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‘The Nightly Show’ Makes An Impassioned Plea to Film Police Beating Videos Horizontally


May 14, 2015 | Liam Mathews

In a bit of dead-on satire that’s both hilarious and disheartening, The Nightly Show’s Mike Yard instructs would-be videographers to make sure they rotate their phone sideways so the camera films the police beatdown in full-frame horizontal mode instead of narrow vertical.

In the segment, called “The Nightly Show Film School with Professor Mark Yard,” the comedian gives an introductory lesson on how to make it in “one of the fastest growth industries in America today:” Police Brutality Video Production. He has tips on shooting horizontally (“respect the aspect ratio of the ass-whuppin'”), getting the lighting right (“fortunately for you…police brutality happens in broad fucking daylight”), and editing (“don’t bother”). Yard’s rage is palpable as he makes salient points about the necessity and futility of recording the police.