[Video Essay] Disappearing City

Description

When I encounter the theme of MTR passages, my thought immediately drifts to the concept of the liminal space, the space in between, in transition. These are the places people pass by so often that their sole purpose is to be passed through. Nobody pays attention to a waiting room, a staircase, a corridor, or a metro platform. But the liminal space concept is precisely studying the rational part of these architectural spaces, now without any existence of lifeforms, and attempting to bring out the irrational feelings of melancholy, claustrophobia, or nostalgia these spaces give us.

I found this idea of liminal space within the metro a particular match with the concept of disappearing cities, where modernity has caused the identity of cities to become homogenized, diluted, and broken down. All modern cities now seem to follow the same formula of expansion and urban sprawl. The modern metro system, especially in Hong Kong, shares similar attributes of expansion and homogenous designs.

Thus, there were 2 things I wanted to explore in the video, 1) after we strip away the color, can these spaces still be separated from one another, or has their uniqueness really disappeared into obscurity, and 2) after pulling out the existence of people in these footages, as if humanity has already perished, from the perspective of these metro spaces, what meanings of existence are left?


These passage spaces that no one bats an eye on have served us without complaint for decades. Millenia later, will they feel lonely, or still remember the once existence of humanity at all?

Method

Research

I gathered information about the Liminal Space concept online. As it is not a scientifically proven phenomenon, but rather a niche internet topic, where people commonly feel a sense of uneasiness when looking at images of this style, I had to use my own interpretation to conjure up a definition of this concept.

Filming

I filmed about 10 different MTR stations at the time of the first train, so as to minimize commuters present in these spaces and get a shot of empty spaces usually packed with people (like the Central station platform). The entire process of gathering footage took 4 days.

Editing

I was very selective with the footage or image I wanted to feature, I especially picked the ones I thought to be either 1) aesthetically pleasing regarding the composition or the lighting, or 2) especially aesthetically unpleasant in a way that brings a sense of discomfort to me. The latter can be due to the weird angle of the shot, unconventional subject (e.g. recycling bins near the entrance gates), or the floor taking up a large portion of the image, creating a feeling of oppression.

The video was split into three sections: 1) before entering the metro station, where all is bright, open, and colorful; 2) a sudden, almost disjoint descent into the metro liminal space, with black-and-white and high contrast visuals to distinctly separate itself from the scenery above ground-level; and 3) a shift of style, bringing back color but putting the emphasis on building uneasiness (or even an unsettling vibe) through low contrast and a faded film grain effect. 

To maximize the impact these visuals bring to the audience and hopefully truly be able to convey the sense of the liminal space, I intentionally adopted a restrained minimalist editing style. Jarring cuts from one image to the other were used occasionally to throw the audience off, preventing them from becoming accustomed and less sensitive too quickly. 

Narration

I mimicked the style of popular film video essay Youtubers like nerdwriter1 in terms of the way of conveying an idea, the wording choices, and the intonation. The ability to portray certain emotions through a pathos approach was emphasized. To further build on the strangeness and unsettling feeling at around 1:35, I murmured “have we been here before?” and applied a voice changer effect to emulate the distance echoes sometimes heard in one’s nightmares.

Music

I chose The Caretaker’s auditory experiments uploaded to Youtube for the majority of background music. He is famous for creating soundscapes with heavy edits and distortions of 20-century ballroom music to the extent they are incomprehensible, extremely fragmented, and highly repetitive in an attempt to investigate the consciousness and memories of people, which I found incredibly suitable for the context of my video.

*All footages, images, and narration are original content

Ka Hang, Liu 3035939781

5 thoughts on “[Video Essay] Disappearing City

  1. JunyaHu  says:

    Hi Jerry! Congratulations on finally producing this aesthetic and elaborate film! I really appreciated how you link this theme to the word “liminal”. To be honest, I seldom paid attention to the design or layout of the metro station when I commute for reasons like you said “modern cities now seem to follow the same formula of expansion”. So, when I saw the opening part of those identical orange colours, I was attracted. This was also my first time virtually experiencing empty metro station in Hong Kong. Thanks for your hard work of shooting 10 different MTR stations that provided audiences such a strong visual impact. I was also enjoying the sudden switches you applied to the background music, which sounded like a symphony. Really artistically done!

    Reply
  2. Shuk KiHung  says:

    I really like the color tone you used in your Youtube video. It makes me feel like I am really watching a movie trailer! I also appreciate how you.bring the unnoticed area to us by going different MTR stations! I think the emotion of the video is strong enough to achieve the purpose you mentioned in the essay here. The music ,matches the video too!

    Reply
  3. Shreeya LalitShrimali  says:

    The transition from the outside to the inside which is accompanied with the change in sound and tone is excellent. Moreover, the editing and the colour used to highlight the beauty of the MTR is also very aesthetically pleasing. Rhetorical questions that make us question the idea of linked spaces is also very effective. You could have talked more about history and reason for the MTR to appear the way that it does. Overall, your video essay is very effective for starting a conversation regarding linked spaces and disappearing spaces in Hong Kong.

    Reply
  4. Jen Lam says:

    An elegant video that is visually stunning. Inspiring questions were asked in the video but I was looking for more elaborations in the text. How do colors give MTR spaces identities, and possibly be understood as places? It would be great if you could bring in relevant concepts to further discuss. If humans no longer access the MTR spaces, how do we understand these architectures? Are they merely objects? How would your camera, a non-humane machine, discover the traces of human beings in the empty spaces? In fact, your questions have opened up lots of discussions, perhaps next time you could focus on 1 and delve deeper into it. Lastly, you are reminded to properly cite all your references.

    Reply

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