ABSTRACT
This chapter contributes what might be seen as a discussion tangential to the main theme of film and globalisation in Hong Kong. It discusses cinema in the context of place branding, and investigates the ways in which film and, especially, the chromatic and topographical features of film art contribute to city identity. Although branding may seem a long way from the creative intricacies of cinema, we argue here that an analysis of a city brand can sometimes illuminate the character of urban film. Branding is, as the statements above suggest, about intelligent mechanisms for constructing and maintaining control and profile in a particular market. Film is (partly) about telling compelling stories in evocative locations, and is also about speaking to a particular cultural market sector. Branding is limited by its generic requirements; to provide clear protocols of image and text for engaging the world of tourism, investment and urban development. Film also has a limited narrational span. Film-makers therefore use complex aesthetic and narrative strategies to elaborate both time and space in order to suggest place and duration. These strategies converge with those deployed by branding experts, especially in city contexts. It is these points of similarity that we suggest here.
