Blog 7A - Joke Video Response

When we were editing and going over our two joke videos, I was left astonished by how different they both wound up being. Both videos used the same actors, both were made by the same group, and based off the same joke as well. However, with different people taking different, specific roles in the short films’ productions, we wound up with two very different end results. Two of the most distinguishable differences can be seen in our use of Line and Space. 

In the video I directed, I know I tried to use different styles of lines and the rule of thirds as much as possible. While the use of the rule of thirds should be obvious in nearly every shot, the Actual and Virtual lines I attempted to utilize might not be so obvious. The Actual lines I used in my shots were either to draw attention to a character or alter the perception of them. For example, in the opening scene, the lines created by the shelf all point to the mother. In other shots, I tried to use different directions of lines in either the wall or simply in where the actors were placed to give a different feel and sense of size to the characters.
In video 1, the director seemed to use more virtual lines. Lines that, while not visible, still direct the viewer’s eyes. Much of this can be seen in how the director used the lines to add further depth to the shots.
The other element that’s very different is the use of space. While I attempted to create the illusion that the room was larger than it actually was, the other video made the audience fully aware of the smaller size of the room. Both directors seemed to establish what they were going for fairly well, but the contrast between my use of flat space and the depth cues in the other still stands as stark.
There’s also a difference in the use of Active and Didactic storytelling and the use of Tension and Release. In the first video, the “Morgan Freeman” voice audibly says what the swear word is, while in mine it’s left up to the viewer’s imagination. The difference in Tension and Release can be seen when the mother first catches the boy swearing. In the silent movie, the tension and anger of the mother is drawn out, while in the narrated version, the punishment comes as swift, and without mercy.
Again, I’m happy with how both videos turned out, especially in seeing how different they ended up being.