aperture | d.h

t h r e e

| 3 | t h r e e 

The car doors shut with a loud clap behind us, the wind kicking up and curling through my hair. I squint through the daylight, tugging my scarf further up around my neck. The winter sun is barely here.

'It's number five, right?' I ask Dan, who is hovering beside me, a stark slash of all-black against the horizon. He glances down at me, nodding. Rachel hops out of the car and bounces over to us, her heels clicking on the pavement. I'm annoyed she's here, but there's nothing really I can do about it.

'You've got the film gear, right?' She asks me, and I nod, shouldering the heavy camera bag, and bundling up some microphone equipment under my arms. Dan offers to carry the lights, so I let him, giving him a grateful smile. Akira, our camera guy, got a nasty case of the flu over the weekend and couldn't come in to film. Luckily, I had the basics down pat. We follow Rachel up the stairs to the heavily-fenced Brighton house, and I'm already breathing heavily, hunkered down under all the equipment.

Rachel knocks twice. It's quiet for a long moment, and then the door swings open, revealing none other than Felix Kjellberg. It's strange seeing him in the flesh. He gives us a tentative smile, eyeing off all the camera gear.

'Hi, welcome,' he says, his accent there, but soft. He seems to relax a little when he sees Dan, who gives him a hearty handshake. I offer him a smile, seeing as my hands are full.

'Where can we set up?' Rachel asks, glancing around the house. It's immaculate, all high-ceilings and aged, stylish furniture. Lace curtains frame the French windows, polished teak and velour loveseats circled around an ornate fireplace. Fresh lilies hang from a clear glass vase on the mantelpiece. 'Oh, this is just beautiful,' Rachel says, motioning to the living room. I glance around as I walk, my shoulders aching beneath the gear. I haven't seen a house this big in a long time. Natural light cascades into every part of the room, leaving nothing in muted shadow.

'Thank you,' Felix says, a little awkwardly. I get the impression he doesn't like having people in his home - this was probably just as a favour to Dan. I also know he doesn't like the press, so that's something we'll be working against. 'We can film here, if you like?'

'It's perfect,' I tell him, dropping the various bags and boxes. I start unpacking everything, and I glance up at Dan. I nod my head towards Felix. Go talk to him, I mouth, and Dan nods, clearing his throat. He wanders over to Felix, casually bringing up the new Mario Kart game.

Rachel stands next to me, not helping, which irritates me. I lug out the tripod, and then heave out the new camera, which costs about the same as my entire life's worth. I turn it on and start fiddling with all the settings - the room has such wonderful natural light, we don't even need to bother with much lighting.

'We've got to try and get him to be negative about social media,' Rachel tells me, watching Dan with Felix. They're talking softly in the background, making casual conversation. 'That's our angle.'

'Our 'angle' is whatever he wants to say to us,' I tell her, bent over, setting up the lights. 'I think he'll go that route anyway, but if not, we'll just have to talk to someone else.'

Rachel purses her lips, saying nothing. I heave up the lights, adjusting with the brightness. I give Dan the thumbs-up, and he nods at me, then turns back to Felix.

'So, do you understand the brief?' He asks Felix. Felix gives a shrug.

'Yeah, I think so. I mean, it's just about social media, and how it's affecting people, right?'

Dan and I nod. Rachel adds, 'essentially, we're looking at how social media can create a pathway for hate. How your personal experiences with it have affected you, emotionally and mentally.'