CHAPTER 8 MOVING IMAGES: FILM AND DIGITAL ARTS

Is a mass art closely monitored by those in authority. CINEMA: Is a mass art closely monitored by those in authority. Creative people have been making experimental films for generations. Oskar Fischinger. Circles. 1933 http://vimeo.com/55181698

Eadweard Muybridge. The Horse in Motion. 1878. FILM: THE MOVING IMAGE 1872, when a Muybridge photographed a horse he made a bet that all four of the horse’s hooves came off the ground when it ran. Each camera shutter was fixed with a string so that the horse’s front legs tripped as it ran by. The resulting pictures of The Horse in Motion proved that all four hooves left the ground. Muybridge later discovered a way to project his still photographs in rapid succession, this made the first camera. He called it as zoopraxiscope. Eadweard Muybridge. The Horse in Motion. 1878.

Film and Visual Expression: A movie is a visual experience PERSISTENC OF VISION: is an optical illusion that makes cinema possible. The eye and mind tend to hold images in the brain for a fraction of a second after they disappear from view. Quick projection of slightly differing images creates the illusion of movement. A Painter or Photographer designs a moment/ a filmmaker designs sequences that work together in time. SHOT: Each piece of film photographed in a continuous running of the camera. Shots are compiled into scenes, then into movies. Film makes possible a dynamic relationship among three kinds of movement The movement of objects within a shot The movement of the camera toward and away from the action The movement created by the sequences of shots

Creating a New Language of Vision: Film was simply a novelty. In order to gain public acceptance it tried to look like filmed theatrical performances. Silent: the technology for recording sound on film was not perfected until more than 30 years after the first films were. D. W. Griffith. Intolerance. Film stills, b. Longshot ("Belshazzar’s Feast"). 1916.

Sergei Eisenstein. The Battleship Potemkin. 1925. MONTAGE: Is the editing technique of combining a number of very brief shots, representing distinct but related subject matter, in order to create new relationships, build strong emotion, or indicate the passage of time. With the use of montage, a great deal seems to happen simultaneously, in a short time. Introduced by Griffith in 1916. Sergei Eisenstein. The Battleship Potemkin. 1925. Selected frames from Odessa Steps sequence.

ANIMATION: Discuss the evolution of animation from its hand-colored roots to our current special effects techniques (such as motion capture). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHTnJNGvQcA (Traditional Animation) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqv5mir_vqM Motion Capture: a technique whereby the actions of the actors are scanned and digitized in three-dimensional modeling and used to create alternate versions for the screen.

Rintaro. Metropolis. 2002. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJLcOW4vzPY -Robots have evolved but people remain as greedy and unpredictable as ever. The film is notable for its exploration of human qualities in machines, as well as in impressive urban landscapes. Guillermo del Toro Pan’s Labyrinth. 2006 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F33XAA2uJc0 -Companies from several countries come together to collaborate. Spanish-American production. The films principal theme is how imagination can help us cope with adversity. Del Toro refuses to tell us which is real and which is imaginary, leaving the final decision to us.

VIDEO: is the medium for television; it can also be an art form. TELEVISION AND VIDEO: TELEVISION: Means literally “vision from afar.” Television is the electronic transmission of still or moving images with sound by means of cable or wireless broadcast. Television is primarily a distribution system for advertising, news, and entertainment. VIDEO: is the medium for television; it can also be an art form. Nam June Paik. Video Flag Z. 1986.

Matthew Barney: Both Sculptor and Video/Film Artist Created Cremaster Cycle consists of 5 films Describing the plot of any of the Cremaster movies is difficult, but plot is less important than the symbolic content that each movie has. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdxRPavquIQ

DIGITAL ART FORMS: First exhibit of computer-generated digital imagery took place in 1965. Within todays society anyone can take advantage of computer software tools. Camilla Griggers used a video-editing application to create her work. She began with a fashion photograph and introduced incremental changes in the subject’s face, bit by bit, until by the last frame we have a horrifying image of destruction. She combined all the stages of the frame’s evolution into a five-minute video that evolves from something glamorous and desirable into a cry of pain. Camilla Benolirao Griggers. Alienations of the Mother Tongue, video. 1996.

Rui Filipe Antunes. XTNZ, still. 2006. The artist created various “life-forms,” divided them into families, and turned them loose in a digital environment to see what would happen. Rui Filipe Antunes. XTNZ, still. 2006. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVHtcmOEJTM

Lynn Hershman Leeson. DiNA. 2004. Viewers walk up and interact with the virtual woman on the screen before them. DiNA is running for the imaginary office of Telepresident and in her cyber-voice she invites viewers to use the microphone to raise questions and concerns. She is linked to the internet and searches in real time for text to use in response to viewer input. Her campaign slogan is: “Artificial intelligence is better than no intelligence.” Lynn Hershman Leeson. DiNA. 2004. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Yggbr0cPXE (start at 7.24)