Video Link: (no conversations were recorded and a note was placed over the camera to let people know why we were filming)
To explore 8 cubic meters of space, we decided to show how the Parsons Paris elevator is used through filming the people that go in and out of it. We filmed for a total of an hour in two different angles to get a different view of the people walking in. The objective of this was to investigate what people do in the elevator every day and how their reactions may differ whether they notice the camera or not.
It was interesting to see how people’s reaction were so different. The ones who noticed it either pretended it didn’t exist and some made funny gestures in front of the camera. Others did not notice it was there and acted normally not being conscious that the camera was there.
There is something quite intriguing about filming people in these boring and usually uneventful seconds. Riding in an elevator is a time when one simply stands in one place, without anything to do except talk to someone or keep to themselves. In some cases they may be moving something up to the next floor but regardless, as the elevator is moving, they have no choice but to remain in this small space thus capturing the things people do when they wait or when their privacy has suddenly been invaded.
The music in the video is meant to be quiet and elevator like, in order to instil this boring effect of simply quietly riding the elevator while at the same time this isn’t the case since we cannot help but watch and pay attention to the different reactions.
