Devastating R.I.P. video will make you mourn for Sydney's lost nightlife
A video for Sydney’s not-so-vibrant nightlife hit the Internet on Thursday night with the emotional weight of an Oscar in-memoriam package.
In 2014 Sydney's nightlife decided it was time for bed. Well, conservative and strict step-father figure, NSW Premier Mike Baird decided, much to the chagrin of a lot of the young people in the state.
Two years on and Sydney production company Shifted Pictures, purveyors of beautiful timelapse videography, has used its artistic talents to tug at our heart strings and to accentuate just how the once vibrant landscape of Sydney's nightlife is as dead as a doornail.
The latest offering from the company, a piece entitled Closed Sydney, depicts the eerie stillness of the once lively city. The only movement onscreen is traffic whizzing past ghostly, empty buildings that once played host to many a fancy-free dance-off, a sneaky pash and shot-induced hazy memories.
Playing like the 'In Loving Memory' packages they roll out during awards season, the video depicts some of Sydney’s most prominent night-time establishments as they stand now: empty, destitute and as lifeless as your creepy aunt's collection of taxidermied animals.
Closed Sydney a.k.a. No Longer Can We Booze Carelessly Till The Sun Rise And It Sucks For Everyone was created using motion control timelapse technology for that extra heart wrenching effect that has you welling up at the injustice of it all.
The accompanying soundtrack comes from the melancholic mind of Jim Finn, front man of Sydney band Art Vs Science. The track was written specifically for Closed Sydney and with a closing line of "say goodbye for you and I," the whole situation plays out with the tear-jerking power of all those secret break-up playlists you definitely haven't spent years curating.
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For those who live in a world/country/state where your decision to stay up till 5 a.m. and make largely regrettable decisions is entirely your own, Sydney's lock out laws are a city-wide curfew on night time frivolity. Every pub within a certain district must close its doors at 1:30 a.m. with last drinks to be served by 3 a.m.
The laws were set in place as a knee-jerk reaction to the tragic death of a young man, Daniel Christie, after he was punched late at night in Sydney. The legislation was sold to the public as a way to put an end to such violence, but critics believe its main aim is to syphon the late night crowd to the nearby casino to spend all their money, lining the pockets of middle-aged business men.
Though several reports have concluded the laws are as effective as gumboots in a flash flood, the powers that be aren't lining up to alter or eradicate them any time soon. So for now, sit back, relax and watch this devastating obituary. Or move to Melbourne, where they ditched a lock out like the bad date it truly is.
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