New York at night - ideas

New York at night:

Ideas:

·         Darker, showing the worst parts of city, yet with a sense of belonging (this city is the worst, but it is my city)

·         Actor could be only one, with no words, discovering the corners of Cardiff and being lethargic, sad, and deep in thought.

·         Nature leaves the city, rejects man

·         A siluette of a man/woman is the city showing us it’s heart (city centre)

Shots:

·         Camera shots of driving

·         Center of Cardiff – spinning motion?

·         Ideal would be in black and white, with the actor/thing in focus in colour (not sure how to do that in a video)

·         Shots on Cardiff Clock tower – showing the time still moving forward

Sound:

·         Sirens of Ambulance

·         Clock ticking/whole hour

·         Heart beating [?]

·         A sharp sound of a piano key at the end (nature rejects man), showing the city, dramatical effect

Verse	Ideas
A near horizon whose sharp jags Cut brutally into a sky	Sunrise, reflection of a skyscraper (or a really tall building) in a puddle of water, Opening shot overlooking Cardiff, instead of birds chirping the sound of planes
Of leaden heaviness, and crags Of houses lift their masonry	Smoke, chimneys, A factory, a pile of bricks, abandoned houses/depressive houses that are the same, pressed into each other,
Ugly and foul, and chimneys lie And snort, outlined against the gray	Fogs, steams, bad climate/air, chimneys again (?), trash, shot up into the greyness of the sky in contrast to the tall city buildings
Of lowhung cloud. I hear the sigh The goaded city gives, not day	The steam going up, into the sky. Tilting camera to underline the point. Slowly going into night. Actor could appear.
Nor night can ease her heart, her anguished labours stay.	She is in the city. Show of breathing. Shots from car, showing the traffic, train (?), Actor can appear.

Verse	Ideas
Below, straight streets, monotonous, From north and south, from east and west,	Crossroad, showing all possible directions (N,S,W,E), shots in neigh borough area,  showing the same streets in different directions
Stretch glittering; and luminous Above, one tower tops the rest	Definitely dark now. Showing the light of the city. Could be not focused. Could show it focusing. Actor’s siluette overlooking the lights.
And holds aloft man's constant quest: Time! Joyless emblem of the greed	The siluette of the man in front of the clock tower. Between this and the previous verse could be a pause in narrating. Showing the siluette to be walking. In front of the clock camera tilting upwards. The sound of full hour (?)
And holds aloft man's constant quest: Time! Joyless emblem of the greed	The sound of full hour (?), Showing the building of museum, city hall (showing greed)
Of millions, robber of the best Which earth can give, the vulgar creed	No idea. Maybe showing shops and shoppers? The siluette still there.  Probably will need something more climactic
Has seared upon the night its flaming ruthless screed.	Unfocused street lamp(?), electronical advert

Verse	Ideas
O Night! Whose soothing presence brings The quiet shining of the stars.	Tilting camera upwards, to see the stars (if possible) with some tall building in the shot, no sound
O Night! Whose cloak of darkness clings So intimately close that scars	Cardiff bay, showing dark with lights in the background, siluette still here, hugging itself, piano sound (?)
Are hid from our own eyes. Beggars By day, our wealth is having night	Birds, fish, any animal, barks/pleas in the background, (some shot of blindfolded eyes?), close up of a hand touching the ground/pillar (?)
To burn our souls before altars Dim and tree-shadowed, where the light	Shot of Church, best if it’s illuminated. Shadows of trees before the church. Sound ob bells ringing (?)
Is shed from a young moon, mysteriously bright.	Clock shot, Moon shot, Something round that shines, blackness around

Verse	Ideas
Where art thou hiding, where thy peace? This is the hour, but thou art not.	Looking at crowds from a distance, if sound then muted, bells ringing
Will waking tumult never cease? Hast thou thy votary forgot?	Still looking at crowds, maybe rotation of camera to make a point
Nature forsakes this man-begot And festering wilderness, and now	Some dead trees, plants, indicates nature leaving, show the factory instead
The long still hours are here, no jot Of dear communing do I know;	Last shots overlooking the city, still with the silluette overlooking it.
Instead the glaring, man-filled city groans below!	Break of vision (like shards of mirrors breaking apart), the sound of the piano key screeching