The Videographic Essay: Practice and PedagogyMain MenuThe Videographic EssayTable of ContentsIntroduction, Acknowledgements, and Further ReadingScholarship in Sound & Image: A Pedagogical EssayPedagogical essay authored by Christian Keathley and Jason MittellDissolves of PassionIn Dialogue: Eric Faden and Kevin B. LeeBecoming Videographic Critics: A Roundtable ConversationA conversation among practitioners curated by Jason MittellStar Studies in TransitionBut Is Any Of This Legal?Videographic ExercisesGallery of All ExercisesCreditsChristian Keathley0199b522721abf067a743773a226b6064fe22f8cJason Mittell06e96b1b57c0e09d70492af49d984ee2f68945deCatherine Grantc9eab209ad26b2e418453515f6418aa2cbe20309
Imitation of Life Storytelling Voiceover
12016-04-30T05:38:27-07:00Jason Mittell06e96b1b57c0e09d70492af49d984ee2f68945de75431A Videographic Storytelling Exercise Using Imitation of Lifeplain2016-04-30T05:38:27-07:00Critical Commons2015VideoImitation of LifeKristen Warner2016-04-30T12:26:39ZJason Mittell06e96b1b57c0e09d70492af49d984ee2f68945de
12016-04-30T14:08:31-07:00Jason Mittell06e96b1b57c0e09d70492af49d984ee2f68945deGallery of All ExercisesJason Mittell8structured_gallery2019-06-11T21:05:38-07:00Jason Mittell06e96b1b57c0e09d70492af49d984ee2f68945de
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12016-04-30T11:04:33-07:00Imitation of Life Voiceover Story1An exercise by Kristen Warnerplain2016-04-30T11:04:33-07:00Kristen Warner reworked the scene of Annie Johnson’s funeral from Imitation of Life, speeding up and slowing down some shots, re-cutting (and repeating) some film dialogue, and interspersing these with her own reading of the lyrics to Michael Jackson’s ‘Smooth Criminal’, whose refrain is ‘Annie, are you OK?/ Annie, are you OK?’ The song’s lyrics—‘As he came in through the window/It was the sound of a crescendo/He came into her apartment/He left the bloodstains on the carpet/She ran underneath the table’—depict a scene of physical violence that perhaps stands in for the emotional violence the character has suffered. The song’s refrain further points up the extent to which Annie has been taken for granted, ignored, cast aside: it takes until 1987, or perhaps even 2015, for anyone to ask after her well being.