A blog for Will of the MJ at JMSC, HKU

Hong Kong – City of Light

willmac08 — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 09:30:43 +0000

Light as heritage in Hong Kong

A focus on:

Recent campaigns to dim lighting in the city, particularly aimed at businesses who leave lights on after hours – coming from an environmental perspective
The Chinese cultural significance of light, scaring away bad spirits etc.
The Symphony of Lights show in Victoria Harbour – wider notion of light as a tourist attraction for the city

My interview subjects are as follows:

HKU Urban Planning assistant professor – on the cultural significance of light in the city
Friends of the Earth ‘Dim It’ campaign spokesman
A range of Vox pops, both in relation to the Symphony of Lights and also general lighting in the city

Use of multimedia:

Soundslides of light displays in the city – with academic in background
Video of Symphony of Lights display (permission has been granted by the HK tourist commission)
Full audio of interview with academic
A range of photographs

‘Cage Dwellers’ – A Soundslides project

willmac08 — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 21:20:24 +0000

Check out this multimedia story about Hong Kong’s ‘Cage Dwellers’ – By Chris Dewolf, Zoe Li and myself, Will McCallum.

Got Milk? Want Milk?

willmac08 — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 03:47:07 +0000

Will McCallum

HONG KONG, SEPTEMBER 29 – China’s tainted milk scandal has now sickened over 50 thousand children and killed at least three, leading many to believe that this may be a fatal blow to the country’s dairy industry.

On the streets of Hong Kong – whose citizens often drink mainland milk, and have also been contaminated – we asked three people if they had been affected, and whether they were surprised by the scandal.

The responses may surprise you…

Listen to the MP3 here.

(In order of appearance in audio – Mr Lee, Stella and Mike. All photos by Chris Dewolf.)

Designing the project – ‘Cage Dwellers’

willmac08 — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 17:04:43 +0000

While Hong Kong is an extremely affluent city its wealth is by no means shared evenly. As someone living in a comfortable apartment in an attractive part of Hong Kong, attending university and spending time alongside many others who are very fortunate, I believe an understanding of the lives of others in the city is important. Unfortunately, the stories of those with the lowest mobility are generally heard the least.

There are perhaps none with less mobility than the so-called ‘Cage Dwellers’ – people living in tiny and cage-like living spaces. These are people who have generally come across from mainland China for employment and often earn just HK$2000 or less per month. Those living in such circumstances have an unenviable life; their bed cage consisting of a single bed in a room with often a dozen people – relationships and family are either out of the question or long gone.

Approaching this topic as a journalist is not simple – particularly given that this is journalism using multimedia. It is likely that the people living in these circumstances will have a sense of shame, and may not be keen to be interviewed, or for that matter, photographed. Evidently, this is one of our team’s biggest challenges. For this reason, contact with the non-governmental organisations Society for Community Organisation (SOCO) and the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) (which we have already made) along with journalists with existing connection to the issue is vital. It is not just our preference to have subjects and locations recommended to us, it is likely to be our only realistic avenue for the story. Establishing a relationship of trust with our subjects will be vital for the elicitation of quality photographs and sound.

My role in the group will primarily be in two parts. The first is to conduct wide-ranging research into the phenomenon of ‘cage dwelling’, in order to optimise the line of questioning for the interviews and ensure our overall presentation does not misrepresent or put findings out of context. Besides the material available from organisations such as SOCO and the AHRC there is also significant academic study dedicated to this field, which can be found using the university’s electronic resources. I am also in charge of liasing with the JMSC regarding the borrowing of cameras and other equipment required. In addition to taking photographs while on location and assisting with sound during interviews, the second role I have in the group is to do the initial ordering of collected media and then create a first rough sequence to be taken to the other team members for consultation.

This will no doubt be a fascinating project and I do look forward to pursuing it. Watch this space for further instalments.

Migrants – part of Hong Kong’s Heritage

willmac08 — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 15:16:28 +0000

Umbrellas , originally uploaded by willmccallum.

Based on 2006 figures, there are well over 250 thousand Filipino and Indonesian migrant workers in the city of Hong Kong – with the latter group growing rapidly. The vast majority are women working as domestic helpers.

Hong Kong has a fascinating history of multiculturalism and the presence of these two groups are one of the more recent chapters.

Every Sunday, Victoria and Kowloon Parks, the Hong Kong cultural centre and a range of other locations around the city host thousands of these migrants for informal meetings including picnics, bingo, shopping and group telephone conversations (often to family back home).

These photographs were all taken around Central – either at the HSBC building or Statue Square. To view more of my photos, head to my flickr page, which is also featured further down this page.