Joke Video Reflections

Joke One:






Joke Two:







In our second video, we focused more on line and shape than we did in the first one. We had the actors sitting against a cinder-block wall, where the lines of the blocks directed the viewer's eye to the action. When the shot changed to a tighter frame of the actors, the lines even worked to create an actual connection between them. At one point they stop talking and glare at each other, and the virtual line of their gaze is accentuated by the literal line of the blocks at their eye level. Since the punchline of our joke landed one character in considerable trouble, the lines even created a sense of being imprisoned. We also used movement in this one, with the bike wheel spinning at the beginning and end of the film as a reminder of their crash. This also helped set up the space they were in, giving a sense of depth.

The first video took place out on a road, and the line of the road and sidewalk was what connected the two actors there. However the background did not offer the virtual lines that the cinder-blocks offered, so it was less emphasized. Both films used minimal movement in the sense that the actors remained sitting throughout the majority of the films. When they did move, it was to exit the scene and in both cases, to leave one character in a state of panic. In the second film, the space was deeper as there was not a wall marking the end of the space. Instead, we could see the background going on and on to the horizon.

Text and subtext were used in our films. In the first video, they were literally drinking liquor and had literally gotten in a car crash. In the second film, they had gotten in a bike crash and were drinking cool-aide, but the subtext was that they had gotten in a serious crash and drinking something illegal. At the end, Gretchen's character giggles, "I'm going to tell your mom you were DRINKING AND DRIVING!" While they were drinking Kool-Aide, the subtext is that they were drinking alcohol.

The only affinity in our films is the idea that the two characters crashed and are dealing with the aftermath. They also both used dubbing for the text, instead of using subtitles like an old silent film would. The time periods were also similar, both being in the present-day. However, the contrast between our films is really much greater, and provides more to comment on. Instead of both casting adults, the second casts "kids." Instead of drinking alcohol, they are drinking Kool-Aide. Instead of driving cars, they are "driving" bikes. Instead of calling the police, they  are calling a teacher. We really liked the differences between these two scripts, and how it had been adapted to fit for children, which is why we chose to film these two. We felt it really helped explore the joke in different ways.