[Video Essay] Utopia?

Video Essay:

Floor-Plan Storyboard

Script:

Scene 1:
News reporter: Hello everyone welcome to Radio Hong Kong. Government officials disagreed that the new public health measure is surveillance but the best way to keep everyone safe and healthy, even though all the personal devices, including computers, are linked to the central system. Under the current security measures, experts worry that citizens’ devices are prone to be hacked. Despite the controversy, the overall feedback of such system is positive, according to the government…

(China reported 12 new coronavirus cases for April 30, up from four a day earlier, data from the country’s health authority showed on Friday.

Six of the cases were imported, the National Health Commission (NHC) said, up from four a day earlier. Of the domestic transmission cases, five were in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang and one in the northern region of Inner Mongolia.

China reported no domestic transmission cases a day earlier.

The NHC also reported 25 new asymptomatic cases for April 30, down from 33 a day earlier.

The total number of confirmed cases in the country has reached 82,874. With no new deaths on Thursday, the toll remained at 4,633.)**

Protagonist: (Phone rings, pick up the phone) Hello?
Personnel of Public Health Monitoring Department (PHMD): This is the Public Health Monitoring Department, a new department set up to monitor each individual’s health condition in the city. PID please.
Protagonist: 3335965969
Personnel of PHMD: Health condition.
Protagonist: Healthy. Stayed at home for the past 4 weeks.
Personnel of PHMD: Confirmed. Please keep your mobile devices turned on all the time for daily report. Goodbye.
Protagonist: Okay. Thank you. Have a nice day

**The text is adapted from RTHK News. Harding, T. (2020, May 01). Mainland reports 12 new coronavirus cases. Retrieved May 07, 2020, from https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1523719-20200501.htm

 

Scene 2:
Protagonist: (waken up by his computer, enter PID) Phew! Should be fine now.~

Scene 3:
News reporter: Hello everyone welcome to Radio Hong Kong. The government has released new plan to reduce man-power monitoring the healths of citizens. One of the measures includes installing silicon chips within citizens’ bodies that reports the body condition to the central system periodically. Today, thousands of citizens protested in Tamar Park, urging the government to withdraw the proposal. Some worried that the system will infringe their personal rights and freedom of speech.

(The representative describes the new plan as innovative, smart and secure. Asked whether the new plan is intended to exert more control on citizens to maintain social stability, the representatives have repeatedly clarified the new plan is not surveillance. “To establish a prosperous and stable society, such system is almost a must.”)

Protagonist: Wow, what a nice plan. Must be a good one.
Protagonist: (Door rings, open the door)
Personnel of PHMD: Public Health Monitoring Department. A report was sent from your computer yesterday that revealed you have been reporting false information to the department. You are now under arrest.
Protagonist: What? No, no, nooo!!

 

End of script

 

References:

  1. Kluth, A. (2020, April 22). If We Must Build a Surveillance State, Let’s Do It Properly. Retrieved May 01, 2020, from https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-04-22/taiwan-offers-the-best-model-for-coronavirus-data-tracking
  2. Lake, E. (2020, March 31). When Tracking the Virus Means Tracking Your Citizens. Retrieved May 01, 2020, from https://www.bloombergquint.com/gadfly/covid-19-tracking-threatens-civil-liberties-after-coronavirus
  3. Coronavirus: Under surveillance and confined at home in Taiwan. (2020, March 24). Retrieved May 01, 2020, from https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-52017993
  4. Lemieux, P. (2018, June 13). Why the Surveillance State is Dangerous. Retrieved May 01, 2020, from https://www.econlib.org/archives/2018/06/why_the_surveil.html
  5. Herro, E. (2015, March 18). #UnfollowMe: 5 Reasons We Should All Be Concerned About Government Surveillance. Retrieved May 01, 2020, from https://www.amnestyusa.org/unfollowme-5-reasons-we-should-all-be-concerned-about-government-surveillance/

 

Name: Hong Sum Ho Angus
UID: 3035695696

4 thoughts on “[Video Essay] Utopia?

  1. Wong Ting Fai Wesley says:

    Hey Angus, this is my comment for your video essay. First of all, I really appreciate the use of still clips throughout the video, it makes the whole video consistent and allows the audience to focus on the overall story instead of particular aspects. I really like the use of the aerial shot in the beginning, not only does it give the audience a clear first glimpse of the protagonist’s dwelling, it also projects a sense of surveillance that lurks within the household, which sums up the theme of the video essay. I also enjoyed the fact that you have made a paper model for this particular video essay, it just shows the effort you have put into this assignment. The storyboard also adds detail and clarity to the video essay. Overall, I really enjoyed the video essay, even though there are bits that are bits where the voice-overs are not timed well haha.

    Reply
  2. Wong Ting Fai Wesley says:

    Hey Angus, this is my comment for your video essay. First of all, I really appreciate the use of still clips throughout the video, it makes the whole video consistent and allows the audience to focus on the overall story instead of particular aspects. I really like the use of the aerial shot in the beginning, not only does it give the audience a clear first glimpse of the protagonist’s dwelling, it also projects a sense of surveillance that lurks within the household, which sums up the theme of the video essay. I also enjoyed the fact that you have made a paper model for this particular video essay, it just shows the effort you have put into this assignment. The storyboard also adds detail and clarity to the video essay. Overall, I really enjoyed the video essay, even though there are bits that are bits where the voice-overs are not timed well haha.

    Wesley Wong Ting Fai 3035664740

    Reply
  3. Chan Chun Ngok Osten says:

    A straight-forwarded plot, yet thought-provocating. Establishing shots of the apartment has a calm yet eerie contradictive psycological effect on the viewers. The screen presents the three walls of the apartment, yet the forth wall is filled up with the audience as spectators. Walls are supposed to act as protection for the dweller, yet such privacy is breached times after another via the media of technology, such as the phone call from the government, the computer “PID” check, and notably the CCTV-like angle of the prominent establishing shots. This theme of surveillance is revisited for the “next day” act when the protagonist is prying into the apartment model he held. The apartment model is completed, yet the forth wall is missing, allowing outside forces i.e. the protagonist to pry into, ironic that the audience was prying into the protagonist’s house as well.
    In short, a very elaborate video essay with clear thematic approach on the compromisation between (public) safety and privacy, which is a very outstanding topic especially during this COVID-19 crisis where the general public is kept under surveillance 24-7 during lockdowns and quarantines. At the same time, the architecture of apartment itself became more reinforced in terms of the physical mobility and spiritual freedom of the dweller, ironically at the same time more porous in terms of privacy via the channel of technology. Overall a thought-provoking allegory which I really like.

    Reply
  4. Annie Lye says:

    This is a compelling short video. An excellently crafted narrative about the paradoxical condition of governmental safety measures and surveillance. The cinematography is well-curated and executed, demonstrating your confident understanding of space and the relationships that unfold within it – in particular when you flipped to POV of the computer screen and high-angle in the corner of the apartment, thereby allowing us the audience to step into the role of the voyeuristic surveyor in your narrative.

    Needless to say, the organization and visual design of your video work were cumulatively engaging and thoughtful. The well-curated shots within the domestic spaces successfully foregrounded your thesis of surveillance and to an extent, the topic of control. A solid list of references from reliable sources. Overall, well done.

    Reply

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