‘CLOSE UP’
“Narration”
Point of view (POV): You’re a hypothetical living speck of dust with a pair of eyes that is particularly keen on observing things.
Tap tap tap… The monotonous tone you’re all too familiar with. You don’t have to have a pair of ears to be able to recognize it. Unlike the variety of melodious tunes sung by a piano, a laptop’s keyboard buttons all sound the same.
Tap tap tap… Accompanied by the dull and boring view you so often see; a close up of fingers, robotically typing away. Day in, day out. No matter the time of day, no matter what room you’re in.
Tap tap tap… You can’t help but think and wonder, has this become the epicenter of one’s life nowadays? Sitting in front of a laptop, typing in a blog post for an assignment. One’s pair of eyes are so focused on their writing that they seem to be oblivious to the amount of dust collecting on their laptop’s keyboard. Their eyes glued to the screen—bless their eyesights—having memorized the exact location of each letter, as if being embedded in their programmed minds and acting out of automation.
Tap tap tap… Now that one is finally done writing for the day, you close your eyes and are once again met with darkness as the laptop screen meets the keyboard. Time to rest now, before having to wake up to yet another day and face the repetitive tasks that lie ahead.
Side Note:
Due to my poor sense of humour, I decided to “narrate” the video from an “out-of-the-box point-of-view” perspective of a hypothetical living speck of dust. That idea actually came to mind when I realized just how dusty my laptop actually is (don’t worry, it’s now clean lol).
What I had in mind for the ‘close up’ shots were to try and show what one does at home during the pandemic. Aside from the laptop clips, I also filmed the close up of fingers—a common factor in all the videos—doing some embroidery, drawing and painting.
‘LIGHT’
Light. The first thing that comes to the minds of most people, and myself included, is the bright, blinding type of light. But as I lit up this candle, I got the sudden realization that the flickering of flames could also be considered as a ‘light’ source in a pitch dark room. Oh and unlike the ‘close up’ shots, this idea did not come to mind until this very minute. So I reached out and grabbed my phone—which was already in arm’s reach—and started filming this video.
Now here I am, writing all this down in my phone’s notes before I forget it, in a pitch dark room. Let’s just hope that my eyesight doesn’t get any worse… I remember back then when a candle was merely used to light up a room when there’s a blackout, and how I would strain my eyes trying to read or do my homework. We used to have a lot of the typical candlesticks back then, I’m not even sure if we have those anymore here. Whereas now, I purchase scented candles (and this one’s my favourite if you can’t tell). Since it’s been mostly burnt, this was, in my opinion, the best angle to capture the dancing flames and the glares of light.
‘MOVEMENT’
Ever since being back in my hometown, my friend and I got the chance to visit our high school during the pandemic. Seeing the halls, classes and stairways oh so very empty, it gave me the idea to take some walking shots to represent ‘movement’ amidst the complete stillness of everything. After seeing those clips again, I just can’t help but reminisce and remember what it felt like seeing numerous students rushing their way up the stairs, clutching and swinging their lunch boxes as they shouted “I WANT TO SIT WITH YOU!” or “LET’S SIT THERE!” and “DON’T FORGET TO SAVE MY SEAT!”, or the loud sighs and panting of those who just finished physical education class, sweat trickling down their faces, taking huge gulps of water as they dragged their feets down the stairs to head towards their next class. It puts a smile on my face, knowing that I too was one of those students.
A place once filled with so much movement, a complete 180 degree turn, now with nothing to see. Maybe an ant crawling, or maybe a mosquito flying about, but that pretty much sums it up. Up to the point where if this video wasn’t muted, it could still get away as being a silent video.
