Work Explanation: Experimental Short Film And Then What
The Violence Loop in the Post - Truth Era and a “Pseudo - documentary” Experiment

1 Creative Background and Motivation

The creation of And Then What stems from a real - life experience when I graduated from high school. I got involved in an online violence incident unexpectedly after speaking up for my favorite star on a social platform. Facing the overwhelming offensive remarks, I was confused - “Who created this violence?” This anonymity brought identity ambiguity became the core proposition of the film. Eventually, I decided to use the “Li Yong's immigration” incident as a prototype to restore netizens' discussions about the Li Yong incident.

2 Narrative Structure and Audio - Visual Language

2.1、The Design Logic of “Pseudo - One – Take”

Temporal and Spatial Continuity:

Through the “one – take” camera movement, I constructed a closed”violence transmission chain”. Perpetrator A initiates an attack on a social platform, and the information is transmitted to perpetrators B, C... through the screen and finally returns to A itself, forming a loop. During the camera's flow, each scene transition corresponds to a “violence handover” between strangers, imply the unconscious spread and group complicity of online violence.

2.2、Technical Realization and Visual Symbols

Information Page Simulation:

To restore the authenticity of the social platform, I used AE to create real - time typing animations and manually made the interfaces of social platform exchanges (including avatars, IDs, and comment content) with PS, deliberately avoiding templated designs.

3 Creative Standpoint and Social Critique

3.1、Image Intervention in Social Reality, Rejecting Binary Opposition

The film deliberately avoids defining online violence as “right/wrong”. The perpetrators are both individuals manipulated by emotions and victims of violence; public opinion is both a supervision tool and a sharp sword that can hurt people. This complexity is the focus I hope to explore. In the end, the perpetrator sees the truth of the incident but chooses to close the computer and leave. This action symbolizes the indifference of most people - violence is just an episode for them, and no one asks “And Then What”. Therefore, as a creator throughout the film, I am an “observer” rather than a “judge”. I hope it does not think on behalf of the audience but tears open the crack of the issue to allow discussion to occur.

3.2、The Post - Truth Era

In the film, I buried an Easter egg: using a poster as the switching point for the one - take. There is a line on the poster – “Is the book The Post - Truth Era really discussing the post - truth?”In fact, Hector Macdonald's TRUTH::How the Many Sides to Every Story Shape Our Reality analyzes the concept of “competitive truth” throughout the book, revealing the logical core of the post - truth era. However, the Chinese translation The Post - Truth Era abandons the real ideas conveyed by the book, narrows the discussion into a tag - like slogan, and become an emotional incitement tool. This also explains the incident in the film: when people face such incidents, they often abandon the facts and let emotions dominate their voices.

4、Technical Reflection and Creative Limitations

4.1、Practical Challenges of “Pseudo - One – Take”

Due to insufficient equipment and experience, the film spliced long takes through “node editing” to form a “pseudo - one - take” effect. For example, transitions were made through an elevator and a book poster. If I were to reshoot, I would try more complex scheduling or interactive camera language to more accurately convey the path of violence spread.

4.2、Experimentality and Authenticity

As a first - time creation by a non - professional, this documentary is based on real - life experiences to restore the “crime scene”. However, in fictional creation, authenticity has always been a problem. Starting from this, I began to explore another possibility of narrative and embarked on the career path of a documentary director.

5、 Conclusion

And Then ——What is my clumsy “meta - experiment” on the post - truth era. As a creator, I cannot provide solutions but hope to use a “loop of the lens” to invite the audience to reflect: “When we type words behind the screen, are we also becoming a part of the violence chain?”