What is a city’s actual ground?
Six thousand years ago, men started digging the ground to “invent” a new ground level of a city (Diamond & Kassel, 2018). Nowadays the definition of a city’s ground level is ambiguous, and the delineation of a city’s subdivided space also varies. Hidden under the wheels of vehicles, underground tunnels create additional space in the city, this is especially crucial for cities which are lacking natural ground, such as Hong Kong. The raise of this subsurface space creates a blurry definition of the city’s actual ground. For instance, Central Paris where only about 2 million citizens are living have a double amount of people passing through its underground everyday (Labbe, 2016).
Is the underground a forbidden city or an integral part of a city?
Although underground tunnels have become an essential element for citizens to travel, entertain and commute, underground is still always been forbidden or played second fiddle (Delmastro et al., 2016). Essential elements such as sunlight, airing, views and greeneries on the natural ground are often neglected in the construction of underground (Labbe, 2016). And ironically, in many times, undergrounds are intentionally built to be abandoned. Narrowing the pathways create a vertical driving force to facilitate pedestrians’ flow and movement, human enjoyments have not been prioritized.
This film intended to document the appearance and activities in various underground tunnels in Hong Kong by finding similar elements as the above-ground and highlighting the feeling of being lost and forbidden in undergrounds. This film questions whether this subsurface space is only a tool for people passing by or a space for people to experience.
Researches
In the initial stage, in order to investigate how space is defined by characters in the city, instead of analyzing the underground tunnel’s historical background and ways of construction, I tried to put more effort into why tunnels are built in a forbidden way and how people feel about the space. I have looked through various opinions in the journal articles and gained inspiration, such as the definition of ground level and how intention affects the design of a tunnel.
In the second stage, I have stepped out to observe the variety of unground tunnels, I went through Kwai Fong, Central, Tsim Sha Tsui, North Point and Austin to look for inspiration. Those sites depict multiple sides of an underground tunnel. For instance, Kwai Fong underpass, Edinburgh Place underpass and Austin underpass show its abandoned side with graffiti, dilapidated walls, and damaged signs. Whereas, the central MTR station, Central Elevated Walkway, Tsim Sha Tsui pedestrian subway and North Point MTR station show its bright side with the linkage of high-brand shopping malls, billboards and colourful patterns.
Filming process
For the movement of the camera, I used montage and mise-en-scene to depict different stories. Stable disparate shots are edited together to introduce the variation and similarity of elements in different tunnels, such as their walls, facilities and billboards. Whereas, I used mise-en-scene to emphasise the length of the path, and force the audience to focus on the path itself, but not the details of the pedestrian. Most shots are speeded up to build the intensity and imitate the movement of people who tried to escape a forbidden space.
For the narration technique, the concept of “contrast” and “masses” have been frequently used. For instance, the contrast between the bright and downside of the underground tunnels, and the comparison of the underground and above-ground are used to highlight the inequality of different ground levels’ development. The contrast of the mass of people creates a new perspective to view familiar spaces that are usually crowned.
Reflection
Compared to other construction in the city, underground tunnels are seemed to be forbidden and have not given the same construction and design scheme as other levels of grounds. This subdivided space has become a space that is used by humans, but not humanity (Labbe, 2016). One of the rewarded moments during filming is when I saw a fake planter on the underground tunnel. Flowers and planters which are everywhere along the road have become a precious and rare scenery underground. Will there be one day that people on the underground can have shared experiences with people on the ground? Lacking in public space, decorations and greeneries, can this subsurface gain equal attention with the above-ground? In fact, some architects started to address this issue. For instance, Celestins parking lot in France (Michel Targe et al., 1994) creates a spiral tunnel that opens up to the sky. Passengers and drivers can share the views of the above-ground and enjoy the sunshine.
The answer of whether an underground tunnel in a forbidden city is hard to be concluded. Yet, all we know is that underground tunnels take a crucial role in the city’s urbanism and this area should not be only transporting tools, but a space.
Reference
Besner, J. (2017). Cities think underground-underground space also for people. Elsevier, 209, 49-55. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2017.11.129
Delmastro, C., Lavagno, E., & Schranz, L. (2016). Underground urbanism: master plans and sectiorial plans. Elsevier, 55(5), 103-111. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2016.01.001
Diamond, R. & Kassel, B. (2018). A history of the urban underground tunnel(4000 b.c.e-1900 c.e.). Jouenal of transportation technologies, 8, 11-43. http://doi.org/10.4236/jtts.2018.81002
Labbe, M. (2016). Architecture of underground spaces: from isolated innovations to conncected urbanism. Elsevier, 55(5), 153-175. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2016.01.004
Michel, T., France. Celestins parking lot. 1994.
Ho Ka Wing Chloe
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I really enjoyed your video, other than the clear narration. I particularly enjoyed the various amount of filming and editing technics you have used in your video. For instance, the split screen allowed us to see the contrast between different environment. The steady camera movement has kept the audiences focused while gathering informations from the presentation. Indeed, the consistency of the camera shots has made the montage very successful!
A Great film! I love the way you narrated the film, your voice is clear and easy to follow. I particularly like the vibe and music changes when the shot move into the underground, it create a lot of tension and contrast of the.The organisation of the film was clear and concise.
When talking about lost in the underground, you speed up the video that showcase the level of anxiety in Hong Kong. The film was simple but meaningful.
A really thought-provoking film! First and foremost, I appreciate the way you narrate the film; your voice is clear and easy to follow, and your message and concepts flow naturally. The organization of the film is also great: creative storyboard and excellent editing technique. I like how you adjusted the tone of your movie. The shifts in background music and your voice were very immersive for me. The film directly reflects the fast-paced life of citizens in Hong Kong and their emotions in such circumstances.
It is a very visually pleasing video, and I really enjoy watching your work. The most interesting part to me is where you are demonstrating the underground tunnel as a real-world city by finding the features that we could see at the upper ground level. It just looks like a scene in Sci-fi movies where human-being move their cities to the underground in order to sustain their life! Under this context, the issues that human beings encounter are the changes in the city, such as increasing population density and resource scarcity. Moreover, I learned a lot from the questions that you want to demonstrate and keep repeatedly asked in the video ‘am I in nowhere?’ it is a new perspective for me to know from your video as I used to think about what makes an underground tunnel become ‘somewhere’ is due to its welcoming to all the pedestrians, and its balance on maintaining the critical functions of commercial, transportation, and social (Besner, 2017). I wonder what your opinion about the causes behind that make people feel lost and making the underground place become forbidden is? The combination of the tone, your narration, the filming (e.g., scenery shot), and the editing techniques (e.g., the combination of three scenes) has clearly presented your idea, making your audience feel comfortable while watching.