to take us out of the reality of the film. We used them to try and do justice to the very well written and well-acted characters.
7. The film won the Teddy Award for the Best LGBTQ+ Film at the Berlin International Film Festival. Congratulations! What does recognition like that mean for you as a cinematographer?
It was amazing news, of course, being an award from a very prestigious and competitive film festival. Especially because the last time a Hong Kong movie won the Teddy Award was more than 20 years ago, for legendary director Stanley Kwan’s Hold You Tight.
Diversity, acceptance, and equality are things we should all strive for. I just feel very fortunate to participate in Ray’s films, and in the works of any skilled, socially engaged artists, so I can hopefully have a tiny little part in moving society forward.
8. What were some key challenges you faced while shooting All Shall Be Well?
All the locations in the film are real locations, and this time, the main apartment is an important character. So much happens in that space. And we had to make it feel different at different points in the story. The production took a long time to find an appropriate apartment, and in the end, I think they did an amazing job. Then, production designer Albert Poon helped us to divide up and dress the space.
Being a real location comes with its merits and its difficulties. We couldn’t put many lights outside, the outside view was not ideal, and the ceiling wasn’t very high. But the heads of my lighting team, Chi Wan-lung and Luk King-hei, are very clever, and they are also accustomed to tiny, cramped Hong Kong homes. Ultimately, we used some of the limitations in our favor. We could arm lights out from one room to another. There was an enclosed railway outside the main window that was very close, and it may not have been the most pleasing element during the day, but we used it as a beautiful background of moving lights for night shots. And we exposed the ceiling in a shot close to the end of the film to give a feeling of entrapment after a supposed victory.
Our budget and shooting days were limited. For an important scene late in the film in the mountains, the weather was totally different than expected, and we couldn’t afford a contingency day. But because we knew the core of the story well, we could improvise by changing the location slightly and changing the shots. We ended up with something quite beautiful.
9. After working on All Shall Be Well, what are you looking forward to in your future projects? Are there any new themes or styles you wish to explore?
RIght now, I’m enjoying shooting a very special film in Malaysia. And soon, I’ll shoot a Hong Kong romantic comedy about food.
In the future, I’m simply excited to work with the broadest possible range of creative people all around the world whose visions I can’t even imagine yet. It would be great to make something back in my other home, the U.S. I especially love Sean Baker’s films, and hope I can shoot for him one day. But the more unexpected my next collaboration, the better!
Instagram: @kaileelomo
Twitter: @hongkongkai
Author: Jason Hellerman
This article comes from No Film School and can be read on the original site.
