writing with a camera

Homework 6. Experimental Video

Part 1

Reading

To prepare for the Experimental Strategies Workshop, read the following:

  • Introduction,
  • Chapter 1: Experimental Motion Pictures as Direct Theory, and
  • Chapter 2: Experimental Motion Pictures as Major Genre from

Direct Theory Experimental Motion Pictures as Major Genre, 2nd edition, by Edward S. Small and Timothy W. Johnson, Southern Illinois University Press, 2013, available as an ebook from the Snell Library.

Take notes on your reading and bring them with you to class.

Viewing

Watch two of the moving image works mentioned in Chapters 1 or 2 in Direct Theory.

Make a note of the title, maker, URL, along with a brief description and analysis of the work in your notes.

Be prepared to talk about the two works you chose to view and write about during the Experimental Techniques workshop.

Take a look at Experimental Moving Image Works for a curated list of videos to watch.

For streaming video, the Northeastern University Scholar One Search page is the best starting point to find videos available to Northeastern students from Kanopy, Video Data Bank (VDB), and other streaming sources. If a title can be found through One Search, it will be higher quality than what you’ll find on YouTube. Most experimental works on Vimeo are of reasonably good quality.

Terminology and concepts

If you are confused with any of the concepts or terminology, see Critical Lexicon for Direct Theory and Moving-Image Practice. Be prepared to describe and use the following terms and concepts during the workshop:

  • Abstraction
  • Analog Video (distinct from film and digital video)
  • Content
  • Digital Video (distinct from analog video and film)
  • Discourse
  • Documentary (as a major genre in contrast to fictive narrative and experimental works)
  • Experimental (as a major genre in contrast to fictive narrative and documentary works)
  • Fictive narrative (as a major genre in contrast to documentary and experimental works)
  • Film (distinct from analog video and digital video)
  • Form
  • Genre
  • Materiality
  • Medium
  • Moving image
  • Reflexivity
  • Semiology
  • Semiotic system
  • Sign
  • Signified
  • Signifier
  • Symbol
  • Technostructure
  • Theory

Context

This homework, along with the workshops on 2/18 and 3/11, will prepare you to complete Project: Video 3. Experimental Video (Group Project).

Your challenge is to convey an idea or concept effectively. Approach this project as a theoretical inquiry conducted through material practice and perceptual experience that investigates the fundamental properties of video, including temporality, materiality, perception, and consciousness as “direct theory” rather than representation. The work will be evaluated on conceptual sophistication, technical craft, and productive collaboration.

Part 2

Reading

To prepare for the Experimental Techniques Workshop, read the following:

  • Chapter 5: Expanded Cinema and Visionary Film,
  • Chapter 6: Experimental Video,
  • Chapter 7: Digital Experimental Motion Pictures, from

Direct Theory Experimental Motion Pictures as Major Genre, 2nd edition, by Edward S. Small and Timothy W. Johnson, Southern Illinois University Press, 2013, available as an ebook from the Snell Library.

Take notes on your reading and bring them with you to class.

Viewing

Watch two of the moving image works mentioned in Chapters 5, 6, or 7 in Direct Theory.

Make a note of the title, maker, URL, along with a brief description and analysis of the work in your notes.

Be prepared to talk about the two works you chose to view and write about during the Experimental Techniques workshop.

Take a look at Experimental Moving Image Works for a curated list of videos to watch.

For streaming video, the Northeastern University Scholar One Search page is the best starting point to find videos available to Northeastern students from Kanopy, Video Data Bank (VDB), and other streaming sources. If a title can be found through One Search, it will be higher quality than what you’ll find on YouTube. Most experimental works on Vimeo are of reasonably good quality.

Terminology and concepts

If you are confused with any of the concepts or terminology, see Critical Lexicon for Direct Theory and Moving-Image Practice. In addition to the terms listed in Part 1, be prepared to describe and use the following terms and concepts during the workshop:

  • Analog electronics
  • Cinematic
  • Cinematographic technology
  • Composite, Compositing
  • Digital electronics
  • Digital specificity
  • Expanded Cinema
  • Flicker
  • Found footage
  • Kinesthetic cinema
  • Medium specificity
  • Mental imagery
  • Montage
  • Noosphere
  • Phenomenology
  • Projection technologies
  • Structural film
  • Time
  • Video feedback
  • Videographic electronics
  • Videosphere
  • Visionary film

Context

This and the other homework assignment based on Direct Theory, along with the workshops on 2/18 and 3/11, will prepare you to complete Project: Video 3. Experimental Video (Group Project).

Your challenge is to convey an idea or concept effectively. Approach this project as a theoretical inquiry conducted through material practice and perceptual experience that investigates the fundamental properties of video, including temporality, materiality, perception, and consciousness as “direct theory” rather than representation. The work will be evaluated on conceptual sophistication, technical craft, and productive collaboration.

Backlinks