Joke Video Comparison

Each of our group's joke videos utilized a different location, and thus the space was manipulated differently for each.  In the color video, space was used deliberately to manipulate how the audience felt about the two characters.  Medium and flat space was used to form a positive connection between the father and the son, while deeper space was used to cause separation between the viewers and the son.  This contrast in space was intended to make the audience feel differently about each character.  However, in the black and white video, space was not focused on in the composition of the shots.  Medium space was used consistently through most of the video while other techniques were utilized to manipulate the audience's feelings.  This consistency moved the audience's focus to the other techniques that were used to set the scenes in that second video.

The videos also used different kinds of rhythm.  The color video had an irregular rhythm set up by the unique wall designs and the asymmetric arrangement of the furniture.  This rhythm was used to keep the scene interesting, despite the lack of camera movement.  It was also used to frame the characters to cause the audience to focus on them, like when the son was in time-out.  The black and white video used a constant rhythm to frame the son which was created by the carpet.  An irregular rhythm was used in the kitchen scene to frame the mother.  This contrast was used to actively convey to the audience that the two characters were separated, instead of showing it didactically.  This active separation was reinforced by the fact that the two characters were not shown in the same shot, whereas the color video used over the shoulder shots to capture both characters in the same shot many times.