Through their use of partial framing, and focus on the movements of hands; the makers of the 2013 K-film ‘Hands: Thinking Out Loud’, demonstrate how important our hands are in our everyday lives, how they are used to communicate with others, and how they can reflect our unconscious emotions.

The patterns within the film and that link the clips together include; the gestures that hands make during conversation, during eating or dining with friends, and washing or cleaning objects. The makers could’ve used a combination of different in-keywords and out-keywords to create their SNUs. They could’ve chosen to use keywords that describe the actions or scenario of each clip such as, ‘conversation’, ‘cleaning’, ‘washing’, ‘social’, ‘party’, ‘friends’; or could’ve chosen to distinguish between the ages of the people being filmed, ‘young’, ‘old’, ‘middle-age’, ‘teenager’, etc; or even a combination of both. While the keywords used create clusters of clips with similar SNUs; there are some key clips which would have multiple out-keywords which can branch off to different clusters. For example; the clip showing a man’s hands washing a sponge leads to a cluster of a young person sketching a drawing, an old lady looking at a picture frame, and somebody reading a book. Key clips such as these ensure that there are links between clusters so that the flow of the film isn’t broken; creating a dynamic viewing experience, and emphasising the links between the content, the patterns the makers have found between the clips and how they work to reflect their observations of hands as a communication tool.

There is no starting SNU, meaning that you can begin the film wherever you like and each time you watch it you can have a different experience. While most clips lead to new and different clips due to a variation in out-keywords, there are times when the clip leads to previews on the interface that have all been watched already. A solution to that problem could be to have more than one out-keyword per clip so that they have more opportunities to link to other clips.

Another pattern that occurs in the film is that the camera always focuses on the actions of the hands and doesn’t frame the person’s face, giving them an elusive quality. Each clip captures a portion of the whole scenario, a part of a conversation, a part of an action or behaviour; so a pattern may be that they demonstrate a candid part of everyday life.  This leaves the meaning and emotions that are demonstrated through the actions of the hands shown up to the viewer, as only a portion is shown in frame and isn’t shown in its full context.

When the K-film first opens, the main frame is large and shows white text ‘HΔNDS’ which each individual letter flashing on and off rhythmically to the soft guitar music playing. Eleven smaller preview black and white thumbnails are positioned underneath the main frame. These thumbnails become videos when the mouse is rolled over them, giving the viewer an indication of what the clips will entail. The video previews available mean that you can select what clip you want to watch next, which can be both a positive and a negative. It is beneficial in that it gives viewers the feeling of more control over their interactivity and enjoyment of the K-film, but can be negative in the sense that it makes the viewer more subjective in choosing some clips over others and not allowing for a natural flow to occur. Unlike some other K-films which use different shaped thumbnails as their previews, this K-film doesn’t. The use of square, black and white thumbnails gives this K-film in particular a more sophisticated and professional look, and combined with the close framing on the hands, they demonstrate the intimate observations of the use of hands.

Once you click on a clip to begin the film, the interface changes. A grid of four same sized clips is shown (2X2), with even the main frame being the same size as the thumbnail previews. The main frame is always positioned in the upper left part of the interface and is shown in colour, compared to the black and white preview thumbnails. The preview thumbnails are larger than others I’ve seen used in other K-films, which in my opinion is a positive as you can get a real sense of the film by hovering over the clip, making you feel more immersed in the film. However, having the main frame the same size as the preview thumbnails is a negative, as it becomes difficult to focus all of your attention on the main clip playing. Having a slightly bigger main frame than the preview clips would give the viewer the opportunity to notice more detail in the clip.

The same music loops throughout the entire film which assists the flow and ambience of the film. However, the clips played in the main frame don’t loop. This is a hindrance to the K-film as it requires that you give each clip your full attention as you can’t replay the main frame unless an out-keyword of a different clip brings you back to it. If the clips were looped, it would give a continual sense to the K-film, rather than a pause which can bring the viewer out of the interactive experience and not make them feel as immersed as they should.

The content of the K-film includes partial framing of people using their hands; whether it be in conversation, washing or cleaning, or eating. Some of the clips shown include; a woman conversing with other women as she cracks her knuckles and moves her hands and fingers anxiously, an old woman’s hands tapping a table as she is in conversation, a young man eating, a woman stirring a pot of food, a man rinsing a sponge, a young lady holding a coffee, young people with technology, elderly in hospital, etc. Due to the framing choices made by the filmmakers, sometimes it is unclear as to what the hands are doing. This makes the film interesting and abstract, as it invites the viewer to interpret the clips in their own way. The variation in content as well as framing choices, camera angles and movements mean that the film is never boring.

The clips present a part of an action, behaviour, or conversation where only some of the conversation is audible. Even if some words can be made out, the conversation can’t be understood in context so the viewer’s attention is shifted from what is being said to focusing on what the actions of the hands are. This means that the viewer can use their own perception to interpret the clips, what is happening and how the person portrayed is feeling. For example; in the clip which shows a woman anxiously moving her fingers and cracking her knuckles while conversing with other women, the focus on her hands means that while we don’t know what she is discussing, we understand that she feels nervous about the topic or situation. This allows the audience to interact further with the film and draw their own meaning of the authors’ observations.

Most of the clips shown are a snapshot into the everyday life or activities of ordinary people and don’t appear to be staged. However, a couple of them do seem to be staged which breaks the flow of the other clips and their observational and natural sense. For example; in one clip a young boy is shown static, handballing a footy to himself over and over directly at the camera. If the camera was following him in a documentary style shot, or there was more camera movement, this clip wouldn’t seem as staged. These types of clips can bring the audience out of the experience as it breaks the patterns of previous clips that are shot in a natural style.

The sophisticated, observational framing and shooting of the content combined with the minimal and understated interface choices by the makers, and the clusters and pathways the patterns provide for the audience, highlights the poetic nature of the authors’ intention to notice the way hands are used to communicate.