Deformation

Working on the deformations was actually really fascinating for me. I chose my first deformation to add into my portfolio because, of the two, working on it actually helped me notice filmic techniques used within When Harry Met Sally… Specifically the framing and blocking within the first two meet-cutes that the couple have. Clearly, both scenes were meant to parallel each other – the first being when Sally is meeting Harry and he’s in a relationship, and the second being when Harry sees Sally some years on and she’s in a relationship. However, through the process of overlaying the two and blending them by changing their opacities, I actually was shocked by how visually similar the two scenes are.

Desktop Documentary

The Desktop Documentary took a lot of time… but I think this was the project that actually made me feel comfortable with keyframing. What I essentially did was ‘stage’ my Desktop Documentary. I changed my homescreen’s background to a photo from the first scene in When Harry Met Sally… and then proceeded to record all the parts of my documentary individually. Once I’d had all my parts together, I keyframed every element of the Documentary. In class, this was noted as sometimes seeming seamless, and sometime feeling presentational. Overall, I actually really liked the control it gave me, and I think because I did the research for the question I was going to answer beforehand, I was able to present it pretty cohesively. However, if I were to change something now – I think I’d add in more ‘clicking’ sounds, and maybe have a mouse icon do the dragging of the images  (instead of them just floating to a different position). 

Epigraph

This was the first exercise I did using When Harry Met Sally… and I loved the quote about how choosing a partner is like ‘choosing a story’ from the New Yorker. I’d searched through a lot of quotes about love (given the subject of the movie) and I thought this one really felt reminiscent of how When Harry Met Sally… depicted love. They used the framing device of couples telling their stories throughout the whole film, and to convey this technique I used the first story from the movie at the beginning of the epigraph. I then also experimented with keyframing the text as well as the audio, and tried to blend the different parts of the quote in with the framing of the scenes. I also was trying to go for a romantic tone, and so much of When Harry Met Sally…’s own music is romantic and jazz-y, so I selected an instrumental version of Autumn in New York as the background music. Overall, I was really happy with the tone and pacing I was able to achieve. 

Response Essay

I chose to respond to a video essay (“The Sad State of Comedy”) that I watched, selected for one of my weekly commentaries, and essentially used as a reference for what not to do. In deciding what aspect to respond to (because I disagreed with a fair portion of the video) I ultimately landed on talking about how the title was misleading, and why so many titles have to use such extreme language and grand generalizations. It’s a trend I’ve seen a lot of, and for every video essay that offers a nuanced take with a balanced title, there seems to be one right next to it that includes words like FAIL and HORRIBLE or just generally makes big hyperbolic claims for views. Interestingly enough, in my research I found that this technique came from less-than-savory news media coverage. I really enjoyed working on this video, because I felt that I learned a lot about the history of clickbait, while also making a fairly convincing point about how there needs to be more conscientious titling of videos.

Final Video

I’m actually really proud of this video – and I think part of that is because of how much it has changed to become what you see here. Initially, the intro was entirely different, and after feedback from classmates I tried to make the first few minutes feel a lot more personal. I think this works well, and makes the video more engaging from the get-go. I also was initially going to cover The Larry Sanders Show as a whole entity and compare it with other TV Shows – but after I finished my first draft, I felt that approach seemed hollow. Why watch a show if all you’re getting is an explanation for why it’s like… other shows? This is why I pivoted into doing two specific episode coverages. I felt it allowed both the themes of the show and the humor in the material to shine. In the end, I’m hoping that the video makes a fairly convincing argument – but I suppose that’s up to you to let me know! (If you do end up watching Larry Sanders after this, please shoot me a message. ? )