Visual Metaphor - Transform

by Yuyao & Joey

Concept & Story

For our project, we would like to express special thanks to a creator on Xiaohongshu who posted a video about an AI advertisement. Her video gave us inspiration for our project.

Our concept revolves around reflecting on the current relationship between AI development and humanity. ChatGPT is our main character. From the perspective of an AI, we aim to showcase how humans are increasingly reliant on ChatGPT, gradually losing their own creative abilities.We chose this theme because we’ve noticed that ChatGPT is being used in an ever-widening range of fields in both life and learning. The relationship between AI and humans has always been a thought-provoking topic.

About the ideation process, I initially planned to create an advertisement for ChatGPT. Then Joey elevated the theme, suggesting we approach it from a critical perspective to highlight the gradual erosion of human creativity and cognitive abilities.

Creation Process & Execution

Since we had changed our topic, we didn't have time to draw a new storyboard. During the production of the previous video, I realized that storyboarding plays a significant role in video shooting. Thinking ahead about which footage to capture and planning the composition and scenes greatly helps with the filming process.

For this video, most of the shooting was done in the lighting studio and Tai Kooli. In order to create a hook at the beginning of the video, we filmed a scene of 'throwing paper' to grab attention. Joey and I wandered around the streets, looking for suitable places to shoot.

While shooting the fifth question—the "time travel" scene—we found it challenging to express the idea effectively. As a result, we sourced some materials online, and we’d like to extend special thanks to those resources for enhancing our project.

For editing, we chose to use Premiere Pro (PR). Since we didn’t employ any advanced editing techniques, we didn’t encounter any significant difficulties during the process. Still, we learnt a lot through editing, such as adjusting the video aspect ratio, creating the end credits, and designing transitions. Here is the screenshot of Premiere.

Collaboration

My main contributions were providing inspiration, acting (ChatGPT), and planning the shots. I proposed the topic. While playing the role of ChatGPT, I described the shots I imagined to Joey and arranged the camera angles. I also had the audio recorded by a friend of mine. (We are also really grateful to my friend - Cai Yushan)

Working with Joey was a very enjoyable experience. She took on most of the shooting and editing work and came up with great ideas. I’m especially grateful for her patience with my ever-changing ideas and for respecting my input throughout the production process. The most important thing I learned from her is that teamwork requires friendly collaboration. She maintained a very steady attitude and was always kind to me.

Aesthetics & Results

We intended to create a joyful and heartwarming atmosphere. In Chinese, this can be described as "using a cheerful scene to highlight sorrow". This approach was chosen because an upbeat rhythm makes it easier for the audience to become immersed. Using a lighthearted style to provoke deep thought was a bold attempt for us. However, it’s clear we didn’t do enough, as some viewers mentioned they couldn’t perceive the critical aspect of our work.

In terms of camera language, we tried to use different lighting and vibrant colors to reflect the issue of people becoming increasingly dependent on AI, with color shifts corresponding to the progression of the questions. For the voiceover, my friend, who studies broadcasting, lent their professional skills, which gave our video a polished, ad-like quality. Overall, this project taught me a lot.

Comm Lab is my first IMA class. Even though we had many projects and critiques that occasionally made me feel awkward, I learned a lot of new skills, such as Adobe tools, photography, and design. I also made many friends here. I’m especially grateful to Ian. He has been really helpful and respectful of everyone’s designs. I truly appreciate all his support this semester. Thank you so much!!! 🥹🥺🥰

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