Occupying small rooms and leading a fast pace of living, do we live our lives in our apartments? When we need to work, instead of occupying the study, we stay in the cubicles of our offices or the desks of our classroom; if we need to eat, instead of eating them in the dining room, we go out to restaurants and cafes; if we want to entertain ourselves, we go to theatres, malls, hiking trails and other places. As we step out of our apartments, lock the front gate and walk into the city to go about our days, we claim the restaurants to be our dining rooms, offices to be our study, theatres to be our television, and the city as our apartment.
Dissociated from the apartment, our ‘homes’ are simply where we start and end the day. The apartments in Hong Kong are not for us to live in, but merely a space where we store our belongings, shower, change and sleep. The outbreak in 2020 kept us in the apartment, giving us an opportunity to reconnect with our homes, work, play, and live in a small but intimate and comfortable apartment.
A year has passed since, as the city slowly recovers from the pandemic, we return to our hectic lifestyles and spend every waking second beyond the apartment. As the shops, schools and offices are gradually reopening; we leave the small apartment to go back to living in our home. While we enjoy the comfort and convenience the city offers, are the apartment’s functions substituted by the city? As the city moves on from the outbreak and begins to go full throttle once again, will we still have time to live in our apartments? When we grow more and more disconnected from our homes, will the intimate moments we share with our apartments be replaced by the city too?
This video essay wishes to pose and explore the questions mentioned above. The first part of the video compares how the city functions to cater to our daily activities compared to our apartments. The second part of the video wishes to provoke the viewers’ thought: If we call the city our apartment, would it be possible to live completely disconnected from the idea of having a place within the city to call ‘home’?
In the making of the video essay, research to develop the idea has been conducted online; sources vary from films to newspaper articles to research papers. In the filming process, footage of activities in my and the average person’s daily life has been filmed through a series of still and moving shots, from the first perspective, to allow viewers to experience travelling throughout the apartment, similar and symbolic to the city in terms of the functions and different ‘rooms’ and spaces, as well as third perspective, as a way to explore the usages of the different spaces within one’s apartment as well as the city, drawing parallels between different parts of my home to the city. In terms of audio, recordings of different sounds are added throughout the film, such as doors opening, footsteps, to show my movement in the film off-camera through sounds, and chatting noises to show the transition between the city and the apartment. I used Adobe Premiere Pro to combine and edit the footage to create my narrative in the post-editing stage.
Sherman Lo Shui Fung
U3035582966
Bibliography:
- South China Morning Post, “Hong Kong Then and Now: Split screen tour shows the pace of Hong Kong’s transformation over 45 years,” YouTube, Oct 24, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jt_X8g2i80
- OCED, “How do people in the Asia/ Pacific Region spend their time?” Society at a Glance: Asia/Pacific, OCED Publishing, 11-24.
- Chermaine Lee, “Hong Kong’s Public Space Problem,” British Broadcasting Corporation News, 2nd September 2020
- Lam Ka Sing “Two of three Hong Kong office staff want to keep working from home, boding ill for demand in the world’s most expensive office market”, South China Morning Post, 21 April 2021
- Nomadland, directed by Chloe Zhao (2020; Searchlight Pictures; 2021)
Hi, your video is very intriguing. The question that you asked to the audience is very philosophical and it made me think for a while. Also, the way you played around with the words and switched my thinking is amazing. Now I believe that I live in a city. It is true that we live in a city and start and end our day from our homes. Than why do people still prefer to say that we live in our homes? Is it just to create sense of belonging or is it because you own it for yourself while you can obtain the city. It was a great video that raised a huge question to myself too!
your video is very successful in representing the architecture concept of space by bring out the topic “home”. It is great that you used scenes like opening of doors, watching movies to transition from the inside and outside home. The film language is easily understandable and appealing. Great work man!!!
Congratulations on making a good video. First, the clever switching of scenes is impressive, and it is one of the few works that use film shooting techniques. Second, the author’s point of view is clearly presented in the video, and the description is very clear. Third, the producer can select a few images that can talk about the organic combination of the apartment and the city, making the entire video essay profound and artistic.
Good job and great content! All aspects are addressed and presented with insightful depth. The video demonstrates a clear understanding of and the ability to apply and synthesise research, concepts, and key issues relating to a well-identified topic. You were able to clearly identify the most critical aspects of the theme/place and present a well-articulated analysis and original interpretation of the topic. It is highly innovative in regard to methodologies and use of research and/or fieldwork materials. The equivalent of those spatial programmes in public and private are quite fitting. You maintained an excellent control in organisation of the form/content and narration. The editing could have been better executed – I understand you’d like to present a contrast but the door can be the actual port to the respective parts of the city; intertwining private and public could be interesting. The written and verbal articulation are of high academic standard, and well integrated into the overall presentation.