In between the lines

In between the lines

Dear Nick Toti,

American Vandal. It took me a while to figure out that this show was not an actual documentary series. American Vandal could be categorised as a mockumentary or a mock documentary. There are many shows that follow this same mockumentary story line that are already on Netflix, for example: Making of a Murderer and Jinx. The only difference about those two shows and American Vandal is that in shows like Making of a Murderer and Jinx, the characters are based on real people, whereas in American Vandal, the characters are all actors. I could see American Vandal being the type of production that you would enjoy taking a part in the composition of.

I am just going to go out and say it. Twenty-Seven dicks were spray painted onto Twenty-Seven cars in Hanover High School, which is located in Oceanside, California and the suspected felon is Dylan Maxwell. For starters Nick, I feel like after completing the first season of American Vandal, you would have many positive takeaways. Not only would you get a good sense of how the production business flows, but also a good sense on how to pick the “right” directors, actors, and most importantly, the film editors.

One editing factor that stuck out to me the most was how clips changed very abruptly, and when there was a transition slide between one scene and the next it would be something that we have all seen before in documentaries. This was the fact that when Hanover High School was interviewing class clown, Dylan Maxwell, and his family members, peers, and teachers, the director would always make sure to include one very simple factor. Lighting.

Lighting made such an impact on how the viewers perceived the severity of each interview or interaction. For instance, when Peter Maldonado (the reporter on the Hanover High School news show/ the student who documents all the allegations) documents Dylan’s mother, she is first shown outdoors giving Dylan a big hug and kiss and saying, “ I’m sorry.” In a crying tone. The next scene flips very quickly to Denise Kavanagh (Dylan’s mother) sitting in her kitchen pleading that her son is innocent. The light has a very soft flow to it, and Denise’s hair is illuminated from the open window that she sits in front of. Although the her hair and eyes are glowing, everything else in that one particular scene are dull and depressing.

Overall, American Vandal is the show for you, and I am confidant that after watching a few episodes of it, you will have learned at least a few tricks to keep up your sleeve for those times you feel in doubt. Also, chopping each episodes off with a cliffhanger question is one of the smartest moves in film making. Not only does it make people beg for more (manipulations without them even knowing it), but in the act of doing this it gets the heart rate up of the viewer, and therefore the viewer will impulsively click on the next episode. So, with that said, I will leave you with one question: Who will be the next big thing in this array or chaos?