To Do This Week
Bill Viola (1982) – Will There Be Condominiums in Dataspace?
Watch: Bandersnatch on Netflix
Blog Prompt: Bill Viola, writing in 1982 at the very start of digital video editing and video storage in a computer, speculates about the future possibilities of “data space” as a kind of potential space that can be explored by a “participant.” How does his vision compare with the branching Netflix movie Bandersnatch? Is Bandersnatch entertaining or tedious? Does the work point to future possibilities for cinema and storytelling? How do Viola’s ideas, drawing on sacred arts of the past, challenge the simple “choose-your-own-adventure” approach to the nonlinear potentials of digital cinema? Where do you think this technology is headed? Please quote from the reading.
Notes
Bandersnatch Responses
Bill Viola – Will There Be Condominiums in Dataspace?
Interactive Cinema
Kinoautomat (1967)
“At nine points during the film the action stops, and a moderator appears on stage to ask the audience to choose between two scenes; following an audience vote, the chosen scene is played.”
Branching: YouTube annotations:
Database Cinema
Pry by Tender Claws LLC
Database Narratives
Seances by Guy Maddin
New Media Art
Olia Lialina – My Boyfriend Came Back from the War (netcinema) (1996)
Peter Horvath – New Media Work
Student Work
HTML5 Cinema Project (10%)
Due April 9th
Project Overview:
Bring together video and interactive design to explore complex ideas, emotions, or stories, creating a space where differences and similarities among clips enrich the overall narrative or thematic impact.
Use HTML, CSS, and basic JavaScript with video to create an interactive website. This project can be an interactive visual essay, branching short fiction, or experimental montage centered around a theme, idea, or passion. Start from provided templates or create your own design using ChatGPT assistance.
Project Objectives:
- Interactivity and Engagement: Design a user-friendly interface that encourages meaningful viewer interaction.
- Video: Create 3-6 short video loops (10-60 seconds each) exploring a unified theme.
- Media Integration: Combine video, text, sound, and graphic elements for a smooth, cohesive user experience.
Steps to Completion:
- Theme or Narrative Development: Identify your central idea or passion and sketch it out.
- Video Curation and Creation: Create video loops that explore various facets of your theme.
- Web Page Design: Use provided HTML templates or custom code to create a website that showcases your videos.
- Interactivity Implementation: Add interactive elements like clickable links or navigation controls to enhance viewer engagement.
- Narrative and Thematic Integration: Arrange media to highlight connections between videos.
Evaluation Criteria:
- Innovation and Creativity: Originality in theme or narrative concept.
- Technical Proficiency: Effective use of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
- Video/Audio Creation: Strong framing, pacing, and sound design. AI tools are permitted!
- User Engagement: A design that encourages exploration and interaction.
HTML Templates:
- video-grid.html
- video-menu.html
- video-pair.html
- video-timer.html
- video-timer2.html
- hypervideo | hypervideo.ZIP
HTML Cinema Workshop
AUDIO/VIDEO & JavaScript
- Video and Audio elements
- Audio/Video DOM reference
- Chrome – must interact with page (click something) before video or audio can play
Final Project Overview (20%)
Rough Cuts Submission: Due April 16th – 10% of the project grade.
Final Cuts Submission: Due April 23rd – 90% of the project grade.
Project Description:
This final project is a culmination of your exploration into digital cinema throughout this course. Investigate at least two facets of digital cinema, including loops, AI video, compositing, networked video, hyperlinked video, database video, and the video essay.
Your project can be a fictional narrative, non-fictional documentary, or abstract/experimental piece.
Evaluation Criteria:
- Medium: Primarily video as the medium.
- Cinema Language: Incorporate continuity editing, montage, or other techniques effectively.
- Conceptual Engagement: Demonstrate deep engagement with course ideas in conception and execution.