Haptic Cinema DocsForum - SFU.ca - Simon Fraser …lmarks/writings/files/Haptic Cinema...
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Haptic Cinema workshop at DocsForum, Docs MX film festival, Mexico City Laura U. Marks www.sfu.ca/~lmarks October 20, 2016 Intro Useful to think that images do not represent but transmit, make contact. My theory of haptic cinema a radical receptivity. Viewer does not interpret but receives with body. Film experience is a dynamic between haptic and optical, affective and discursive. Will discuss some ways we can experience films as tactile and physical: methods for filmmakers who want their work to make a quasi-physical contact with the audience, and ways for viewers to cultivate their tactile and multisensory response to a film. The methods 1. Haptic visuality, a kind of intimate and embodied looking distinct from the more common optical visuality Optical visuality: distant view of complete subject associated with Renaissance perspective. Renders the image as a figure distinct from ground. Viewer can receive it from a distance. Haptic visuality (Aloïs Riegl): close, “grasping” view. Antonia Lant adapts for cinema 1 Riegl’s concept of haptic image revised by Deleuze + Guattari in A Thousand Plateaus;I adapt it for cinema 2 : viewer not completely distinct from object beheld. Figure-ground difference not clear. Invites viewer to subjectively come forward and merge with the beheld. e.g.: -low resolution: analog video, super-8, some kinds of digital video (though corrected for edge recognition) -diminished figure-ground distinction Nicky Hamlyn, Autogrill_Verghereto (UK, 2008): found moiré pattern -shallow focal plane -some kinds of close-ups -background activity that interrupts the figure, e.g. crowding, light flares
Transcript of Haptic Cinema DocsForum - SFU.ca - Simon Fraser …lmarks/writings/files/Haptic Cinema...
HapticCinemaworkshopatDocsForum,DocsMXfilmfestival,MexicoCityLauraU.Markswww.sfu.ca/~lmarksOctober20,2016Intro Usefultothinkthatimagesdonotrepresentbuttransmit,makecontact. Mytheoryofhapticcinemaaradicalreceptivity.Viewerdoesnotinterpretbutreceiveswithbody. Filmexperienceisadynamicbetweenhapticandoptical,affectiveanddiscursive. Willdiscusssomewayswecanexperiencefilmsastactileandphysical:methodsforfilmmakerswhowanttheirworktomakeaquasi-physicalcontactwiththeaudience,andwaysforviewerstocultivatetheirtactileandmultisensoryresponsetoafilm.Themethods1.Hapticvisuality,akindofintimateandembodiedlookingdistinctfromthemorecommonopticalvisuality Opticalvisuality:distantviewofcompletesubjectassociatedwithRenaissanceperspective.Renderstheimageasafiguredistinctfromground.Viewercanreceiveitfromadistance. Hapticvisuality(AloïsRiegl):close,“grasping”view.AntoniaLantadaptsforcinema1 Riegl’sconceptofhapticimagerevisedbyDeleuze+GuattariinAThousandPlateaus;Iadaptitforcinema2: viewernotcompletelydistinctfromobjectbeheld.Figure-grounddifferencenotclear.Invitesviewertosubjectivelycomeforwardandmergewiththebeheld.e.g.: -lowresolution:analogvideo,super-8,somekindsofdigitalvideo(thoughcorrectedforedgerecognition) -diminishedfigure-grounddistinction
NickyHamlyn,Autogrill_Verghereto(UK,2008):foundmoirépattern
-shallowfocalplane -somekindsofclose-ups -backgroundactivitythatinterruptsthefigure,e.g.crowding,lightflares
-callsonthewholebodyoftheviewer,preventsseparationsubject-objectNoteinmostworksthere’sadynamicbetweenopticalandhapticvisuality:
ArthurJafa,DreamsAreColderthanDeath(U.S.,2013)
KaliJonesandMaurizioRuggiano,TheCertaintyofShadow(Italy,2011)
2.Tactilesound soundcanevoketexture,taste,atmosphere;invitesembodiedresponse hapticsoundevokesconfusingimmersioninascene,notcleardistinction.Cf.multiplemicrophoneplacementinRobertAltman’sNashville3.Materialbreakdownemphasizesphysicalityofthemedium paradoxthatwhentheimageisweaker,thebondcanbestronger.Poorqualityindicatesthattheimagehadtotravelalottogettotheviewer: -film:dust,scratches,splices -analogvideo:demagnetization -digitalvideo:compression(codecs);glitch:physicalvoltagechange,damagetosupport,oralteringtheintegrityoftheimagethroughcode.
4.Otherartifactslayeredontheimage:watermarksofcopyrightholders,piracycompanies;commentsonYouTubeetc. Noteeconomicsofthebroken-downimage.Whocanaffordahigh-qualityimage,whomakes
dowithapoor-qualityimage?5.theindex,asignthatbuildsaconnectionbetweenthepro-filmicsceneandtheviewer Index:C.S.Peirce,asignthatreferstoitsobjectbynecessity.Oftentheresultofphysicalcausation--photograph,fossil.
CaoFei,ShadowLife(2011)multiplyindexicalasrecordedwork,shadowplay
Morebroadly,indexiswhatevertheimagepointsat.Simplefactthattheinitialgesturereachestheviewer.Imagemakesasocialconnectiontootherviewersandenvironmentsalongthewayfromsourcetoreceiver.3
LailaShereenSakr,akaVJUmAmel,YemenFire(algorithmicallyalteredphotograph,2015)
DVDofButterfield8frommylocallibrarywithglitchatclimaxofmovie.Videosdemagnetize,andDVDsglitch,atpointswhereuserspausedthemmostoften!Socialconnectionsincreaseasperceptibilitydecreases.
AhmedNagy,TheHolyZero(Egypt,2010):meditativealgorithmsonscreen1contrastwithaggressivelysocialandvisuallyhapticTVcall-inshowonscreen2. 6.Embodiedresponseoccursatseverallevels,buildingaphysicalandaffectiverelationshipstotheimage -autonomicnervoussystem(sweating,arousal,etc.) -mimesis,wherethefilmelicitsphysicalresponsesintheviewer.“Mirrorneurons”actuallyanewtermforCarpenter’seffect,1876:howpeoplereproducetheactionsofotherstheyseewiththeirownbodies -mirror-touchsynaesthesia4 PossibletocultivatetheseresponsesShiftindiscursive-affectivebalanceaffectiveresponsetothewayafilmfeels,notcognitiveresponsestothefilm’sdiscourseHaptic-optical,affective-discursive,aredialectical.Needboth.Hotandcool“hot”mediareachout,“cool”mediadrawtheviewerin(MarshallMcLuhan)highresolution,3D,virtualrealityarehot:cananalyzewithRiegl’stheoryofgraspingeyelowresolution,poor-qualityimagesarecool;theydrawustowardthemThankstotheaudienceforgreatquestions,including:Truthindigitalmedia:Notworriedaboutbreakdownofindex.5Factsaresocial,builtthroughcommunication;cf.Peirce.Animation,immersivemediaallowustoexperiencenon-humanembodiments.
1AntoniaLant,“HapticalCinema,”October75(Fall1995):45-73.2LauraU.Marks,“Videohapticsanderotics,”Screen39:4(Winter1998):331-348.3ThisupdatetotheconceptofhapticcinemaisinLauraU.Marks,“ImagesinMotion,fromHapticVisiontoNetworkedSpace,”Hananal-Cinema:AffectionsfortheMovingImage.Cambridge,MA:MITPress,2015.4LauraU.Marks,“IFeelLikeanAbstractLine,”inThresholds:Mirror-TouchSynaesthesiaandtheSocialLifeofArt,ed.DariaMartinwithElinorCleghorn(forthcoming,Oxford)5LauraU.Marks,‘HowElectronsRemember,”MillenniumFilmJournal,34(Autumn1999),reprintedinTouch:SensuousTheoryandMultisensoryMedia(Minneapolis:UniversityofMinnesotaPress,2002).
