Video Project

I initially wanted to highlight "the hunt" of the outlet mall shopping experience. However, after consideration and review, I decided to focus my project on the hunt for a parking spot at the mall, rather than the actually shopping experience itself, as this search can take far longer than navigating any clearance rack or bin. I combined several shots of the parking lot and worked with the color, speed and length of these shots in order to create a feeling of uneasiness and even car sickness in order to convey the frustration and near impossibility of finding a parking spot on a busy day. I started the video with a ground shot of cars entering the mall. The perspective limits the viewer, as he or she is not able to see where the cars are coming from and going to, setting the scene for the uneasiness of the video. I combined long shots with shorter shots with cross dissolves to convey a sense of prolonged time in which the hunt for a parking spot almost transforms the viewer into an alternate form of time and reality as the focus is solely on the task of finding a spot. The sound, a simple recording of cricket night sounds aids in the otherworldly tone as images of daylight are combined with hopeless sounds of the dark unknown. Finally, I titled the video "The Empty Lot" in order to draw a metaphor for the anxiety that the hunt for a parking spot can produce as the searcher may begin to feel alone and incapable as he or she is surrounded by parked cars, with no space for the him or her.