The World Within
COVID 19. A time we thought we’d never live to see. The shops are closed, businesses have shut down, school yards are silent and the world is standing still. The affect that the coronavirus has had on us is a big one. With people all over the world being locked away in their houses and are kept from socialising amongst one another, now is the time that Communication is Key.
On a personal note, the reason why I connect so deeply with my series is that my coping mechanism was my routine of waking up, getting ready and heading to class. A class with great productive energy, a class with constructive criticism, and an academy that allows you to be who you want to be and not feel judge in any sense. That was my coping mechanism. Now that Covid-19 has taken its course I find it extremely difficult to stay motivated and my coping mechanism has been stripped away from me. However, luckily, due to the advancement in technology I can still have the coping mechanism of having my friends by my side at just the press of a button. Video calling my friends definitely isn’t the same but through this experiment and through this experience I found such a beautiful connection within this series and the conversations I had really made me understand how important communication is. The series that I have created is made up of some of the most important support systems in my life. I speak to these people every single day, however, even though this was the case I still found myself learning more about them in this time than ever before. I found that even though we spoke on a daily basis my friends still had their struggles. Struggles that they did not bring into light through means of a WhatsApp message. It was through this that I realised how important communication and catch-up sessions were within a friend group, a family group, or even with a long forgotten friend.
The series was captured through means of a virtual shoot using platforms such as Jitsi, Google Duo and Zoom, depending on the quality of the video. The way I went around using video calling platforms is that I would use two of the three platforms. One for the images to be shot on, the best quality platform at the time, and the second one was used for us as a group to have conversations on while I was doing the shoot. The reason for the different platforms is because while the one platform has three screens going it tends to decrease the quality, so I would use that platform to host our conversations, and the platform with just the two of us on were used for the actual shoot. The lighting setup I used was a simple one. I asked each of my friends to simply sellotape a empty toilet paper roll to the back of their phones against their flashlight. The cylinder shape of the roll allows for the light to create a solid spotlight type of effect. Even though the quality is poor I find that it gives a bit a character to my series and my concept. A perfectly set scene with grain and pixels almost describe the way our quarantine journeys have been. Even though we are all stuck at home, a place we are familiar with, we are stuck with this bump in the road that we now need to pass through before we can once again take on the world.
The Triptych as a Series
Each image is composed of various vintage setup scenes in order to create a vintage feel and cinematic tableau narrative. The final series created an interesting triptych. With the order in which I’ve placed the images it can almost been seen as a group of friends gathering together to hear ones stories of the effect of quarantine and the ‘adventures’ they have each embarked upon during this time of isolation. A group of friends separated physically but never separated at heart. Even though we are a miles apart we will always be together through means of advanced technology and the love and support shared amongst us.
Cinemagraphs
