Interactive Documentary and Drama, developing knowledge exchange forms & a reassessment of cultural valueCase Study: Prisoners
|
Other Interactive Hot Spot Tests
Skin Deep http://173.249.39.227/~dev/CMIR/skin_deep/ Prisoners http://173.249.39.227/~dev/CMIR/prisoner/ Forever http://173.249.39.227/~dev/CMIR/forever/ Forever with adjustable timeline http://173.249.39.227/~dev/CMIR/sortable.html |
A developing research area for CMIR within moving images studies is interactive documentary. This aligns us not only with our sister research centre DCRC but with UWE’s suite of current and developing MA courses which deal with the current state of production of content within a turbulently changing content delivery landscape. Currently we have Documentary Features and Wildlife – both run with the BBC. Over the coming two years we will have added MA Visual Effects and MA Cinematography – and after that Filmmaking (which by then will have a very different title to take account of the changes between film, television, the internet, photo chemical and data capture which have ensued recently).
Necessarily this will take us deeper into a reassessment of the history of both documentary and drama (both television and cinema). Currently we are watching developments with iDocs (Interactive Documentary) which DCRC is investigating.
It is CMIR's conviction that a new form lie between the interstices of Televison and Feature Film Documentary, Documentation of events and academic investigation and research and Interactive Documentary which works between various carriers such as Blu Ray DVD and the internet.
In fact interactivity precedes the internet and (for instance) Flaxton designed the 2007/2008 AHRC investigation into the use of candlelight in Jacobean plays which eventuated in the Sam Wannamaker Theatre next to the Globe on the South bank - a replica of an actual Jacobean Theatre (that's real and actual impact: from research to actual stone). This project was called the Chamber of Demonstrations was lead by Professor Martin White and produced by Ignition Films and is an example of interactivity within moving image design both inside and outside the internet.
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/drama/jacobean/project1.html
This was developed for an AHRC award to capture Jacobean Theatre under the conditions it was seen within - a dark theatrical space lit by around 100 candles. Above the stage we used about 40 candles to light the action. In terms of innovation we manufactured the first switchable audience viewpoint system in real time – both on the DVD and also on the Internet. At the same time we captured the images of a Jacobean theatre with only 30 candles on high definition. A world’s first. Go here for an example of network interactivity pioneered by UWE technicians:
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/drama/jacobean/flash_uploads/malfi_male.htm
Wait for a second for the darkness to subside then select either 'stage boxes' 'pit', 'side gallery' or 'gallery'.
But this is an early form of interactivity which utilised bifurcating links to dazzle the user into feeling that the form was truly interactive when a lot of the time what was delivered was information. The coming issue with interactive docs is that the experience is sufficiently stable to deliver actual interactivity and the following evaluation oif the experience that produces the answer that the experience is worth the commitment of time to the form.
One of CMIR's current and growing concerns is the form that may lie between documentary and documentation that overlaps with Interactive Documentary. With standard documentary form the viewing experience is linear but this may no longer appraise the viewer of the deeper possibilities of the knowledge provided (iven programme lengths, a waning of interest if the content is too ‘dry’ and so on), but with non linear forms such as computer or interactive DVD navigated documentary and web oriented forms (though the dependency on a good connection is a major problem in developing nations) it could be that the familiar tropes of documentary may give way to allow deeper knowledge exchange between user communities (such as within craft or artistic practices) whilst the interactivity required may offset waning attention due to the dryness of the material. In short the doing of things (other than making tea and being a couch potato as is sometimes the case with television) to derive deeper knowledge such as uploading your own comments via a video which demonstrates a gap in knowledge as demonstrated by the interactive doc as it stands - then those sorts of actions buy a deeper commitment to the form. It's a similar hope to that of those that champion community television - that community will be strengthened by showing eachother ones reality.
UWE'S COORDINATED RESEARCH STRATEGY
To investigate documentary and drama UWE has a group of academics who are involved in various research strategies such as the theoretical approach taken by our affiliates The Film and Television Studies Research Group and the practice as research based approach taken by Creative Media Research Group. See 'affiliates' in buttons above. Also there is a research presentation to CMRG by CMIR under the button 'Research Initiatives' above labelled 'Cinemontage'
But aside from a desire to research bec`use on eis interested, there needs to be deep practical experience and expertise in any investigation of cultural form. CMIR'sDirector, Flaxton, besides working as a cinematographer in documentary form for directors such as Roger Graef, Sally Potter and Renny Bartlett, Flaxton himself ran a company who’s raison d’etre was the exploration of documentary and narrative form whilst creating watchable television programmes for broadcast.
The company in point was Triple Vision which was nominated for various documentary awards such as 3 Griersons, a Montreal Film and Video Festival doc nomination and they won a Prix Niki from a prior Amsterdam Film Festival for the editing on ‘Rites’ ,the subject of which was female genital mutilation. But Flaxton also wrote, produced and directed documentary and drama projects and due to this background encourages any potential candidates interested in the development of any of the forms mentioned (and others not, like satellite, concert, live studio, promo, commercials etc) to apply via CMIR to investigate any of the technical, aesthetic, historical or social and political of these forms, both theoretically and practically.
We are especially aware that new technologies produce new forms which of course change the nature of content. Here we part a small way from McLuhan’s position, and quote in reply:
“The camera introduces us to unconscious optics as does psychoanalysis to unconscious impulses”
Benjamin W. Das Kunstwerk im Zeitalter seiner technischen Reproduzierbarkeit, originally published in Zeitschrift für Sozialforschung (1936)
In the spirit of that quote and updating the idea that Benjamin proposes to the current age and state of technology:
"the expanding parameters of the development of the moving image introduces us to unconscious human projects, as does cognitive neuroscientific ideology to the material basis of the expanding project to excise all memory from engramatic structures into exogrammatic structures and forms of cognitive neural behaviour – that is to place our knowledge into the environment outside of ourselves, which in this case, is via the form of data.”
What that means is that technology changes us as we change technology - and form and content are interwoven aspects of eachother.
From my own 2013 paper The Future of the Moving Image:
"It would be prudent for every audience member, every creator & cinematographer, every theoretician, to now recognise the concept of the flowing together of both Exographic and Engramatic forms of cognitive neural behavior as it is a useful metaphor to work with in developing new theoretical positions with regard what moving images actually do for us as a species. Whether viewed in terms of the functional architecture of the brain, or the larger cognitive capacities of the human species, the trend toward externalizing memory and restructuring the larger social-cognitive system in any form of sense-related behaviour, such as within the capture and display of moving images - then this notion of externalization and development could generate radical changes in the intellectual powers collectively at our disposal, which in turn will help renovate and renew the human condition. It would also be prudent to thoroughly question that concept too".
Flaxton T. The Future of the Moving Image, originally given as a paper at ISEA 2013, published by Sydney University, Indexed by Google and by the National Library of Australia/Trove
The Chamber of Demonstration is available here for purchase: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Chamber-Demonstrations-Reconstructing-Playhouse/dp/B001YAIDTA
See review - The Chamber of Demonstrations: This DVD represents a remarkable theatrical experiment and a breakthrough in theatre research and teaching. In a full-scale candlelit reconstruction of the interior of a Jacobean indoor playhouse, experienced classical actors, dressed in costumes from Shakespeare's Globe, perform scenes from a range of early modern plays. A unique feature of the DVD allows the viewer to select and move between four viewing points in the playhouse. There is a wide range of supporting documentary material including interviews with prominent academics, demonstrations and analysis of original practices in staging, costume and make-up plus a computer-generated VR model and access to a regularly updated website. Devised and directed by Martin White, Professor of Theatre at the Department of Drama, University of Bristol. He has published widely on early modern drama and theatre practice, directed numerous plays and has worked as an adviser to the Globe reconstruction in London and to the Royal Shakespeare Company. "It feels as though you're actually there. It is truly a great achievement, and an absolutely invaluable teaching and research resource." Mark Pilkinton, University of Notre Dame "I was delighted by The Chamber of Demonstrations ...the opportunity to see experiments with lighting and staging is invaluable. The multiple perspectives on the scenes are really wonderful....a revelation." Lois Potter, University of Delaware "Fascinating and illuminating...easy to navigate." Signy Henderson, Middlesex University "This is a fantastic resource...Really fine balance of semi-formal interview, lecture, example, interaction, and efficient teaching throughout." Lloyd Kermode, California State University The multiple camera work and the ability to change point of view without affecting the dramatic action is a really excellent contribution to performance documentation. Christopher Baugh, University of Leeds
Further Case Study: Prisoners
Necessarily this will take us deeper into a reassessment of the history of both documentary and drama (both television and cinema). Currently we are watching developments with iDocs (Interactive Documentary) which DCRC is investigating.
It is CMIR's conviction that a new form lie between the interstices of Televison and Feature Film Documentary, Documentation of events and academic investigation and research and Interactive Documentary which works between various carriers such as Blu Ray DVD and the internet.
In fact interactivity precedes the internet and (for instance) Flaxton designed the 2007/2008 AHRC investigation into the use of candlelight in Jacobean plays which eventuated in the Sam Wannamaker Theatre next to the Globe on the South bank - a replica of an actual Jacobean Theatre (that's real and actual impact: from research to actual stone). This project was called the Chamber of Demonstrations was lead by Professor Martin White and produced by Ignition Films and is an example of interactivity within moving image design both inside and outside the internet.
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/drama/jacobean/project1.html
This was developed for an AHRC award to capture Jacobean Theatre under the conditions it was seen within - a dark theatrical space lit by around 100 candles. Above the stage we used about 40 candles to light the action. In terms of innovation we manufactured the first switchable audience viewpoint system in real time – both on the DVD and also on the Internet. At the same time we captured the images of a Jacobean theatre with only 30 candles on high definition. A world’s first. Go here for an example of network interactivity pioneered by UWE technicians:
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/drama/jacobean/flash_uploads/malfi_male.htm
Wait for a second for the darkness to subside then select either 'stage boxes' 'pit', 'side gallery' or 'gallery'.
But this is an early form of interactivity which utilised bifurcating links to dazzle the user into feeling that the form was truly interactive when a lot of the time what was delivered was information. The coming issue with interactive docs is that the experience is sufficiently stable to deliver actual interactivity and the following evaluation oif the experience that produces the answer that the experience is worth the commitment of time to the form.
One of CMIR's current and growing concerns is the form that may lie between documentary and documentation that overlaps with Interactive Documentary. With standard documentary form the viewing experience is linear but this may no longer appraise the viewer of the deeper possibilities of the knowledge provided (iven programme lengths, a waning of interest if the content is too ‘dry’ and so on), but with non linear forms such as computer or interactive DVD navigated documentary and web oriented forms (though the dependency on a good connection is a major problem in developing nations) it could be that the familiar tropes of documentary may give way to allow deeper knowledge exchange between user communities (such as within craft or artistic practices) whilst the interactivity required may offset waning attention due to the dryness of the material. In short the doing of things (other than making tea and being a couch potato as is sometimes the case with television) to derive deeper knowledge such as uploading your own comments via a video which demonstrates a gap in knowledge as demonstrated by the interactive doc as it stands - then those sorts of actions buy a deeper commitment to the form. It's a similar hope to that of those that champion community television - that community will be strengthened by showing eachother ones reality.
UWE'S COORDINATED RESEARCH STRATEGY
To investigate documentary and drama UWE has a group of academics who are involved in various research strategies such as the theoretical approach taken by our affiliates The Film and Television Studies Research Group and the practice as research based approach taken by Creative Media Research Group. See 'affiliates' in buttons above. Also there is a research presentation to CMRG by CMIR under the button 'Research Initiatives' above labelled 'Cinemontage'
But aside from a desire to research bec`use on eis interested, there needs to be deep practical experience and expertise in any investigation of cultural form. CMIR'sDirector, Flaxton, besides working as a cinematographer in documentary form for directors such as Roger Graef, Sally Potter and Renny Bartlett, Flaxton himself ran a company who’s raison d’etre was the exploration of documentary and narrative form whilst creating watchable television programmes for broadcast.
The company in point was Triple Vision which was nominated for various documentary awards such as 3 Griersons, a Montreal Film and Video Festival doc nomination and they won a Prix Niki from a prior Amsterdam Film Festival for the editing on ‘Rites’ ,the subject of which was female genital mutilation. But Flaxton also wrote, produced and directed documentary and drama projects and due to this background encourages any potential candidates interested in the development of any of the forms mentioned (and others not, like satellite, concert, live studio, promo, commercials etc) to apply via CMIR to investigate any of the technical, aesthetic, historical or social and political of these forms, both theoretically and practically.
We are especially aware that new technologies produce new forms which of course change the nature of content. Here we part a small way from McLuhan’s position, and quote in reply:
“The camera introduces us to unconscious optics as does psychoanalysis to unconscious impulses”
Benjamin W. Das Kunstwerk im Zeitalter seiner technischen Reproduzierbarkeit, originally published in Zeitschrift für Sozialforschung (1936)
In the spirit of that quote and updating the idea that Benjamin proposes to the current age and state of technology:
"the expanding parameters of the development of the moving image introduces us to unconscious human projects, as does cognitive neuroscientific ideology to the material basis of the expanding project to excise all memory from engramatic structures into exogrammatic structures and forms of cognitive neural behaviour – that is to place our knowledge into the environment outside of ourselves, which in this case, is via the form of data.”
What that means is that technology changes us as we change technology - and form and content are interwoven aspects of eachother.
From my own 2013 paper The Future of the Moving Image:
"It would be prudent for every audience member, every creator & cinematographer, every theoretician, to now recognise the concept of the flowing together of both Exographic and Engramatic forms of cognitive neural behavior as it is a useful metaphor to work with in developing new theoretical positions with regard what moving images actually do for us as a species. Whether viewed in terms of the functional architecture of the brain, or the larger cognitive capacities of the human species, the trend toward externalizing memory and restructuring the larger social-cognitive system in any form of sense-related behaviour, such as within the capture and display of moving images - then this notion of externalization and development could generate radical changes in the intellectual powers collectively at our disposal, which in turn will help renovate and renew the human condition. It would also be prudent to thoroughly question that concept too".
Flaxton T. The Future of the Moving Image, originally given as a paper at ISEA 2013, published by Sydney University, Indexed by Google and by the National Library of Australia/Trove
The Chamber of Demonstration is available here for purchase: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Chamber-Demonstrations-Reconstructing-Playhouse/dp/B001YAIDTA
See review - The Chamber of Demonstrations: This DVD represents a remarkable theatrical experiment and a breakthrough in theatre research and teaching. In a full-scale candlelit reconstruction of the interior of a Jacobean indoor playhouse, experienced classical actors, dressed in costumes from Shakespeare's Globe, perform scenes from a range of early modern plays. A unique feature of the DVD allows the viewer to select and move between four viewing points in the playhouse. There is a wide range of supporting documentary material including interviews with prominent academics, demonstrations and analysis of original practices in staging, costume and make-up plus a computer-generated VR model and access to a regularly updated website. Devised and directed by Martin White, Professor of Theatre at the Department of Drama, University of Bristol. He has published widely on early modern drama and theatre practice, directed numerous plays and has worked as an adviser to the Globe reconstruction in London and to the Royal Shakespeare Company. "It feels as though you're actually there. It is truly a great achievement, and an absolutely invaluable teaching and research resource." Mark Pilkinton, University of Notre Dame "I was delighted by The Chamber of Demonstrations ...the opportunity to see experiments with lighting and staging is invaluable. The multiple perspectives on the scenes are really wonderful....a revelation." Lois Potter, University of Delaware "Fascinating and illuminating...easy to navigate." Signy Henderson, Middlesex University "This is a fantastic resource...Really fine balance of semi-formal interview, lecture, example, interaction, and efficient teaching throughout." Lloyd Kermode, California State University The multiple camera work and the ability to change point of view without affecting the dramatic action is a really excellent contribution to performance documentation. Christopher Baugh, University of Leeds
Further Case Study: Prisoners