Five scene studies五組場景筆記

In the Mood for Love

Clock Film Timecode: 00:06:51 / 00:20:30 / 00:36:53 / 01:02:15 / 01:16:01 Narrative Context These five views of the office clock punctuate Mrs Chan's working life from the film's opening routines to the period when her friendship with Mr Chow becomes more private. Around them, she answers calls, handles messages and waits for news. Later, shared writing and restrained telephone conversations replace ordinary office business. The final recurrence comes as separation begins to feel unavoidable. Connection to Sheffield I photographed the clock above Platform 1B at Sheffield station because it also makes time visible in public. I normally pass through the station while checking departures and worrying about missing a train, so I rarely look at the clock as an object. During this visit, I stayed long enough to watch people arrive, wait and leave beneath it. The suspended clock remained still while every journey around it changed. That contrast brought me back to Mrs Chan's office, where public schedules sit beside private uncertainty. Sheffield's industrial canopy gives the image a harder, more open setting, but the feeling of waiting is recognisable.

Weathered Walls Film Timecode: 00:38:53 / 00:42:42 Narrative Context By these scenes, Mrs Chan and Mr Chow have understood that their spouses are having an affair. Their conversations move outside, where they can speak with some privacy while still fearing that neighbours may see them. They discuss what their spouses might be doing and begin spending more time together. Soon afterwards, Mr Chow asks Mrs Chan to help him write a martial arts serial. Connection to Sheffield The walls I photographed at Sheffield Hallam University and Portland Works do not reproduce the film's location exactly. I was drawn instead to their worn stone, brick, stains and altered edges. These surfaces show weather and repeated use, just as the wall behind Mrs Chan and Mr Chow seems to have absorbed earlier lives and conversations. When I placed a person beside them, the figure felt temporary while the wall appeared to hold a longer memory of the city. Walking slowly helped me notice marks I would normally pass without thought. Looking at the photographs later, I was struck by how quickly people move on while the city's surfaces continue to record occupation, repair and time.

Stairs Film Timecode: 00:15:41 Narrative Context Early in the film, Mrs Chan leaves the crowded apartment building to buy noodles. The narrow stairway turns this ordinary errand into a repeated passage between domestic rooms and the street. Mr Chow uses the same route, and their brief crossings gradually become familiar. After these routines are established, signs of their spouses' affair begin to surface, changing the meaning of each encounter. Connection to Sheffield I chose the stairs beside Sheffield Interchange because they belong to the journey between the street, buses, trains and my route home. I had passed them many times but never walked the whole way. Taking the stairs would usually add a long detour, so I always chose the quicker path. For this project, I finally followed them from beginning to end. The concrete, metal railings and open sky feel very different from the film's enclosed darkness, yet both stairways shape how a person moves and what they notice. Completing this overlooked route made a familiar part of Sheffield feel briefly unfamiliar. It also made me question how many other routes I had ignored simply because they were slower.

Coffee Film Timecode: 00:29:15 Narrative Context Mrs Chan and Mr Chow meet in a restaurant after both have begun to suspect their spouses. He asks about her handbag, and she asks about his tie. Each item matches one owned by the other's spouse, confirming what neither wanted to say directly. The conversation is controlled and polite, but afterwards they walk together and wonder how the affair began. Connection to Sheffield I photographed this scene at 200 Degrees Coffee, a café I visit often but usually only long enough to buy a drink and leave. My friend does the same. This time I invited her to join the photograph, and we sat down with hot chocolate instead of rushing away. We talked while I watched the small movements around the cup, especially the hand, spoon and brief pauses between sentences. I began thinking about the film's close attention to Mrs Chan stirring her drink. A café is public, but one table can hold a private mood. By staying, I noticed how an ordinary gesture can show hesitation or concentration without turning into a dramatic performance.

Street Lamp Film Timecode: 00:16:10 / 00:25:01 / 01:10:20 Narrative Context The street lamps recur as Mrs Chan and Mr Chow meet, pass each other and begin to understand what has happened between their spouses. Positioned near junctions and quiet stretches of road, they remain fixed while the pair's relationship changes. By the final appearance, their feelings have become harder to deny, yet they are already rehearsing separation and the return to their former lives. Connection to Sheffield I photographed a lamp near Sheffield Cathedral, beside a busy walking route, because it reminded me of the junction in the film where Mr Chow and Mrs Chan repeatedly meet or narrowly miss one another. People pass this Sheffield lamp in different directions throughout the day, but the object itself remains in the same position. That stillness made it feel like a quiet witness to encounters that may be important, accidental or unnoticed. Looking up also changed my sense of the street. The lamp sat between red brick, dark stone and pale sky while the route below continued moving. For me, this fixed object connects the film's near encounters with the everyday crossings that shape city life.