My final project for Core Lab 3 is an abstract narrative semi-autobiographical fashion film about the alienation of contemporary city life. I capture this through scenes of my subjects moving through the city, interacting or avoiding the other bodies they encounter. I also show this through shots of skyscrapers; immense views of multiple megastructures juxtaposed with extremely zoomed in detail shots of their mysterious contents and untouchable inhabitants. I am doing this to explore my own feelings about my place in the city and how my interests intersect with my introversion. I tend to isolate myself in public, wearing headphones and looking up at buildings instead of faces on the street. People stare at me a lot on the streets, my boyfriend notices more than I do but I feel their eyes all the time. I’m more inclined to be a voyeur in most situations and spend much of my time simply observing. Observation is a large element of this video. I want to explore how my obsession with buildings feeds my desire for isolation, and how that plays out in my romanticization of my subjects. It’s very much about loneliness, longing, and desire. Subjects range from total strangers to buildings to a friend who I followed and directed. It is important that this work is made as a video because it captures in greater detail the feeling of surveillance or voyeurism and constant documentation.
Some successes were the uncomfortable length of some shots, like the one of David (my model) in front of the Chase building in FiDi. They remind me of how I feel when I know I’m being watched on the streets or in the subway. I’m also fond of the audio I worked on for the video. I incorporated music that I listen to a lot when I’m walking in the city or working on a project, which is why it naturally came in. All the music was made by Spanish speaking musicians, not an important fact really but a connection to David’s Spanish heritage. Overall, I feel like the video was a bit too long and I struggled to fill the 5 minute minimum with interesting and new content. Maybe I’ve just watched this footage too many times, but it can feel maybe a little repetitive or aimless at points. My editing, sequencing, and everything formal I think ended up being very strong, but my next task I think is developing my storytelling skills.
