Touch to Deconstruct is an exploration of the ephemeral nuance of the moving image. The user actively deconstructs film footage using touch-screen gestures to alter its playback. Deconstruction takes the form of slow motion and repetition, which serve as tools for the investigation and dissection of theme and emotional tone inherent within the footage, whether intended or not by the original filmmakers. My goal is to create an immersive visual experience that is enhanced by the user’s involvement. By manipulating the time and sequencing of the moving image in a playful yet investigatory way, the user himself creates a compelling aesthetic. The use of a handheld touchscreen facilitates the tactilely scrubbing of footage frame by frame and the adjusting of speed at which this occurs. Such alterations force one to consider the relational quality and interdependence of images or frames to each other and the overall structure of the film. The original film source for this project is archival footage found on an online film repository. Deconstructing this kind of footage results in an investigation of lost content. Users can attempt to unveil hidden meanings or come to new realizations from old, forgotten film. This way, the process as a whole becomes a meditative and reflective one.