The moving compartment is a synecdoche of Hong Kong.
Shooting Script/ Story Board:
Subtitles/ Narration:
The Coronavirus suffocates our city. As the urban artery, subway is one of the most efficient commute mediums between destinations. However, it also expedites the spread of many viruses, before people are awared. As part of the crowd, she enters the subway, becomes one of the infected.
Since then whenever taking subway, she starts to leave a pack of masks at the seat, hoping to shield everyone that leaves the subway with a mask. She is relentless, disregard if or not crisis is dissolved.
Here she comes again, waiting for the next train under the flickering light, as if counting the unknown.
She knows that resilience will be rewarded, in front of the darkness that the subway goes through, hope is waiting there.
Description:
I tried to depict the film in MTR as in a confined indoor space that everyone seems so rush and extremely depressed, to emphasize the Coronavirus issue in Hong Kong. In the beginning, I am using the horror music (Franz Schubert – Trio In E-Flat, Op. 100 (Excerpt)) as background, as the easiest and fastest way to construct the repressive atmosphere to influence the audience to better feel the theme. Also, I try to contrast the static subway platform and the moving carriage, to show the transition of the subject – when people standing in the moving carriage, they become the solid architecture that the leading role in my short video, the girl, could move around them as a vivid subject, whereas when people moving in the static MTR platform, the lead stands still in front of the window of carriage to wait, and become a passive subject as solid architecture that witnesses how the passerby walking through, moving forward and far away. The lead serves as the Coronavirus in this short video, that quietly slipped into our city and infected everyone unconsciously.
My purpose for this video is also to explore the relationship between individual and society. While the film as a way to express the lurking social issues, this video could serve as a way to reveal the duality within Hong Kong. In this film, everyone keeps distance with others, even if the lead left the masks on the seat, nobody takes it. Especially during the filming process, I could feel the coldness and sense of distance inside the crowd, however, when we film at details, people seem so vivid and lively, emotional, and warmth. Thus, I try to contrast the crowd and the lead, as a contrast between society and individual, as well as the contrast between films and architecture- that every film is constructed by several architectures and the setting of those buildings only seems meaningful and aspirated in combination inside the film- as well as every individual formed and unified our society.
However, due to the 2.30 minutes time limit, it is technically hard to construct a rich, sensible, and reflective storyline. Thus I chose to use the device of narration to describe the video in around 1.30 minutes. The background music has also been changed into a more soft, slow, and touching style as to infect audiences.
At the end of the short video, I try to film as an open and happy ending, to looking forward to the hope and bright future of Hong Kong, especially which experienced such a hard time in 2020.
In the light of above, this video is referred with Lou Ye and Lars von Trier’s style, as their films are more closed to documentary and shot with handheld. Moreover, I very much appreciated their movies that mostly dig into the deepest side of society and make the audiences reflect. I’ve tried to apply Kar Wai Wong’s setting of MTR such as the red color and rocking shot. In last, I tried to make my last-minute video has a similar effect with the end of The mist (by Frank Darabont).
Plus, I’ve also tried the Jiang Wen style’s handwritten storyboard which is attached as well.
Background music:
Franz Schubert – Trio In E-Flat, Op. 100 (Excerpt)
Reference:
1.“Memento”. British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved June 10, 2013. https://youtu.be/0vS0E9bBSL0
2.”Following”. British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 21 December 2014.https://youtu.be/RHRnYeZL5Pc
3. “Accident “. Lam, Perry (October 2009). “Hollow man and useless beauty”. Muse (33): 97. https://youtu.be/yfwD1s3LYM8
4.Squire LR, Stark CE, Clark RE. The medial temporal lobe. Annu Rev Neurosci. 2004;27:279-306.
5. “Running on Karma (2003) – LoveHKFilm”.
6. “Rear Window (1954)”. Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
7.婁燁 風中有朵雨做的雲
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uq6M7ADv4PQ
8.婁燁 蘇州河
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8ZAE5faG9s
9.Top 10 Lars von Trier Films
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rshs_rSdL-M
10.Dogville – Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5-LqwUHTaM
11.A Tribute : Kar Wai Wong （王家卫电影混剪）
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jh8dU_Se170
12.The Mist by Frank Darabont
(Iris Yeung 3035575431)
I enjoy the filmic feel of the video, especially the 30 sec. It really helps the story telling. The smooth combination of background music and recorded sound also gives viewers a good immersive experience. Appreciate your great effort of camera setting and storyboard design. I think the video can be much better if the camera movement could be smoother.