Theme and Subject Matter
Because of the COVID-19, the government has distributed many quarantine policies in the past year, and movements of people are strictly controlled. In this case, the rooftop became an uncontrolled place where people could take off their masks and breathe fresh air when there is no other person. Unfortunately, however, in order to ensure people’s safety, the rooftops of many residential buildings are inaccessible.
When I shot the video, I was on the rooftop of the Shanghai International Financial Center, one of the tallest buildings in Shanghai. I looked down on the rooftops of other buildings from over 400 meters height and found that most of the buildings had no available space for people on the rooftop. The rooftop of the Shanghai International Financial Center, where I was, was also a closed space. Most of the buildings in this city are designed to be enclosed structures which made me feel controlled by this city. Due to this common architectural design, during the period when COVID-19 broke out, most people were confined to their homes and could not escape the control.
Method of Research
In my research on rooftops, I chose to go to one of the highest places in Shanghai. I was on its rooftop when I shot those rooftops. And I saw most of the rooftops in the city. I found that in the whole city, there were almost no buildings having rooftops that provided space for people to move. This reminds me that when the epidemic was severe, most people in the city could only breathe fresh air on the balcony, and the open space on the rooftop was avoidable for a small number of people. After that, I went to a public rooftop, which was very sparsely populated, and I roamed freely, feeling free from the control of the city and the specter of the epidemic.
Video Production
At the beginning of the video, I used the exterior scene of Shanghai International Financial Center to illustrate where I was going, and then I added the process of going upstairs to make the changes of the video more reasonable. Later, I shot the scene I saw from the rooftop of this buildings. It can be seen that almost all the houses have no room for rooftop space in the design, but I still found a few accessible private rooftops and gave them a close-up shot at the end of this part. The next part is a public roof, which I used the scene of me wandering around here to show my comfort.
Reflection
In the first part of my video, I chose to observe from a high position and actually noticed something I hadn’t noticed before. When the COVID-19 was severe, people stayed indoors, unable to get fresh air and did outdoor exercises. Most of the people around me were immersed in the Internet, controlled by the epidemic and the city. I wanted to use this video to show the importance of rooftop during the COVID-19.
Bibliography
https://www.gooood.cn/shanghai-greenland-center-china-by-nikken-sekkei-ltd.htm
Music: Taste of Chocolate
Zhang Linzhuo 3035777511
Very creative! Under the government’s strict control over the COVID-19, the rooftop, a free space which allows people to breathe fresh air and have private conversations with friends, is now closed. I love how you organize your video essay. The flow of your video essay is smooth and clear. You start with how the government controls the usage of rooftops to show the ‘control’, then gradually move onto introduce the importance of rooftops. After that, you create a contrast between the rooftop and quarantine, which lifts your topic to a higher level and also leads to the conclusion of your video essay – if rooftops are not closed, the control might not be so intense to people. Last but not least, the shots are gorgeous! Love it!
Great video, I love the music it really suits the topic. I also agree with you in many parts, back in the older days I used to hang out with my friends at the rooftop, and the rooftop feels really isolated and free. However, as we grow up the rooftop was locked and not allow any one to go. Since then everything seems more controlled while we were growing up, I do not know if it is true that the times back then is better or just a nostalgia feeling, but this feeling is so real.
I am commenting on the contents btw
Well-identified topic of rooftop as a form of control space. Enjoy your opening sequence! More can be done in terms of defining specific how the various aspects of the rooftop e.g. its orientation access, layout/planning, types of furniture and plants, etc.
The understanding of and the ability to apply and synthesize research, concepts and key issues relating to the topic can be improved. More systematic research on understanding rooftops in the context of Shanghai and the district in which you are researching would be useful in order to better clarify your claims. For example, what are the changes in guidelines for rooftops before and during Covid?
Able to adequately identify the most critical aspects of the theme/place and presents a sufficiently competent analysis of the topic.
Maintains a good control of narration and organization of the content.
Written and verbal articulation are of sufficiently competent standard but editing is needed.