HISTORY AND BACKGROUND
The Blue House’s story is that of a successful historic revitalization (SCMP Editorial, 2022). It is a 4-storey tenement block located in Stone Nullah Lane, Wan Chai. Named for its iconic vibrant blue painted walls, it is one of the few remaining examples of tong lau in Hong Kong (Viva Blue House, n.d.; SCMP Editorial, 2022). Although hundreds of them existed, most of them (especially the lower-level ones which were not protected or listed by the Antiquities and Monuments Office) have been demolished (SCMP Editorial, 2022).
The Blue House faced constant changes throughout history. Initially a hospital in 1872, it became a temple for the God of Medicine Wah To (Hong Kong Housing Society, 2006). It was converted into a tong lau in the mid-1920s (ibid). The ground floor was restored as a Wah To Temple, however, later transformed by Lam Cho into a martial arts school (ibid). The 3rd and 4th floor housed the first English school in the area, meanwhile the 2nd floor provided free education for children (ibid). The Chamber of Commerce for Fishmonger’s later based their mahjong meeting place on the 4th floor (which is still preserved on the rooftop) (ibid). In the 1990s, it was bought by the government and turned into a complex comprising flats, restaurants, and a space for promoting culture (SCMP Editorial, 2022). It won an Award of Excellence from Unesco in 2017 (SCMP Editorial, 2022).
FILMING PROCESS
Hong Kong is often characterized by skyscrapers. This metropolis is the embodiment of rapid urbanization and modernization, shaped by its development as a global financial center, dense population, and limited land availability. This drastic transformation has led to a number of challenges, like cultural preservation (SCMP Editorial, 2022). I focused my final project on the Blue House as I wanted to explore the city’s architecture from a different perspective.
I visited the site on May 2 and captured all the videos for my video on my phone (iPhone 11). There were lots of images and infographics scattered around the building which facilitated the filming process by providing me with background information. Rather than the streets and buildings around it, most of the footage taken focused on the interiors and exteriors of the structure itself, with the goal of highlighting its historical and cultural significance. The footage can be divided into three categories: (i) the general exterior of the building,; (ii) the residential area, and; (iii) the Hong Kong House of Stories museum on the ground floor. The exterior is characterized by a mix of architectural styles. The traditional Chinese style is expressed through its eaves and a courtyard, meanwhile its colonial Western architecture is observed through the use of brick and stucco. The filming of the residential areas helps demonstrate the liveliness of the Blue House by revealing the tenants’ everyday lives. One of the challenges faced during this stage was that the majority of the residential area was closed off to the public. Nevertheless, I got to ask some questions to one of the tenants to get a better understanding of how it is like to live in this Grade I historical building. I also decided to provide some of the museum’s artifacts as a glimpse of the past. Some of the items include Blue House-themed merchandise, remnants of the past tenants, polaroids, ceramic statues, etc. Apparently the museum also hosts a variety of events and workshops that celebrate the structure’s heritage, however I was not able to come across one when I visited it (SCMP Editorial, 2022).
After creating a moodboard and a rough plan, the videos taken were edited through my iPhone’s built-in photo editing settings. I wanted to highlight the structure’s vibrant blue exterior, hence I increased the saturation, brightness, and sharpness of all of the footage. I trimmed them on the app Filmora on my computer. Inspired by the trend going around Tiktok combined with the fact that he is my favorite director, I edited the videos in a Wes Anderson-esque style. His use of striking color schemes, planimetric compositions, and straight angles suit the theme. The soundtrack I used was Obituary from his film The French Dispatch (2021), composed by Alexandre Michel Gérard Desplat. By using this track, I was able to create a fast montage towards the second half of the video as a way to represent the ever so changing history of the Blue House. The use of a montage also ensured to display a large amount of information in a short amount of time. Some of the scenes moreover included subtitles in them to clearly establish the spaces depicted.
REFERENCES
– Hong Kong Housing Society. (2006, December 9). Revitalization / Preservation. Way Back
Machine. Archived from http://www.hkhs.com/preservation/en/index.htm
– SCMP Editorial. (2022, September 11). Tong lau are part of the fabric of the city. South China
Morning Post.
https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3192088/tong-lau-are-part-fabric-city
– Viva Blue House. (n.d.). About Hong Kong House of Stories. Viva Blue House.
https://vivabluehouse.hk/en/menu/27/story
Zeynep Eda Altıntop 3036095245
You submission has provided informative descriptions on the Blue House including its background stories, historical context and etc. You are also able to capture and document most of the architectural features of the Blue House. I also appreciate your intention of making the saturation of your whole video more obvious than it is in reality as you have referenced to certain filming style.
Yet, I hope to see a more in-depth analysis on the idea of ‘disappearing’. Are you trying to make a statement or express your stance through documenting the Blue House? It would be great to see your take on that.