Shaun Mayberry
Steve Johnson
David Lluberes
Facebook Friends
Are your friends, really your friends? What is the definition of friends? The new social-network phenomenon called facebook, has struck an interest towards these types of questions. Friends on facebook can be family, close associates, and even random acquaintances. Through our research and the development of our ‘argument’ video, we have discovered that there are many different views on the definition of friends. Our interviewee’s responses to our in-depth questions about ‘friends’ on facebook were the exactly what we were looking for. We began by asking them “How many friends do you have on facebook?” Then we followed that question with “How many of those friends do you consider close?” The different answers and responses gave our viewers the message that almost anyone can be a friend on facebook, and that the difference between friend and acquaintance is steadily disappearing. Also the emotions and the expressions that our interviewees portrayed were very interesting and a great addition to our demonstration. Each participant had a different viewpoint and a different perspective on what friends really are.
We chose to use a close-up shot of our subjects during the interviews to show as much emotion as possible. When asking questions, we would leave “dead time” to see if there were any addition facial or verbal reactions to our subjects answers. For example: When asked how many friends they had on Facebook, if this was a large number, we would wait a few seconds after they answer to see their facial expression of surprise or embarrassment. This would also lead the subjects to respond additionally, showing more emotion and give a clearer answer to how they feel about their Facebook friends. We then had them log onto Facebook to show us how many friends they had, and so we could take a screenshot, or picture of their Facebook, to use in the video. This visual representation of what they are saying adds an extra layer to the video, showing just how intertwined our lives are with Facebook. We kept a simple camera angle to keep all interviews consistent so the viewer could compare and contrast each subject. In the editing process, we began with one subject answering all three questions. We then cut quickly between subjects saying how many friends they had to show just how different everyone is. Then, we cut the response to how they feel about their Facebook presence to show how similar, and different, each answer was. These simple techniques leave the viewer to judge how they feel about Facebook. We are not trying to tell people how they should think about Facebook, but by using these simple and clean techniques we can stay as unbiased as possible.While every interview was unique, we had a central theme and list of questions that we asked each participant. We strategically chose to film at noon in order to catch the lunch rush and capture footage from a diverse pool of students that were approximately around the same age. Each person was put against a white background, in order to remove any distractions and create a sense of unity between each frame shot. Our goal was to capture and reflect on the emotional patterns that led to certain reactions. Originally, we expected those with high numbers of Facebook friends to react distinctly different to those with lower numbers of friends. One of our more affective techniques used was pausing in between questions. We asked the participants how many Facebook friends they think they have and then showed them their actual number of friends at the end of the interview. This allowed the person to reflect on the previous question and also caused confusion and anxiety to some extent. At times priceless facial expressions spoke more than the dialogue itself. Standing in front of them allowed us to focus the camera at eye level and focus solely on their facial characteristics. Ultimately, our goal was to capture what a Facebook friend meant to each person. What is a Facebook friend?
Surprisingly, most participants were able to give a close estimate to the actual number of friends they have. By taking a random sample, we were able to get genuine reflections of the ethical approach of accepting and “friending” others on Facebook. Do we accept people on Facebook as an act of courtesy or does it reflect our social persona? When those participants with 1000 plus friends were asked about their substantial friend total, the overall reaction was of disgust. Many thought the difference between their actual numbers of Facebook friends, compared to how many they considered real friends, overwhelms the ability to keep contact with a select few, therefore defeating the purpose of the idea behind social networking. Music was inserted to emphasize and add effect to our visual media. We started out with a more upbeat tune to catch the audience’s attention and then softened it out as the interviews began. A montage style of filming in the beginning gives the audience a glimpse of what is coming ahead. Moments of hesitation and boldness are shown to entice the audience into watching the video. Has Facebook turned into a popularity contest? Analyzing this video and observing distinct facial reactions and body language will give each viewer an eye opening experience on the truths and misconceptions of a Facebook friend.
