Theme:

Hong Kong government strives to reconstruct old areas. Tai Hang Sai Estate, is one of them. This place is chosen by me because it is actually a private house estate. It is the only form now in Hong Kong. If it disappears too, there is no such an estate in Hong Kong.

These old areas are going to be disappeared soon due to the urban demand and their aging. However, these are actually places for many people to have memories with. As their daily lives must happen here. Therefore, this video essay is going to discuss how the disappearance of this place affects others by focusing on the elements of the corridor.

In the video, the elements of corridor show the history of those buildings. According to a video, the appearance of Tai Hang Sai Estate is because of a fire in 1952. So Tai Hang Sai Estate has been appeared for almost 70 years. The exposed circuit box, different colored doors, vintage words and numbers printed etc. has also revealed the age of it. People easily omitted the place they are usually by, i.e. corridor. It is usually a long pathway from one place to another. So it is actually a minor space for most of people. Nevertheless, its vanishing may lead to the vanishing of people’s childhood.

Will the disappearance of the place also causes disappearance of memories? This is a question without an  answer. But according to the news, some elders are worried about they cannot handle because they are already too old. At the last of the video, it is mentioned that there is a hope for us to stay positive.

Not only the memories of the residents there, the Tai Hang Say Estates also let people witness the differences of Hong Kong between 1950s and nowadays. Let them to know more about the old architectures of Hong Kong and how the city changes.

Methods/Production:

When I first saw the topic, I immediately thought of Tai Hang Tai Estate. As I have lived near it for 10 years and I know how special it is. But I know personal experience experiences are not enough, so I did some research online and watched some videos. Also, I also take reference from some photographic skills and tried to learn them some.

The photographic skill used is mainly close-up. It can help the audience to focus on the subject without any other disturbances. The setting of the movie is mainly to show the normal atmosphere of the Tai Hang Tai Estate, for example, the movement of residents and the lighting.

Diegetic sound is mainly my narration and the natural sounds. To give a theme and show the real life situation to the viewers. Pending photographic skill is also used. It aims to let the audience to feel like they are also walking through the corridors. As the corridors are long, better let them them have a full view.

Several site visiting is also conducted. It is to feel the atmosphere and the observe the people’s movements more specifically. It also allows me to draft my theme more clearly. During my visiting, I think the old environment and the slightly dark environment still impress me a lot, like before. It feels like there would be nowhere else can be this vibe. I also observed that there are a lot of elders which matches the news I have searched before. I then realize that it is due to its history background.

Reflection:

Despite of the research and the visiting, the emphasis of corridor regarding to the theme is not strong enough. Since mentioning the disappearance of the whole estate is hard to reduce to only corridor. However, the video does only take elements of corridors. It is to compensate the low emphasis of corridor.

Moreover, the theme of the topic had been changed a few times due to the restriction of the site, i.e. corridor. Since the whole Tai Hang Tai Estate is so large. And I hope to include more elements in the video. Also, I want to emphasize how the environment will disappear soon and tell people to treasure the place they are in everyday, that may seem to be so ordinary. The changes cause few inconvenience and messiness.