Introduction:
The virus has affected everyone’s life so much that travelling is no longer something that can be done easily like it was before the virus. In midst of Hong Kong being a fast-paced city with social-distancing rules under virus, public rooftops have been a popular spot for people to enjoy their time. These public rooftops located at the top of different shopping malls have been more and more common in recent years, showing how ‘rooftops’ are no longer a must to be private.
Method of Research:
-personal visiting, news, past experiences
Speaking of public rooftops, I visited several on the days I prepared for the video, such as the one of TOP in Mongkok and K11 Musea in Tsim Sha Tsui as shooted in the video. I attempted to visit the one of The One, a mall in Tsim Sha Tsui as well. Yet, it was no longer open for public . Through news, I also understand these rooftops creates confusing boundaries between public and private space in Hong Kong.
Speaking of the fact that most rooftops were private properties, different news can be found, reporting that people attempted to visit rooftops, which was illegal. Those were the time when public rooftops were not common like now and people tried to visit rooftops of residential buildings for photo-taking purpose. As an amateur photographer myself, I tried to enter rooftops of shopping malls several years ago but was told not allowed as well.
Reflection:
This research inspired me that there are indeed a lot of local spots to be discovered in Hong Kong. To cope with the virus, it is interesting to see how people look for different places to visit and enjoy their time with friend while they can no longer dine in restaurant after 10pm with the social-distancing rules.
Video Production:
No special shooting skills or techniques is used in order to show the real situations in the city efficiently. However, the sky is used as a medium when the location is switched from Mongkok to Tsim Sha Tsui so that audiences will not deem it weird to have the location changed in a sudden. I am the narration of the video by inserting recorded audio clips to allow audiences understand what the video is about. To provide a better visual experience, I decided not to add on large amount of subtitles so that audiences can focus on the view of public rooftops. iMovie is the app I used to edit this video.
Li Cheuk Yu Anna 3035829118
References
Varsity – Magazine of the School of Journalism and Communication, Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)(2015) URL: http://varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk/index.php/2015/04/privately-owned-public-space/(accessed 12 May 2021)
Mingpao (2018) URL: https://news.mingpao.com/ins/港聞/article/20181001/s00001/1538400789210/【短片-多圖-十一黃金周】深水埗唐樓天台成打卡熱點-內地客爬越欄杆取景險象環生 (accessed 13 May 2021)
Apple Daily HK (2018) URL: https://hk.appledaily.com/local/20181001/VT6CUU677PG22HG7IGTJGXI4PQ/(accessed 13 May 2021)
I liked the content and agree with the thesis of rooftops no longer have the need to be private. I also remember the time when youngsters loved going to rooftops to take pictures for social media, I always found the views amazing and beautiful. Therefore, with the modern constructions and stunning scenery as seen in the video essay, the rooftop being a quick getaway spot during the pandemic is very reasonable. Other than this, I also liked the organization and text of the video essay, it is very well organized and the narration can present the ideas and information clearly. I really enjoyed the video essay.
Speaking of rooftops in Hong Kong, most likely the rooftops of Tong Lau or other old residential buildings might come to one’s mine. However, I think such aesthetic has become too prevalent and cliché. Many artwork such as films and photographs have thematized those locations. Hence, it is impressive that you have chosen several public rooftops located at shopping malls. It is interesting and provocative to see how rooftops are changed from an outdoor, yet private place to a completely public place. Does it mean a commercial approach is able to convert most of the private places into public?
I really enjoyed watching your video, especially the camera work, how you moved the camera. I think it was very nice to see the transitions of the scene from high to low view (where you show the road from the rooftop), and viewing the people on the rooftop by rotating the camera and from low to high view (where you show the sky from the rooftop). Also, I liked that you connected the two different places by viewing the sky, then transitioning to the different places. The transition from one place to another was very natural, that it wasn’t very bothering for the audience watching the video and at the same time acquiring the message from the narration.
It is a good thing that you visited several rooftops for your video essay. It would be even more rigorous if you document more rooftops and analyse how they have been utilised/appropriated. What types of spatial interventions have been applied to the rooftop? Who have been accessing the rooftops? Secondly, reflecting upon the concepts that we have been discussing the whole semester, which concept would you think is suitable to base your argument on? You mentioned that you took the news as one of the research materials. I would encourage you to include more news in your reference.
You wrote a fair reflection upon your processes. However, you might want to take a closer look at articles, journals, papers, or books. You could also analyse precedents if you like. These kinds of material would help you tremendously in building both your narrative and argument. Therefore, they would enhance your writing quality.