Given the outbreak of the Covid-19 Pandemic, people around the globe are undergoing social isolation. We are forced to “shelter in place”, coming to terms with being gradually cut off from society. Amid the long quarantine period, loneliness breeds depression. We are separated from the fresh air, the sun, the rain, and the scenery outside the window that are originally within reach.
Navigating an unusual amount of time together in confined spaces, conflicts between families arise. The feeling of anxiety grows recklessly. We are craving social connection, love, and belong even stronger than the past.
However, one of the interviewees said, people always learn to accommodate their ways of life to the changing environment. We were forced to achieve greater adaptability. After the anxiety or depression “within months”, they decided to be present and mindful, having a deep conversation with themselves, learning new skills to enrich the ‘long’ life.
Life goes on. Season changes. Winter to Spring. Summer is coming.
Some epidemiologists are cautiously betting that there might be a downward curve of the new cases of Covid-19. Though we are still not sure how the change of season will affect Covid-19 and we are still inside the cage, our mentality already change for the better.
FULL NAME: Shun Ying, Zhuang
UID: 3035702827
I really like the focus of your choice — windows — this is a common element in a room, but you have a very unique idea of them. I think windows should be the part where we stare the most during our social distancing. You have shown a new understanding of the “window” element in isolation through the poetic text and the picture of the window. You also showed in isolation: how changes in mindset have changed the relationships between people and windows. This subtle plot design impressed me a lot. Furthermore, the composition of the film is very neat and unified, mainly composed of the scenery outside the window and the silhouette objects insides. It can be seen that you are cleverly guiding the audiences’ sight through the light difference between the indoor and outdoor to see the scenery outside the window through the frame. Also making the picture of opening the curtain (and the light finally coming in) becomes a bit touching.
(By the way, I am very happy to be able to participate in part of your short film shooting! This film is excellent)
Hello Shun Ying. First of all, I really like how to title of your video connects to your visual design and contents. The theme “cage” is successfully demonstrated with framing techniques, your benefit of using your prison-like windows to connect with the title. The lighting is also dimmed and brightened with the use of natural lighting. The organization and visual design overall shows the difference of pessimistic view of the pandemic and optimistic view of the pandemic in the future of 2021. One thing to improve may be to include a soundtrack to compare the two parts of the video, maybe saddened music in the beginning, loneliness, and the second part may be hopeful, happier music. Overall, it is a great piece with strong message and film techniques! 🙂
Appreciate your innovative way of looking at spaces through the portal of windows. The thesis topic of “imprisonment” is strongly evident throughout your work, especially in the complementary nature of visual, audio, and text (although with slight grammatical and spelling mistakes. As a tip, always double-check your work before submission). Through these video montages shot from the domestic interior, you demonstrate a good understanding of space and utilized editing techniques creatively to provoke audiences to reconsider your surrounding 3D space in a two-dimensional way. The framing composition of certain scenes was extremely well-done, in particular: (1) the wide shot of the (assuming) bedroom at night in which the window was center stage and you drew the curtains across (0:27) and (2) same wide shot framing but in the daytime (1:47). The night and day contrast between these two reccuring (and similarly framed) scenes lends itself well to your thesis conclusion that things do and will change.
The window is a dominant motif in your film but does not diminish in importance nor meaning. Instead, through your experimentation of camera angles in depicting the external scene, the window is always seen in a fresh new way that adds to our reflection of this pandemic period under “house lockdown,” as well as introspection with one’s mental space. Lastly, well done in placing emphasis on the simple use of colour and visual metaphors of light and shade / white and black. They were successful in conveying a spectrum of emotions, e.g. the dark rooms and silhouettes highlight the sense of “anxiety” and “isolation”.