*Floor*Building*Street—An Inclusive City
Theme and Subject
This video essay documents minority shops in the mid-levels of commercial or industrial buildings in Hong Kong. Apart from the spatial socioeconomic division regarding income status1, the extent of vertical segregation of Hong Kong’s business layout is also phenomenal: value is produced in illuminated high rises while a vast portion is consumed at international chains and retails near ground level. Independent shops run by highly personalized owners are sandwiched between office lights and neon signs. These stores may display fountain pens or vinyl, sell non-mainstream sports kits, offer bespoke tailoring, merchandise niche, vintage artifacts, etc. They state that Hong Kong reserves the space for downshifting2 and curated aesthetics.
An approach of contrast between mass consumerism and niche shops is taken in the video essay, in which the main character, a white-collar worker, suffers a psychotic breakdown3 from the overwhelming modern goods and advertisements and ultimately flees to his places of refuge and comfort—niche shops. The existence of these shops with limited customers is a sign of a well-round city accepting diversified values. Extending from an inclusive city’s spatial, social, and economic concern of all groups, especially the marginalized4, this work would like to demonstrate a different sense of inclusion in which the opposite side of urban commercialization’s excludability is revealed.
The video consists the following stores: IMG, 2/f, 14b Cameron Rd; Douguya Hatcharea, 6/F, Yuen Fat Industrial Building, 25 Wang Chiu Rd; Bryceland’s Hong Kong, 7/F, Luk Yu Building, Stanley St; Jantzen Tailors, 5/F, On Lok Yuen Building, 25-27 Des Voeux Rd.
Methodology
Research
Potential filming locations were shortlisted on the Google Map by applying filters: they must be in mediocre-sized multi-story commercial or industrial complexes; the business scope should have specialties; comments and ratings on the internet must be relatively scarce. After visiting some actual minority shops and conducting virtual walkthroughs through tour guides such as Lonely Planet5, pre-shooting was done before considering the length and broad context of different genres of shops. Finally, a film equipment store, an antique artifact and furniture shop, a vintage clothing brand, and a bespoke tailor were chosen.
A comprehensive understanding of the impact of globalized merchandise promotion on Hong Kong and the status of the sustaining ethnic stores operated by local entrepreneurs is first summarized from literature and news articles6. The significant contrast between globalized consumerism following a rapidly converging purchasing taste and a slow lifestyle with private aesthetics and individualism is also drawn from the literature7. To highlight such a controversy, a simple story plot is designed in which the main character suffers from the overwhelming products and dazzling store furnish and lighting in mainstream retailers such as IKEA, FORTRESS, Apple, H&M, etc. He gradually imagines a metaphorical agent of consumerism trying to take him captive and eventually begins to flee toward the hidden safety houses scattered and disguised in the urban context. In investigating the secret shops, details of furnish, item display, lighting, and pricing were recorded, and their divergence from the common practice of mainstream stores was emphasized.
Video Production
The videography of this study draws reference from several YouTube tutorials on filming shop interiors8, camera movement with a gimbal9, and filming the urban night view10.
The thriller action series Jason Bourne greatly inspired the prologue of this trailer-like video. A significant characteristic of the movie was the mixed cuts of Bourne recalling his lost memories of the training program and his proficient retreat using the crowd as cover in action scenes11. In the video essay, the character experiences emerging memories of scenes within three branches of commercialized shops, namely clothing, home appliance, and electronics. Correspondingly, a three-track parallel montage was used to show the flee to respective hidden stores12, indicating these shops’ sheltering and sustaining function.
Close-up takes on the texture of the goods and furnish were used to covey a soothing atmosphere and a slow operation rhythm in the subject shops. The alteration in the speed of camera movement and color saturation from the prologue to the main body draws comparisons between the two category’s nature. Addedly, the mise-en-scene was deliberately recorded for minority shops, while only product fragments appeared in the flashbacks. The background music in the main part is Vivaldi’s Concerto in G Minor, RV 417: II. Andante13, which was played in one of the shops during the shooting.
Reflection
Producing the video essay greatly enhanced my understanding of Hong Kong’s architectural feature of securing hidden storefronts inside multi-story buildings to sustain minority shops, a profound indicator of a city’s inclusiveness in providing the counterparts of urban consumerism for individual enthusiasts.
Notes
- Monkkonen, Paavo, and Xiaohu Zhang. “Socioeconomic Segregation in Hong Kong: Spatial and Ordinal Measures in a High-Density and Highly Unequal City,” 2011.
- Alexander, Samuel. “The Voluntary Simplicity Movement: Reimagining the Good Life beyond Consumer Culture.” SSRN Electronic Journal, 2011. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1970056.
- Hansen, Susan, Alan R. Petersen, and Renata Kokanovic. “Consumerism and Mental Health Care in a Culturally Diverse Society.” Essay. In Consuming Health: The Commodification of Health Care, 1–19. London, Greater London: Routledge, 2001.
- The World Bank. “Inclusive Cities.” World Bank, 2023. https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/inclusive-cities.
- Chiang, Karen. “Up the Stairs: The Hidden Shops of Hong Kong’s High Rises.” Lonely Planet, August 3, 2022. https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/hidden-shops-hong-kong-high-rises. ; Ming, Mimi. “Hidden Upstairs Shops: Discover Local Gemstones beyond the Traditional Malls.” Hong Kong Free Tours, October 9, 2021. https://hongkongfreetours.com/hidden-upstairs-shops/.
- Paek, Hye-Jin, and Zhongdang Pan. “Spreading Global Consumerism: Effects of Mass Media and Advertising on Consumerist Values in China.” Mass Communication and Society 7, no. 4 (2004): 491–515. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327825mcs0704_7.
- McAllister, Matthew P., and Sharon R. Mazzarella. Advertising and Consumer Culture. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2000.
- Holland, Graham. “Retail Store Video. Interior Videography.” YouTube. YouTube, March 28, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEB1YN-pho0.
- Walbeck, Parker. “10 Unique Cinematic Gimbal Movements.” YouTube. YouTube, August 7, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGTEunB7XRA.
- Hammond, David. “Urban Videography – How to Shoot Video in Any City!” YouTube. YouTube, November 24, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioEhKGVPHyc.
- Archer, Neil. Studying the Bourne Ultimatum. Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire: Auteur, 2012.
- Li, Xiaoshu. “Research on the Montage Technique in the Film and Television.” Proceedings of the International Conference on Education, Language, Art and Intercultural Communication, 2014. https://doi.org/10.2991/icelaic-14.2014.150.
- Dieltiens, Roel. Concerto in G Minor, RV 417: II. Andante. MP3. Vivaldi: Cello Concertos. Ensemble Explorations, n.d
Chen Chun 3035974690
I think you have done a very broad study of the demographic and economic inclusiveness of Hong Kong. Your references from research exemplify the attempt at an intersectional inquiry into the subject matter. In contrast to your essay, your video is full of expressions of creativity in photographic techniques, which I am impressed by and enjoyed. The exhaustion and mental unrest of the protagonist in the first half of the video are on full display in your footage, giving me the sensation of fleeing in a panic while playing a horror game. Contrast this with the tranquility and calmness upon entering the store, which is more like a simulated escape room with hidden quaintness details. The clues within the setting reveal in a series of shots, and your use of zooms and close-ups adds to the visuals. The contrasting scenes and narration additionally make your video intriguing and compelling in the organization.
The video shows the contrast between mass consumerism and niche shops, it makes one of them stand out more and more convincing. I think this approach successfully resonated with and interested the reader. Also, it made me pay more attention to the existence and value of niche shops. Your approach to data collection was unique, as you used technology to synthesise the film by filtering it through Google Maps was a great attempt. While watching the video I thought your first-person filming technique was more interesting than direct filming of the environment, and made the audience more focused on your video. I felt that the sound effects you used were appropriate, such as the heartbeat and footsteps, but in some parts, it was a bit harsh and overshadowed the narration. Also, the camera changes at the beginning were a bit fast and the pace changes between the first and second half were a bit abrupt. However, I think this is a very Hong Kong theme and it is rare to find such nostalgic shops in a city that is monopolised by capital.
Your video is well-edited to help audiences building up tension and expectation. A huge contrast between the first and the second parts. Using merchandise as a medium to investigate the inclusiveness of a globalized urban community like Hong Kong is an appropriate choice.
To improve, you may want to strengthen the bonding between the idea of why or how ‘mass consumerism’ is described as an ‘evil’ in your video and how does this support your narrative in the idea of HK being an inclusive city?