The Museum of the City of New York features a three screened short film, “Timescapes,” that spans across the history of New York City since its founding. The film itself was very interesting, informative, and well made, but I personally felt as if the experience was lacking. The short film, utilizing animated maps, historical photos, paintings, and prints, tells the story of New York City’s growth from its colonization to the metropolis it is today. With three screens, multiple graphics were displayed simultaneously, creating a unique experience. The middle screen would usually portray the map for reference while the left and right screens would show pictures, paintings, and more that portrayed the different time periods and events being narrated. However, it was taxing on the mind and body to follow along with the film. With two screens constantly switching between different graphics every few seconds, I found myself and the people around me constantly turning our heads left and right to try and absorb the material being presented. The lack of distance between the screens and the seating is what I believe contributes the most to this problem. With three screens displaying different images constantly, the inability to view all three images at once made it difficult to focus and admire the choice of photos being presented. It felt as if I was just looking at the images for a few seconds just to acknowledge them before moving on to the next one. With only twenty-two minutes to present the rise of New York City, I understand that most information would have to be consolidated and condensed into the most important parts. That, coupled with the fact that I had only a few seconds to observe every photo, made it very difficult to retain the information being presented. By the end of the short film, I thought to myself that the film was brilliant and amazing. But it wasn’t because it was it was an enriching experience where I learned a lot. Rather, it was a experience where I was just merely impressed by its difference from conventional movies and films, by its design choice.