A Taiwanese cook in his late 50s, close-cropped grey hair, deep smile lines, calm focused expression, stocky build, in a plain white cotton apron over a navy short-sleeve shirt with the sleeves rolled to the elbow, both hands gripping a bamboo steamer lid. Steady, calm energy. Real-time movement only. Opens on: he lifts the lid straight up off a stacked bamboo steamer. Ends on: a column of steam rolls up past his forearms and the dumplings come into view, skins glossy and pleated. A cramped stainless-steel prep counter at dawn, condensation running down the tiled wall behind him, a kettle ticking on a burner off to one side, unbranded, no readable text. Medium close-up, single movement: locked-off static, slightly high angle, 50mm spherical lens at 24fps, shallow depth of field at f/2. Practical light from a single caged bulb overhead, warm tungsten against cool morning ambient, natural skin texture with visible pores, subtle 35mm film grain. Negative: blurry, distorted faces, extra fingers, warped text, oversaturated, watermark, no digital sharpness, no CGI gloss, no plastic skin, no over-smoothed textures
