P E R S P E C T I V E S
Directed, Produced. and Edited
B Y V E R O
To see Perspectives for free, please check out my youtube and Vimeo for access to all related films, episodes, and clips.
If you’d like to help out, here is the link to Perspective’s Indigogo fundraising page. We appreciate your support!
Thank you!
Thoughts
B Y V E R O
COVID-19 is a traveling pathogen caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and has since spread globally, resulting in an ongoing pandemic. More than 5 million cases have been reported across 188 countries and territories, resulting in more than 322,000 deaths. More than 1.68 million people have recovered. In New York City, 14,162 have died from COVID-19. 0.17% of the population, and growing.
The American economy plunged into crisis mid-March, and then deeper in April, losing 20.5 million jobs as the unemployment rate jumped to 14.7 percent. These numbers surpass the devastation of the Great Depression. As non-essential businesses were forced to close their doors, and essential companies were forced to struggle to stay afloat, those of us with unforeseeable tomorrows now have an opportunity. That's how I see it, at least.
The state is now The Epicenter of the pandemic, but it was much too quickly that the world put New York in a body bag. My focus during the span of this lockdown will be to design and direct a conceptually beautiful documentary series. I've gotten lost in thought over the hours spent listening to ideas, personal philosophies, innovations, and realizations. This docu-series is raw, thought-provoking, tangent styled, and mindfully composed. I do hope you stay healthy, stay busy, and stay tuned!
ABOUT P E R S P E C T I V E S
We are living through history and we are distracted by data, and understandably. Perspectives, however, is about 7 New Yorkers. Their ideas, their lives, and well… their perspectives. There are 7 episodes, and 3 clips, of their experiences of living and working while NYC was marked as the epicenter of the COVID19 pandemic. The full-length, documentary short, compiles all the episodes in a harmonious flow state in their viewpoints.
LAUNCH VIDEO
A Conversation:
Outside of Carnegie Hall
P E R S P E C T I V E S
Episode Series Launch
August 2020 on Youtube
“I cant box people in, it feels cheap. I was always inspired and fueled by people from different worlds.”
-Castillo
“But no, I just love being happy, because happiness is a choice.”
-Linda Aybar
“We’re always running from our problems… the hurt inner child.”
-Joan
“You gotta wake up with a smile. You cant be mad all day long if you wake up with a smile on your fucken face.”
-Gabe
“The world is so beautiful, and right now we’re realizing it in our stillness.”
-Chriselle
“Life is great. Not good, good is too… blah. Great!”
-Stanley
“It’s New York, why do you need a reason? This is the big show.”
- Omkar / Otis
More on Interviews
Updates:
By Vero
March:
The silence has broken, the word is out, the jig is up; COVID 19 is swallowing the city. March 14, Andrew Cuomo seemed melancholy gazing into the eyes of his states-people and sung the words that New York City will be, “on pause.” This is devastating, unprecedented, yet necessary and I have full faith that we, New Yorkers, will flatten this curve, take care of one another by taking notice to a new normal. Hospitals are filling up freezer trucks willy nilly down Madison, streets are naked, and all of a sudden everyone is an Instagram chef. I’m not falling for it, I have to be productive. I have to do something.
The prime’est of times for me is when opportunity presents itself, and I see this pause as potential. I want to be apart of history and I want what everyone wishes to leave behind, a legacy. So, with this being said, I will begin and finish a multiple episode docuseries about the perspectives that will simmer in the mind of New Yorkers, all of who are “locked down but not locked up.”
Since mid March, I’ve filmed two interviews and have begun editing small promotional content for social media. I haven’t seen a stir up yet, but I am confident that I’ll be catching wave while I’m releasing content. I’m equipped with 2 iphones, a 7 and an 11, tripod and gimbal, and a vintage (1983) Cannon Sure Shot Automatic, 35mm camera. Shots from that film can be seen throughout this page, and will be featured in docuseries. I hope to save money by not paying rent so that I may purchase better equipment, next month.
April:
It’s getting dangerous out here and testing is now available to every Joe and Jane on the block. I was recently called out for moving around in this city during a pandemic, but I socially distance when possible, but I also stay healthy in my daily life.; vegan meals, plenty of water, and mask/glove parring. Its spooky on these streets, and the people outside are the ones in lines outside the grocery stores, 6 feet apart marked not well designed laminated markers taped to the concrete.
I purchased new equipment this month, Sony Ar7ii mirrorless camera, LED lighting, and carrying bags. I’m moving around a lot and people seem to really like the content I’m pushing out to promote this work. I’ve also agreed to stop interviewing as soon as the lockdown lifts
The infection and death rate are peaking, and how terrible it is to hear, I believe that this may be the climax of the pandemic in NY. I’m rushing around, setting dates for interviews, sparring time for editing and promotion, and my head is spinning.
I do feel scared from time to time, I have gotten tested and each time was negative.
May:
Its a bit calm, the curve seems to be flattening, and I hear talks of New York City reopening their doors soon. Hm.. I cannot help to wonder if it is too soon, and therefore too dangerous, for the owners to comply with these recommendations. For what it’s worth, the interviews continue.
Other states have reopened, including my home state of Texas, and that has left an eerie feeling crawling up my spine. Other states have also quietly sprung open while I still see those bodies in bag bumping down Madison’s terrible roads off to their new homes.
June:
It was just a phase, and now there’s a new phase. Phase II will begin June 22, and honestly its a ray of hope. I wonder how it’ll be. I wonder the places that I’ll go. I wonder which businesses will never open again. I wonder which families had already dog-on-up and left the epicenter
And there she blows! New York City is reopened. Restaurants are building on the streets little dining set ups. Capacity went from 30 to 15 tops, but I wonder how they will do come the end of the year, and even during the winter. Is this going to be the new thing? Masks off when I’m face to face with a long lost quarentine’d friend. I mean, how else are you going to down that froze?
July:
House parties are in full swing and anyone with an outdoor space starts to socialize. Masks on, masks off, at this point no one either knows what is acceptable, or just don’t care.
I’m even unsure if NYC is corona virus’ing still.
August
Everything seems to be back to normal, but with masks. I walk out my E Harlem building door to walk into a mini sidewalk festival, with hookah’s and joints posted up along a bench, with twirling residence mingling about. I’m probably on my way to see a small group of friends on a rooftop, along with the other 50+ people who had the same thought.
The other thing is that… well the corona coverage stopped. Most of it, by this time, has been pegged off as fake news, or new not trust worthy. All I can see is, at this level, corona season is just about coming to a close. Is it too soon?