Narrow Down of the Mong Kok Project November 3, 2008

Main Idea:

This is a grass root place. This is a place that without its conlonial commercial tastes. This is a place that nearly every local youth will go to.

• Interview the people walk nearby in mong kok, in the view of ‘ what is mong kok in your life’,

• Interview the shop owner in mong kok, that ‘what mong kok brings to your business. How your business started.’

• Interview the old dwellers in the buildings in the main street residences, ‘ why you stay at mong kok and how it developed and you witnessed in the ages.’

The final Effect:

Product is mainly in the sound slide mixed with video and static pictures.

With Illustrations: Hand draw a map with pencil and scan it to the computer to read it geographically.

1. To show it in different ages, like ‘1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s. mong kok’
2. or to show it main special streets, like ‘ book store , female street , food street , IT stuff ,mong kok’

With words: There is a main story about mong kok, its populous history.

Mong Kok, People,People,People. October 27, 2008

‘Mong Kok has the greatest population density in the world, according to the Guinness World Records. (mean 130,000 people per km2), with a 4 times development parametres.’-This is a wikipedia quote.

Mong Kok is an extreme example of ‘people crowds’ in Hong Kong, the same as the 5th Avenue of the  New Your City, and the Shibuya-ku (渋谷区) of the Tokyo City. It has already been an compound business area symbol of Hong Kong. When people come to Hong Kong, they must go and have a visit.

 

WHY 

The ‘people crowds’ heritage lies in its wide and mixed range of business and shops. It bears both cheap and luxury entertainment and commodities, where you can either get some several-thousand audio Hi-fi, or pick a $10 HKD T-shirt. There are clothes shops, restaurants, cinemas, food stands, open markets, salons, book stores and many other different business lines. Different type of shops Are living together, bearing in this area. There are many young Hong Kong people wandering in the area, and you could get a glimpse of what the new generations are. It reflects the cultural lifestyle.

Now this area is facing with the new building plan. The government will change the old market into new shopping malls. How do people think of this?  (This will remain as a future question part, but not the focus.)

WHAT

The body is to use the ‘crowds’ to lead into look the special commodity business culture in Mong Kok. 

I will have three main coverages.

1. shop owners, (about 3 shops, what type of shops, to be determined), to look into their feeling about the development of mong kok business. Do they love here? How do they keep their business? It is getting noisier and noisier, more crowded and crowded, what do they think.

2. customers, various, street snapshot and voxpop, ‘ what do you come here to do?’, looking into Mong Kok style youngsters.

3. Deweller.one. The focus will be the house she/he is living, and main living problem she would meet by the growing popluation here.

 HOW

The multimedia elements I will use to tell the story.

1. Google map

2. A handmade map of shops (手绘地图) (in analysis of a mixed range of business/shops in Mong Kok area)

3.‘youtube’ movie links to get readers some perceptional ideas about the past of Mong Kok.

4. Vox Pop

5. Street Snapshot like the website ‘satorialist’ http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/

6. A stable shot at same place, once an hour. To see how ‘ the mong kok never sleeps’ 

 

 Reference:
a. Ming Pao Weekly  VOL. 2017 , article about Monk Kok http://www.mingpaoweekly.com/.Here is  some great abstract in Chinese, in mention about Jane Jacobs’ book, ‘ The Death and life of Great American Cities’
 ‘每次站在旺角街頭，都不禁會問：「旺角為何總是人頭湧湧？」直至看過城巿研究者Jane Jacobs的《The Death and Life of Great American Cities》（譯名：《美國大城巿的興衰》）似乎有點眉目。她提到一個城巿有沒有活力，有沒有生氣，取決於四項條件。

　第一：區內夠多樣性，意思是人可以在區內進行不同的活動，不僅要有人居住，還有商店、有音樂廳、有學校等等；每一個用途又會衍生其他用途的東西，這也令不同時段，有不同的人落腳點，店舖就可以維持下去。我試以旺角做例子，麥花臣球場提供睇波的地方，波友看波前後要總要吃點東西，於是衍生周邊的食肆餐廳。但沒有球賽的日子，附近還有學校、遊客和居民光顧，餐廳就可以維持下去.第二：街區要短，且多轉角，讓人流擴散開去. 第三：新舊廈並立，因為舊廈的租金相對便宜，讓小店有生存空間，同時小店亦能帶來多樣性的活動。第四：稠密的人口聚集於區內，無論是居民或外來的.

3. http://www.hku.hk/hkcsp/ccex/text/e_project/issue3/mongkok/mk.htm

CONCERNS & QUESTIONS

1. Will it be too general? Is the story a Feature or a NEWS FEATURE? If it is news realted, then shall I change it into perservation and new plans about mong kok?

Some ideas got from the class:

1. Not to be a guide book.  Must avoid that.

2. Cantonese Spelling.

3. Focus should be people who are living here, working there, shopping there.

SoundSlide: A Young Feng Shui Master in Hong Kong October 20, 2008

Photo: Eve Yao

What is Feng Shui? What is Feng Shui in your house? What is this old culture in new age and generation? Please click here to see How a young feng shui master has his day visiting a young hong kong man’s flat.

What do you eat for breakfast? September 29, 2008

what Do You Eat For Breakfast?

This week we practiced sound exercise—VOX POP. Before we kicked off on street ourselves, I checked the BBC online tutorials many times to get a perpetual idea about it. After listening to the ‘Skonne’ vox pop for many times, I had a rough idea–should it be raw, natural, clean and short voices. No need to be a perfect answer.

 

We three girls walked onto the street. Mandy Lai was in charge of the vox pop-up, while Lu Lu in charge of taking notes, and my job would be a paparazzi to give a candid snapshot. ‘Liu Xiang quit the Olympics, what do you think?’—it was our first trial question, but disappointedly, it turned out to be quite distractive. ‘Sorry, no idea’, ‘I don’t know that’…To make it an instant shift to the embarrassing situation, we changed roles, as well as the pop-up question. I grabbed along the recorder and Mandy handled the photography. ‘Excuse me, we are doing a short survey,’ hope they not feel intruded, ‘What do you eat for breakfast?’

 

Simple question should be a good choice for vox pop, even if it is an old grandpa, once he speaks English, he understands you and may do you a favor by answering it. We successfully got eight answers, though much of the results turned to be common–‘ Bread, Milk, Coffee’, but by cutting  and mixing them together, their accents, their tones, makes it a good vox pop.

 

I have my tricks grabbing candidates. Focus those who were waiting for the red light, not on the phone, at big crossroads, and hopefully a foreigner. Smile to them and walk toward them and they will not just ruthlessly reject you. Thick face, remember.

 

 

 

  

Planning for the Assignment—Feng Shui Heritage in Hong Kong September 22, 2008

 

 

Generally speaking, the word ‘Feng Shui’ is living in common people’s life in Hong Kong. Some you are aware of, but some you are not. You can easily figure out the direction of the altars they set for their god, but you can hardly sense the secrets of a plant, a mirror, or one open window in their intentional settings, because you only know little about the theory.

 

The most challenging thing is about this. The theory (or the topic itself) is not an easy story to explain. If it been well explained to make you understand in the 2-minute-slideshow, it means that you are a half Feng Shui master to translate it. Compared to other historical topics about Hong Kong, there is much to be done with Feng Shui ahead of it.

 

Secondly, How to make the story tempting by slideshows? I keep asking myself from time to time. After I have browsed about more than 20 slideshow stories, I find that it is always the character in the picture, his facial expression, the detailed close-up shots that give the most impacts. Given the topic more controversial, the pictures will look stronger to read. However, Feng Shui is a mild topic, meanwhile; it involves much still lives rather than people activities. So, how to make it more interesting? –Could be a real challenge.

 

After we had discussed about the ‘bit embarrassing’ situation, I turned to library to find books to read. Since I will be attending the Thursday’s public lesson held in Mong Kok this week and may talk to the lecturer for interview permission. I assigned myself 5 books to read before Thursday to have a basic common knowledge about Feng Shui as well to speak to the masters.

 

I have enrolled in the Photojournalism lecture this semester, so I am assigned as a photographer. To make a better preparation, I borrowed two heavy picture books featuring photojournalism, one from National Geographic Portrait and one from Magnum. Though reading them through leads to a little bit dizzy at a time, but keeping an eye on the ‘angles, aspects,and the compositions of the pictures’, I acuquired a lot from the masterpieces. 

 

I have one acquaintance whose office is in the Bank of China Building in Central, which is a well-known example to embody the governmental Feng Shui practice in Hong Kong. Unluckily he is on a business trip in mainland China these days, but I still asked him for a photo shooting permission, as well as his thinking about the building. I think I will keep following the thread later. Moreover, I am intending to know some real estate people. Hope they can give a more practical view on this topic and explain the Feng Shui heritage in a more vivid way, to look into common people’s daily lives.

 

What to start with, is to attend the public lecture on Feng Shui this Thursday.  Find the Feng Shui Masters/professors, and for sure, prepare to talk to him.

Hong Kong Heritage–Taste loyalty, half a century. September 15, 2008

Fishball-Noodles-Maker-Uncle photographed by Eve Yao Yi Wen

Summer 2008. Hong Kong, Central, 结志街 Sun King Kee Noodle.

WE arrived at 10.00 p.m. that day. Among all the luxious surrounding restutaurants near Jie Zhi Rd. ( which is so-called SOHO food area), the lonely little stand was there, enlightened, like a beam of twilight through the dark road.

Much of the walls were decorated by the posts from the media food review. ‘ Could be a reputed one! ‘ I looked inside and said to myself.  The man, over the counter, looked a bit tired, but served us generously.  He rolled about 8 fishballs instantly using saved fishmeat, threw into the boiling water, meanwhile, preparing the base soup for the noodles. Only about 5 minutes later, two clean, clear and fresh fishball noodles were done.

‘ The fishball tastes good, not sticky, no flour ingredients. ‘ I like his fishball.  ‘ For sure! I got up at 4 o’clock everyday, selecting fish meat, druged them and inserted different ingredients. All the materials are all fresh and we have our own family secret ingredients…’ He smiled.

 

He was sitting beside me then, since no new customers were coming there that night, wanted to say something more about his shop. Looking really tired, ( supposing he got up at 4 am and worked till 10 pm, 16 hours working already!), he started, ‘ The shop is my father’s, it was before war time, old Enlgish Colonial Ages…he emigrated from Guang Dong province, and the fishball was one of the seldom dishes he could cook…’ I took a glance at all the wall posters-food reviews, put down my chopsticks and walked toward the posters and read, ‘The Sun King Kee Noodle has maintained the orginial flavour for a long time…the son, now the owner of the resturaunt, kept the loyalty to the fishball noodles, as well as to his father’s wish…’

Reading that words and thinking that the old guy has kept in doing the same thing, making the seemingly easy food for that long time, just in a loyalty to his dad, I was moved… The original and plain taste of the nice fishball noodles, in the memory of his dad, of the old ages, or rather a long life promise. Can we generation keep it?

Originally uploaded by Eve Yao Yiwen

JMSC6091 project 1, HK heritage September 8, 2008

The first homework of Online Journalism this semester is to find some internet resource featuring the topic,’ Hong Kong Heritage’. When I searched it online, some official portal website turned up. http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/heritage/index.jhtml， A link called CULTURAL KALEIDOSCOPE caught my eye. Amongst the many links listed on left hand, the word ‘Feng Shui Class’ ranked fairly high. Combined with my seeing in hong kong that the citizen here worship the local god a lot and a majority of the family place the altar at home, I think the topic a good angle to look into itsCultural heritage.

According to the common sense, Hong Kong dewellers are really great fans of Feng Shui Theory. When they buy flats, view rooms, build office, Feng Shui is the very important reference they will apply to. They have a strong believe that the location will influnce their future in this way as how it faces the sun, how the river/water nearby walks around their house, how the walls stop their luck of wealth or how other’s door will reflect misfortune. Moreover, many people are making money in this field. There are quite a lot Feng Shui Masters running around this city checking for their comsumers, evaluate the porperty and giving speeches. The most funny thing appealing to me may be that, even the government, will consult to these Feng Shui theory when making urban planning. Not usual in other cities though?

housing pains August 27, 2008

This is an audio being interviewes by Sabrina FU of me.

Hunt for houses of Eve

La Moda Adjusto August 26, 2008

Arrived in hk 4 days ago, dear Sabirina Fu was still in the grey mood of the adjustment period in this strange city Hong Kong.  Still remember it was the terrible typhoon NURI night that she put her feet in Hong Hom train station, with no shops open, no fancy lamps on, no many taxies, she struggled to manage her 6 luggages to the flat she rented.

It was totoally not the expected flat she has supposed! All of a sudden she nearly broke in to tears: One bed, and no more furniture there. She called mom, trying not to make her upset, ’money? ok.’,' newroommate? not bad…’ maybe it was the 1st time in life she made it everything on her own behaving like a real mature-up.

Luckily she kept one contact number of her classmate Eve. In the hushly raining night she dialed that number and found some familiar accent of her own hometown…

portrait testing August 26, 2008

photograpy lesson, Eve Yao in shooting Sabrina Fu

 

at last, it was me!!!