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).