English assessment 1.4: Descriptive writing "Then, Now & Later"

It’s nearing the end of Winter in Wuhan.

I remember the beginning of this cold season, how the days slowly turned bleak and bitter. How the strong winds that once carried the leaves to the sea are now as sharp as a knife, slicing rosy cheeks, platinum silver to match the skies. Now, the stench of smog burns the back of my throat as the sliding door closes behind me and I begin draping detergent-drenched towels over the rail. The city of Wuhan is bustling beneath me. Occasional honks sound from far below; the grid-lock traffic is customary for a late Friday afternoon, after all. Pedestrians walk in the glow of golden streetlamps like actors walking across the stage in the spotlight. 

It’s the middle of Spring in Wuhan. 

The mask is still warm from past breaths as I loop it around my ears, the elastic snapping against my cool skin. The air outside is warmer when I slide the door open slightly, yet through the cheap fabric of the mask, I smell the strong pungent stench of chemicals and disinfectant that is becoming all-too familiar in the province. Wincing at how it stings my eyes, I look over the edge of the balcony, and I’m shocked. The street below is almost-completely deserted and eerily silent. A sun that once struggled to shine through clouds of slate now radiates across a province of steel and branding it bronze. The Yangtze is a lagoon of rumpled blue satin. Beyond that, on a plot of land where the rainbow beanstalk of a circus tent would slice the sky, the week-old walls of a hospital doomed, struggling to accommodate China’s sickest. 

It’s the start of summer in Wuhan. 

The land is flat and dry where the sun will come to rest, flames still licking the sky as it straddles the horizon, and just when the tongue of fire has come to rest, only the glow of blue and red illuminates the street below. I’m not the only one watching. People above and below me are peering over their balconies to catch a glimpse of the man. He was old; he wore a red shirt over his face. The nurse closes lightless eyes with the tip of her yellow latex pinky, pulls the shirt over wrinkled skin. It’s when the doors of the ambulance slam shut that apartment doors overhead close, too, and now, it’s just me, watching as blue and red disappears past a bend of deserted street. 

Wuhan is dark, Wuhan is quiet. That’s the way it will be for a long time. 

L1Eng | Close viewing unit introduction

In today's English lesson we explored videos surrounding cinematography techniques such as camera shots, angles, and the use of music in film. I have some previous knowledge of these techniques to a certain extent but today I learned more.

A couple of the new camera techniques I discovered included 'the golden section' and 'leadlines'. 

One camera effect that stuck out to me was the 'dolly zoom' which I've seen on TikTok as the 'vertigo effect'. The dolly zoom is a unique shot, the camera is moving backwards from the object/person/focal point, all while the camera is zooming in. This provides for a very interesting shot. 

A dolly zoom looks like this:

Since last year's close viewing unit of The Hunger Games, I've actually subconsciously taken more notice to the cinematography techniques directors use. Music is definitely an aspect of film that I didn't take notice of before but now it makes me understand the film and think about it in more complex ways, whether it is a scene or a montage, etc. 

Moving onto the actual film I will be close viewing: Jojo Rabbit is a very good movie (this is the film that the class voted on watching) that I could definitely close-view, but there are of course some films I'd like to study myself if I had the chance.

I'd absolutely love to close-view Stanley Kubrick's 'A Clockwork Orange' and could probably write an entire essay based on the music alone. 

Stanley Kubrick's 'The Shining' would also be very interesting, especially in terms of camera angles and shots, which, again, I could write an entire essay on. The Kubrick zoom is already iconic in itself and the fact that Jack Nicholson has his own in 'The Shining' is amazing.





'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest' (which also coincidentally stars Jack Nicholson) is another film I'd love to close-view. Films based off literature are, in my opinion, significantly worse than the book itself, but 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest' is an exception. It's a masterpiece. 




Finally, 'Lolita'. There are two adaptations of this film, based on the classic novel by Vladimir Nabokov (Lolita was difficult to read, admittedly, but is definitely in the top three books I've ever read) I've seen both films, but it's actually Adrian Lynn's 1997 adaptation that I prefer, not Stanley Kubrick's.  

Lolita is such a beautiful film, and I admit if this were to become my close-viewing subject, I would spend most of English crying at how tragic it is. But this is probably the film I want to study most. That said, if the English department doesn't allow me to study it, I wouldn't blame them. 





I'm aware I've gone on a tangent, but I'm most definitely passionate about films and can't wait to start close-viewing.