Kaitlyn Zhang

Imperfect

Prompt: Desktop Documentaries are a form of video essay making that actively incorporates the process of screen capture recording, online research, original footage, and desktop production. The format embraces the computer desktop as a kind of collage board from which a filmmaker's desktop activities are recorded and edited to illustrate and support the tenets of their essay/documentary. It's a highly self-reflexive process that supports some of the learning outcomes for Integrative Studio.

Kaitlyn created ‘Imperfect’, a motion graphics animation, as an exploration of the reflection and its relation to the self that touches on the beauty standards imposed by society as well as on the idea of self-love and acceptance. She chooses to present these topics in the simplest form: through shapes and colors. Viewers are able to connect to the blue dot and its emotional journey of moving from self-loathing to self-acceptance. Through her piece, Kaitlyn presents the issue of societal standards of one’s appearance while providing a call to action to those who have already found self-acceptance.