Script
I usually walk out of the apartment at 9:15 in the morning. And then I walk up the hills under the apartment to get to the university. Along the road, I could see some people walking along the sidewalk, or crossing the street, possibly heading out to work. This is a scene that I once thought had disappeared due to the pandemic. Now it is such a pleasure to be able to see the situation here getting better and people can get back to their life again.
After studying in the library, I sometimes would go for some snack in the supermarket. As I walk back to the apartment from the store. I see a lot of pedestrians, walking on the sidewalks, talking to each other freely. The stores on both sides of the street are open again. What I am really glad to see is that not only are more people on the sidewalks, but also the interaction between them is gradually increasing. The life of this city which used to disappear from people’s sight now seems to be back. However, the trauma left by the COVID-19 has not fully disappear. People have to scan the QR code whenever they go to a new place. Pedestrians still need to wear a mask whenever they go out. We are still not fully returning back to the life that we used to know before the pandemic. I hope there is one day that the influence of COVID can completely disappear. We can all take off our masks and go wherever we want to go.
Storyboard
description of the theme and subject matter
The main theme of this video is to show the change in the sidewalks of Hong Kong during the pandemic. In the times of the pandemic, the sidewalks of Hong Kong have become emptier than ever. On the one hand, due to the restriction, the opening hours of the shops on both sides of the sidewalks have been reduced a lot. On the other hand, the number of pedestrians on the street has also declined by a large amount. Sidewalks have always been a reflection of the life of a city from my point of view, and this scene of emptiness on the sidewalks tells me that the life of Hong Kong is gradually disappearing. I have never seen Hong Kong like this before. The sidewalks which once were full of walkers have now become cold and lifeless.
As a way of transport, the sidewalks allow the pedestrians to walk to their destination. Besides, as a public space, what sidewalks can also do is letting the people on it to interact with each other. However, during the pandemic, not only has the number of pedestrians on the sidewalks decreases, but also the interaction between people is getting less and less. People are less willing to communicate or have any kind of interaction with other people. A simple cough or a sneeze could cause unnecessary panic among people around you, which is a scene that we could not really imagine before the pandemic. Pedestrians try to reduce the interaction with other people to the least level. And the masks seem to be an obstacle between the people on the sidewalks. We have been wearing masks for so long that I sometimes even ask others why the people in the movies do not wear a mask. I still remember the times when the people are able to greet and communicate with each other freely on the street, but this kind of scenes has also been out of people’s sight for quite some time recently. The things which have disappeared are not only the walkers on the street, but also the connection between the people. This is the assumption that I make in this essay.
method of research, documentation and making of the video
I conduct the research by taking short videos on the sidewalks that I usually walk in my daily routine and make them into a video. Based on the observation on these short clips, I will draw the final conclusion of my research.
objectives and reflections
At the time of writing this essay, the situation in Hong Kong is already much better now than it was a few months ago. As I was doing the research, I found that nowadays, there are more and more people walking on the sidewalks, probably because Hong Kong has been exempting pandemic prevention measures little by little recently, which shows that the influence caused by the COVID-19 is slowly fading. However, it has not fully disappeared. People are still wearing masks and will possibly continue wearing facial masks for a long period of time. The life of this city gradually disappeared because of the pandemic. Now it is slowly returning back to the city that I know. I really hope it will not take long to fully recover from the wounds left by the pandemic.
References:
De Certeau, M. (1984). Spatial Stories. In The Practice of Everyday Life (pp. 115- 130), translated by Steven Randall. Berkeley: University of California Press.
社交措施下周放寬 晚市堂食恢復. 政府新闻网. Retrieved April 14, 2022, from 香港政府新聞網 – 社交措施下周放寬 晚市堂食恢復 (news.gov.hk)
Gou Longxiang 3035637125
The director chooses the street in Hong Kong as his theme, showing the influence of the epidemic on social life. He shows the situation when the epidemic in Hong Kong is better and tells us the new circumstance by comparing, and giving the audience a clear view.
The director takes himself as a person who experiences the whole event. He holds the camera and walks along the street, showing the buildings, and pedestrians and told us the changes. This give me a clear view and made me feel like I was there.
Hope the epidemic could end soon.
You have made some documentation of the sidewalks, but it seems that the research element is not so clear. Your choice of locations is also not very clearly explained. It would be great if your visual materials could synchronise with your text. How do you allow yourself to observe the sidewalk while walking? It seems that your camera is mostly hand-held at a certain height and looking at a certain angle. It would be great if you could design your visual presentation in a more extensive manner.