Legally speaking, we were pushing it. Sparkwell and I moved stealthily around the club interior for the better part of a day in the company of a long-time, tech savvy associate, one Fin Heptonstall, hired exclusively for six weeks, with the promise of another month or so of work developing a second website, if all went well with the Park. Charlie was tasked with dressing and lighting the set. I set to, creating a roaring fire with the idea that it should be the focus of the whole experience. Wood that had been a bit green at Christmas, now looked, felt and smelt much more useful.
‘My point is, Fin, this is only going to be seen by members, people very familiar with this lounge, the bar, dining area, spa, games room and the ballroom; the extremely distorted perspective of a Google, just won’t do. Equally, the ambience must be of an escape from the mad world outside. So, even if you end up with something more modest, like just one or two static viewpoints in each room, the realism of traditional photography is all. See what I mean?’
‘Sure, actually, that’s an editing problem, doesn’t effect what I do today, today I just do everything from the user’s, member’s point of view to the highest speed and fidelity I can, leaving maximum choice in the editing. Wow! How do you do that?’ I’d shocked him by making the fire so quickly, judging the draft just right. There is no better hypnotic than an open wood fire, nothing more natural.
I helped Fin unload from his van. The kit all seemed a bit Heath Robinson to me, but he declared that the trick was to mount the roving-eyed camera and gyroscopic what’s-it atop a movie industry standard, steady-cam support. ‘Now what I’m going to do is a comprehensive, all spaces thing first, then ask you to show me four or five typical walks through the building, where you’d stop, where you’d sit etc. All done to and from the fire, I think?’
‘What an excellent idea.’
Fin became particularly excited when he saw the ballroom all lit up. Charlie had made sure it was all in conference mode, with the slightly elevated stage and the screen behind. ‘Can you green-screen yourself at home?’
‘Er, only in a very limited sense, like a head and shoulders shot at my desk. Medium close-up, local newsreader style.’
‘Still, you could do a sort of Big Brother, message from your leader thing, seen from the back row here it would give the illusion of big screen cinema.’
‘Not really my style, I leave that kind of thing to Buffy Trumpton.’
‘Of course, you know him don’t you. Is he a bit of a fascist then?’
‘Oh no, he lacks the intolerance that comes with an ideology. No, Buffy is a naughty boy, not a crook. He’s also lucky. Happy to be thought of as a buffoon. But above all willing to go where angels fear to tread. Who dares wins - but a bit shaky as to where he wants to get to, and certainly no map reader!’
A day or so later at the apartment, Charlie commented; ‘We seem busier than ever, whilst the rest of the world is coming to halt.’
‘There are two sorts of people as far as I can tell. Those who see uninvited change as an opportunity to up their game and those who just want to huddle down.’
‘I think it’s becoming about insiders and outsiders, mind you the insiders rely a lot on their cars.’
‘A lot of driving around but not really going anywhere you mean?’
‘And a sort of superior designer mask when visiting the one-stop out of town shopping experience.’
‘The media talks a lot about the mental health implications of isolation, they don’t seem too worried about not being able to read others emotions through a mask!’
‘You can tell a lot from gait, even the way people point their feet.’
‘True.’
‘Julia! What’s the problem? You’ve gone quiet.’
‘Why do you look like you’re in a high definition, Technicolor version of your flat, whilst I look like I’m on grainy old black and white tv?’
‘Because you’re trying to run Windows 10 on a knackered machine, which won’t even accept the full standard package.’
‘Why do we have to do things like this anyway, what’s wrong with the telephone or writing letters?’
‘Because I’m going to tell you how, with your cooperation, I’m going to save your magazine and not leave you to go into debt. That fifty grand you stung me for a year and a half ago, will not be in vain. And what’s more, as soon as possible, I’ll personally come down and upgrade the two of you whether you like it or not!’
‘Oh lord. We don’t take kindly to being instructed, especially at our age.’
‘For goodness sake, this is twenty-twenty and you’ve only just turning sixty.’
‘Yes, but all this technology makes us nervous. I know what you’re going to suggest, our printers have been saying for years that the website and an app should be our main source of revenue, with a print edition half the size and with a much smaller run. I know some people think it’s already too late. We can’t even get our own .com name apparently.’
‘Julia, I hate to tell you this but, the Trust acquired thecountrywoman.com and crawfordspa.com years ago!’
‘I’m a bit nervous about this online consultation you think I can do.’ So said Charlie sat at my desk having just ended skyping a friend.
‘I think it’s all about creating the right atmosphere and getting the psychology right. I think you should work from your chair in the treatment room, when it’s alongside your table, as if you were working on someone’s hands. We set up Camera Two, fairly close-up, but a wide enough angle to see all the familiar stuff the client sees when settling down on the table. The background music can play as usual because it’s always behind you anyway, so the levels should be right when you speak, in fact start the music before connecting with the client. You, no matter what you see or hear from the monitor, carry-on in normal treatment room mode. See where I’m going with this?’
‘A person that I already know, looks weird on screen...’
‘And that might have nothing to do with their state of mind or physical condition in the here and now.’
‘But, oh god, if I instinctivly adjust my behaviour to what I see, they’ll experience what’s normally comforting as discomforting.’
‘I think so, that’s what we need to practice, me from here, you in the treatment room.’
‘They want the same feelings they always get.’
‘Yeah, you change nothing, they want to see you in your normal environment, doing your usual things, that’s what will be therapeutic. But you may not see a meaningful response, you may not register any of the normal positive feedback.’
So, we experimented. ‘It would be better if I saw no picture at all, just audio, the tone of voice, the way people say things.’
‘Yes, but believe me it’s only a question of practice, the brain uses selective attention all the time, it has too, you just have to consciously hack it for a while until it becomes a habit.’
‘Well not too much. If we self-isolate from each other we’ll be crazy within days!’
Then my mobile rang. ‘I see. ..Right. ..Well, thank you for letting me know.’
Charlie had returned from the treatment room. ‘Hospital?’
‘She’s worse, organs failing, end of life stuff, apparently they were going to try for some kind of emergency transfer somewhere, but she gave clear instructions not to. They all think they’ve all got it, but everyone is responding differently. I’d better do a bit of a ring round.’
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