Verdant Gaze | 光 合
Keywords: Experimental Video, Plants and Human, Hong Kong-based Narration
Hong Kong, 2024
Groupwork with: CHEONG Chung Yan Timothy, Huang Yifei Fifi, Li Jiahao Gaho, Wang Shuxin Yan
“ PLANT or HUMAN? Whoever we are, we are absent from the breath of ourselves.”
After experiencing the anxiety of regulations and desires, an urban plant rethinks whether its body still belongs to nature in the unfamiliar green of rebirth or dream. After the process of survival of the fittest has been engraved into one’s soul, does one still possess the true nature of oneself?
This video applied PIP(picture in picture) and VIV (video in video). At the same time, the monologue was transformed into narrative elements and served as the thread throughout the video. In the first part, we used a still camera and captured the original green color in the city plants. In the second part, we made all the sciences monochromatic, which related to the second part of the monologue and conveyed strong emotions of the drama of identity between plants and humans.
The mood board of the video
Shooting:
We shot some clips of the plants and humans to show various relationships between them.Sound Editing:
For the sound part, we have voice-over and sound effects. We did a multi-version of
the voice-over and decided to use a Cantonese female voice, which presents the sad
atmosphere of Hong Kong socialist plants. During the production and post-production, we also
tried to record the different versions of the decided voice to fix in the visual. After the
visual part was done, we added the field record sound and other effects, also tuning
the voice-over adjustment.
Subtitles:
Since we think subtitles are not only the translation of text but also an important element for expressing emotions and conveying information. Therefore, we strive to integrate subtitles with visual content to create more artistic and infectious audio-visual effects. By changing the colour, position, and size of the subtitles, the audience can feel that the subtitles, narration, and pictures complement each other, together conveying the profound thinking of the film about forests, cities, humans, and plants.