Confinement
Theme: Digital Citizenship, Course: Convergence Communication ll
Idea/Thoughts:
Confinement means restricted within a boundary, imprisonment, isolation, quarantined - you can look at it generally, or relate it with the current situation of COVID-19 ongoing pandemic.
The idea is to take “Digital Citizenship” and communicate that people in power, standing at a politically privileged position can call the shots in the media, shape the perspective and decide what information will be put out and affect viewer/audience perception through the use of mass media. This sabotages digital responsibilities, practices dishonesty by altering facts and manipulating information and misleads people. It is undetectable to the public eye, because of lack of media literacy.
Also, the system has been developed in a way to derive the attention of people elsewhere, giving the main culprit space to be untraceable. This is an element that defies responsible and ideal digital citizenship.
Visualization:
Shot 1
A shot of shaking hands covered in messy white powder, red paint/red food color, crossed in a manner that depicts as if they are tied together. The title will be written in rough black on the skin even as the hands keep moving. The subject walks over to a portion of the wall where the video artist’s name is revealed.
Camera Angle
The camera will stay still for 2 seconds to fixate the viewer’s eyes, and then start moving sideways as the subject’s hands are moving to reveal the video artist’s introduction.
Background Music
● Mysterious, strange music
● Muffled chaos in the distance
● Foot steps
● Blood drip
Message 1
Restriction and boundary of the media. The restriction cannot be seen by the naked eye, but the depiction of invisible rope means control of the media by powerful/influential/political figures. The mess in the hands belong to the hands of the journalists, blog writers, activists and content creators who have tried to use their voice consciously - some have been injured, some have been silenced, some have faced bloodshed. Those who have voiced their conscious opinions, or placed logic, stood up for what’s right have also made it to jail. The white flour powder resembles the truth and transparency.
The way the video artist’s name is written on the wall will give a sense of inside a jail cell, due to tally marks around the name.
Message 2
Women being shackled by patriarchy in everyday life. The muffled audio of chaos sounds like a supposed women’s rights march being broken up by police, gunshots scattering a crowd in riot. The blood drip also depicts bloodshed during the riot.
Message 3
Domestic abuse of house-help maids, especially of women in general. The blood drip represents how harshly women are tortured or beaten up, and sometimes even killed out of rage.
Message 4
Imprisonment and mental and/or physical suffering in isolation. Those living in isolation during the pandemic would be able to relate to this. Mental chaos, or the chaos of the world in the distance, encountering the deaths of loved ones and others - but the individual’s “hands are tied” to rescue those suffering from the situation.
Message 5
The exploitation (red) of young innocent minds (white).
Purpose of the Messages
Since the introductory part or the title in this case is perhaps the most important for creating identity of the artist - I wanted to accumulate several thoughts of issues which are social concerns from all time and even of the current stage of the world, or if one wants to focus particularly on our country. The title shot will carry the most weight and depth in terms of communicating the message to convey all the different chains of thoughts I have every now and then. I am not alone in this, and so I hope this will be a hooking point.
Shot 2
Floor setting, two women of varying age working with kitchen tools.
The opening scene focuses a shot on two pairs of hands - one pair younger than the other. The older hands are slowly and carefully pressing on flour paste (আটা) to shape it into dough. The younger hands are trying to copy but the flour paste isn’t as smooth, and there is more mess on her station.
The woman is pinning on the flour to get it perfectly round - the younger one is trying but failing.
Camera Angle
Long shot fixated in top-shot or in wide angle to capture both the pair of hands.
Background Music
● Classical music, with tabla - preferably of a maestro hitting notes and his student following.
● Alternative: Classical tabla with harmonium focusing on a raga. At intervals the harmonium tune gets intense, the tabla beats get louder with interchanging variations within the same pattern.
● Strange, distorted music randomly in between.
Message 1
Journalists, Content creators, activists, or anyone in media are often led by a mentor, who pave the path for them to become torch bearers. Mentors always give a ray of hope, and are idolized by their juniors.
The older woman is the mentor or the influential one, the younger one is either in the learning process or somebody who is practicing their art, passion or work.
People in a media house follow the hierarchy or their seniors, trying to copy exactly as their mentors without questioning the credibility, authenticity. Sometimes there is no voice of the junior or younger one to even question. They’re helpless to follow a certain boundary of writing up news, of using procedures of collecting facts and giving them only one shape - which is idolized.
Message 2
Women are taught from a young age to learn household chores, and especially stick to the kitchen. Young girls always follow their mothers to learn cooking in a standardized manner, to follow and carry the tradition, art and chore value of it to the next female in life.
Message 3
Females are expected to be constantly perfect in the kitchen and be the perfect cook. If they’re not perfect, they won’t be impressive to the world, to their husbands etc.
Shot 3
At some point, the younger one is passing the misshapen flour discs to the older one as she perfects them into a properly round roti.
The woman will start pouring food color. Digital manipulations may be added for visual effect.
Background Music
● Continuing but chaotic or clashing beats of the classical music/tabla
● Glitch noise as the woman drops color liquid.
Message 1
To “perfect” the flour discs, the younger one has to turn in those to the more experienced person, who supposedly perfects it. The reality is not always perfect. And although some things appear perfectly, they may not remain factual or truthful. This scene is a representation of a powerful person changing up the course of reality. The changing of color of white flour to colorful means both changing up the facts, and putting rose colored glasses to the public eyes. Think of it this way, the colorful flour is attractive, and it becomes trendy or the talk-of-the-town. Isn’t this how the latest trendy news works nowadays? We see something with our rose colored lens and make it the topic of the week. The majority of the people won’t even seek out the truth.
Message 2
Women often become the enemy of each other by imposing harm or sabotaging creation and contribution of another, which is represented by the food color here.
Message 3
The learning curve for a woman gets more and more complicated as food color is given to add complication to a simple process.
Message 4
There is always scope to do more. We can break the norms and think more creatively to present our creation.
Shot 4
The woman passes a different color to the young mentee, implementing that she should also try it out. The mentee will take it and smear her hand and imprint her palm on the flour disc. Camera angle remains the same. There may be digital manipulations required for added effect (if it only adds value to the project)
Background Music
Climax, loud music
Loud stomping of feet - imprinting on disc
Message 1
The political or influential person is grooming the young mind, passing the ink of dishonesty. While accepting and following the order, the journalist has left their own print in the digital world. In this situation - the politically influential person’s manipulations and deeds are untraceable. But when those with lesser power try to do something even out of influence, their prints are left behind, traceable and the world can blame them. The detective is in the spotlight and is potentially trapped for their deed. They are the pawn, and because of the different colored print they have left behind - nobody will tie the connection to the evil mastermind.
Message 2
Generations are passing down the tradition onward. A mother has successfully taught her daughter how to create the perfect roti - making her eligible to cook whether for herself or her own family.
Message 3
The palm print is a symbol of childhood. The girl in this scenario is leaving her childhood behind as she proceeds to the next chapter in her life.
Production Plan:
Cast:
● Me
● My mother
Props:
● Flour = Powder + Paste
● Rolling pin + Rolling board
● Mat
● Food color
● Paint (Optional)
● Marker
● Rope (Optional)
Equipment:
● Camera: Oppo F17 Phone Camera
● Tripod
Location:
● My own home - terrace (for best natural lighting) + garage (for title shot)
Editing:
● Myself
● If needed, I may reach out to Piyash da from Media Lab just to use PC for faster and efficient editing
For Helping Hand:
● My friend Snigdha Khan moved the camera in the title shot.
● Tripod will be borrowed from her.
Budget:
● Within 1000tk for food color, paint, flour (atta), travel fare and lunch for two people (me and my friend).
Timeline:
Video shooting of the main projection will be done twice as I am using natural light at our rooftop, also to acquire as much footage as possible so I have more to work with during post-production. This will be shot within the 8th of September. (My mother’s 2nd vaccine shot date is on the 5th, and she told me she needs 3 days recovery time to assist me in this project).
I want to take the title shot later for a more composed direction and output. My friend and I will be done with the title shot by the 9th, and I will start the editing process immediately. Since there are technical difficulties with my laptop, I will need the help of Mr. Piyash Roy, assigned by our course instructor, to help with course matters. I will only need to use his personal computer for the editing purpose.