Our second studio session saw us venturing into the city under a set of directions and shooting what we came across in the streets. The exercise came as a follow up to our viewing of the 2012 documentary ‘The Human Scale’, which focused on the urbanisation of some of the worlds major cities – and the impact it poses to those living within it. Despite China’s success in moving 3 million people out of poverty into modern cities, there is an inherent social disconnect that comes with the new inner-city living. The scale of China’s urban environment is vast and becoming increasingly populated. We discussed ways in which the documentary depicted this frantic cityscape with various shots and angles that could simultaneously portray the loneliness that comes from living within it. For example, we analysed the way in which shots can be evocative, telling us a story rather than simply showing us an image. Reflective shots (eg. shop fronts that show reflections) can communicate the vastness of a space within an intimate setting.
Our class exercise gave us the chance to experiment capturing images of the city that could convey more than just what we were seeing, a skill that will no doubt be necessary to some of the work required of this studio.
Be First to Comment