Theme and Background Information
As the coronavirus pandemic sets into Hong Kong, the once bustling and lively corridors are now void of life and activity, slowly losing their identity and features as a place while slipping into a cold and eerie space.They have long been the most busy places of Hong Kong, yet the pandemic was able to grind all that into a halt, with no more tourists and shoppers coming to Hong Kong, these malls and shops slowly faded out of sight. I wanted to capture the changes and the full impact the pandemic brought onto these place, and the best way to do so was to show the corridors, which reflected both the shops and the people in the coronavirus pandemic. Not only were these corridors important places for people to travel in, they also reflected what people did and how many people once stepped into these malls.
Research
At first, there were so many corridors and hallways in Hong Kong that were faced with the same fate, but I focused on the local malls and shopping centers since they reflected the changes the most. With opening hours cut and little shoppers, many malls were forced to shut down.
With the shops surrounding these mall hallways gradually disappearing, I thought back to the concept of “place” and “space”, but personally I like to think of a place as a location given identity by the people around it, while a space is just a void without any distinguishable features. This concept could be perfectly applied to these disappearing shops in these seemingly derelict malls. I visited three separate malls, yet their appearance and structure were so similar. Moreover, while walking in their corridors, they all exhibited a cold feeling as there were only one or two shops open in the entire mall, and it seemed I was the only one walking in those corridors as well. The maze-like structure of the corridors were also a bit disorienting, as each corridor seemed the same since all the shops were closed and there wasn’t any differentiating features about each corridor, which made it seem like a horror movie.
Reflection
The experience was a very fascinating one, yet chilling and sad to see these once busy corridors now empty and cold. It was like walking through a ghost town, but it was very interesting to see the closed down shops as if they were historical ruins. I also spotted some very traditional shops through the glass panels and it was like walking in the past, I do wonder what these shops sold before they were abandoned as it was almost like a museum. The corridors themselves were also a bit scary to walk alone in, since I always felt something would pop out the corner, they were also very maze like in structure and was easy to get lost in if you didn’t pay attention to where you were heading. Nonetheless, it was a very valuable experience to walk these old corridors one more time before they would disappear for good.
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Works Cited
Tsang, Denise. “Desperate Hong Kong Malls Offer Discounts to Bored Shoppers as Pandemic Hits Sales.” South China Morning Post, 18 Nov. 2020, www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3110276/its-beginning-look-lot-christmas-hong-kong-malls.
Tsang, Denise. “Hong Kong Retailers Warn Any Cuts to Mall Opening Hours Will Kill Shops, Jobs.” South China Morning Post, 14 Jan. 2021, www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3117776/coronavirus-hong-kong-retail-sector-warns-any-cuts.
Music:
Omelchuk, Alexey, director. Into Sunset. YouTube, YouTube, 24 Oct. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs55xskJFkY.
Name: Bertin Tong Ho Yin
UID: 3035745130
Hi, great work with your video! I can’t believe these are all clips and photos from three separate malls but they all look empty. I agree with what you said, ever since the pandemic corridors were back to be used only for their purpose: to be a connected pathway for different rooms or floors. It was interesting how you took all photos in the same perspectives and I love that because before you told us it’s from three different malls, they all look the same, creating a greater shock to the audience. Also, I love how you set the camera at eyesight level to make us feel like we’re walking down those corridors in person. It was like a VR experience of looking into those void corridors. I think the eerie music also did its work for your message. Thanks for sharing your video. Good job!
I enjoy watching your video. It’s a great work. Because I have rarely known corridors before, I think it is a great experience to understand them. Your background music is chosen properly, which can accurately express your feelings for corridors and their current bad situation. In terms of shooting, corridors can also be displayed completely. Good job!
I enjoy watching your video. It’s a great work. Because I have rarely known corridors before, I think it is a great experience to understand them. Your background music is chosen properly, which can accurately express your feelings for corridors and their current bad situation. In terms of shooting, corridors can also be displayed completely. Good job!
Hi, at first when I am watching this video I thought it was all taken in one mall but then when I start reading the paragraphs, I figured it was from 3 separate malls! They all look so hollow and empty where it gives out spooky vibes. It did create a shock to me when I found out this is from 3 separate malls as they look the same to me, also you did a great job by filming this in first-person, this brings me into the video and is drowned by the music and your dialogue, overall really great video!
I really enjoy the way you presented the content. In the first half of the video, you move the camera slowly forward, which makes me feel that you were getting deeper into the corridors. It’s a pity that the camera wobbles in the second half, otherwise the visual effect would have been better. Moreover, in your video, although the lights are turned on in the three shopping malls, most of shops are closed due to the lack of customers, which shows the theme well. In addition, the background music you choose also fits the atmosphere well.