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Final Project: Written Component

Mission: Space under bridges is underused, under-lit, and often unsafe. The way to bring life and safety to this space is, as Jane Jacobs said, eyes on the street. I propose, eyes under the street. Examples of this phenomena of inhabiting under bridge space can be seen, the Portland Saturday Market being one example, but conditions often return to their original state after events pack up.

Abstract: Eyes Under the Street aims to show the difference between under-utilized space and event based space under bridges. Its case study is the Burnside Bridge during and after the Portland Saturday Market. Thematically this film is split into two acts; the first showing under-exposed and aimless space, the second showing a potential and effective use for an otherwise forgotten interstitial space.

Part one utilizes slower camera movements and longer shot duration to emphasize how empty the space truly is. They grey tones and lack of people or movement leave room to focus on the bridge itself. The architectural form is demonstrated but is clearly lacking a human touch or ownership.

Part two uses quicker cuts and more active camera movements to demonstrate the energy and vivacity of the market. The subject matter shifts slightly as well. The focus moves from the bridges as a structure to the people occupying the space and making the space their own. This shift in focus is both thematic and literal, with the use of rack-focus moving the viewer from bridge to inhabitants. The success of the market is how well it takes the viewers eyes away from the grey concrete of the bridge and shows the liveliness of inhabitation.

Project Development: Initially the scope of under-bridge conditions could be quite broad. There are multiple bridges throughout Portland which could serve as subject. Focusing on a single bridge (Burnside Bridge) and zooming in further to essentially a single block, served to concentrate the narrative. Initial shots of the Hawthorne Bridge (now cut) mixed with shots from the Burnside Bridge caused some confusion and it seemed best to thoroughly explore a single instance. Other, just as successful occupations of under bridge space exist, even under the same bridge. Take the Burnside Skate Park for instance. Given the time frame for the project and powerful two act structure, it seemed best not to muddy the water with additional examples.

During the shooting, I was continually pushing to take more acrobatic and more dynamic shots of the market, to alleviate the prevalent use of chest to eye level shots. There are certainly more shots to be added. A wide contrast presented between the shadowy underbelly and well-lit exterior created potential for interesting silhouette shots, but also posed a challenge to creating well-exposed shots. There is quite a bit of unused footage (and some used footage) that features blown out white colors of people or indeterminate inky blackness under the bridge. In terms of scheduling shooting, I gathered much of the unused bridge footage early in the project. The market footage however required many weekends of shooting, every week trying to get higher quality shots and more diverse camera movements. Something beyond a tripod pan.

Editing faced similar critiques. Quicker cuts and rising action during the second act required continual revamping to heighten the difference from the first. Technical issues, presented by the wild price of good video equipment, sometimes resulted in shaky shots and less than smooth pans. Creative editing was required to iron out some shots and their transitions. Early on, I lighted on the idea of using jazz percussion as the music behind the film. Its focus on rhythm turned what might be less than riveting shots into a dynamic video by syncing the action and editing up with obvious beats. The first act features a more meandering soundtrack heightening the uneasiness of under-bridge conditions when no one is present. The second act ramps up the action with a livelier and quicker tempo.

Overall there are more dynamic shots that could’ve been added and more editing techniques to utilize. In light of this, Eyes Under the Street shows the vibrant difference between populated bridge space and empty. I hope this video is able to highlight and under used space and advocate for better design for an often forgotten place.

Course Reflection: The use of cinematography to represent architecture (outside the film industry) is criminally underrated. Architecture is a profession that struggles daily with representing three dimensional space while not directly inhabiting the space. Drawings, collage, technical documents; these are the current attempts to show conditions and ideas. These many forms of architectural representation are static, and while there is certainly a place for them, the way that humans inhabit space is not static. Therein lies the true success of video and architecture. Film captures architecture in ways that humans visually perceive space. Pans, tilts, and zooms are parallel to walking through a room and interacting with the architecture.

Granted, video shows how space currently exists and struggles to show how space could exist during or after design implementation. With advances in rendering technology, walkthroughs and videos of unbuilt space are becoming more relevant as well. The biggest hurdle to overcome is using media in architectural presentation. Screens are seen as inferior to print when discussing and critiquing architecture in academia. The stigma of the screen has to be addressed before architectural videography can fully enter into architectures schools. Video works marvelously for clients and firms, and I look forward to its continued and expanded presence in academic studio settings.

In terms of this implementation in studio, video can be used in a number of ways

-Demonstrating site analysis and current conditions

-Exploring case studies and examples of architectural success (or failure) in other projects

-Determining the effects of certain decision in the design process

-Representing finalized design decision and presentation material

I hope architectural videography continues at Portland State University. It provides a new lens through which to view architecture. It is constraining, but through this constraint it challenges students to view architecture through a medium other than plan. It is easy to represent architecture in 360 degrees. It is much harder to design on a human scale and video (barring drones) forces us to always remember the human viewpoint.

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