One of the most relevant phenomena of the current digital culture is that created by YouTube channels. There are many, and for many tastes, but some are dedicated with special attention to analysing the audiovisual forms of the contemporary world. One of these channels, whose success has been colossal, is entitled “Every Frame a Painting” and is authored by Canadian Tony Zhou, a professional editor who regularly releases films on a particular subject. The format of the videos is similar: a supercut of several films, with a voiceover that narrates the analysis and at the same time draws attention to certain moments on-screen – using specific montage techniques such as repetition, freeze frame or even replay of the images. To a certain extent, these are also techniques used in various television shows. Among the most watched essays, are some like “Akira Kurosawa –Composing Movement” or “A Brief Look at Texting and the Internet in Film”. But the champion is “Jackie Chan - How to Do Action Comedy”, with more than 5 million views. Following the logic of the format described above, the film examines, with precision and narrative development, why it is that Jackie Chan is a master at combining comedy and action. For Tony Zhou, Chan is close to being one of the masters of burlesque – like Chaplin or Keaton – using familiar objects in unfamiliar ways, to create humour, but also using these objects as weapons in the action. Moreover, his action scenes are not simulated: Chan really fights with his body, allowing him a more classic ‘découpage’ with little use of a hand-held camera and an absence of travellings. The work of Tony Zhou permits a deconstruction of contemporary cinema depending on the genre and author, revealing the methods used in the construction of meaning. It is a pertinent example of the contemporary digital audiovisual essay, popularized on the Internet, combining a certain level of entertainment with more refined analysis. (DR)