[Reader-list] ONE SECOND VIDEO FESTIVAL

Wed May 14 01:16:29 IST 2008

This is a follow up post on my intrigue with 'one second films'.

So I took the time to watch all the entries in this annual one second film
festival from the last three years that this festival has existed. And even
though they are only one second long, the films did take a few minutes to
load. Like the drive to the movie hall can be longer than the duration of
the film... traffic jams... buffering of bytes... its the same thing...

There were about 60-80 films each year made by a variety of people: 19 year
old illustrators, 30 year old graphic designers, 40 year old college
professors, lingerie vendors, skateboarders, performance artists, amateur
video artists and one or two filmmakers. So quite a variety of people there
exploring the new format. Like in the early days of cinema when magicians,
inventors, vaudeville entrepreneurs,.. all had their own take on the new
medium.

and here i am suggesting that the one second format is radically different
from the one minute and five minute films that have become a real vogue.

The variety of one seconder's can be clubbed into a few consistent themes,
and then there were a few that did not fit anywhere. Lots of porn clips,
lots of potty humour (a shot of the commode with shit that is flushed out in
a second, a fart and everyone stares with a 'who was that' look, a grunt as
protagonist exerts himself on the toilet seat,...), Bush bashers with their
one second ironies,... so these were the usual people having a lot of fun or
being too serious...

then there were the one second "actualities": lots of eye blinks, lighting
of a match, the popping of a snack into the mouth, a gun shot...

the clever cyclical animations, the unexpected moment (humor), found footage
of a special effect moment,... were also common devices

then the really annoying abstract clips from "art projects"

but the real interesting themes were: city, time, memory

the city:
- a sped up 360 degree shot from a traffic intersection
- the closing and opening of a subway train's doors
- a second of life in a popular cafe in bombay

time:
- a bomb tied to a clock blows off
- a shot of a clock on an old tower without the second's hand

memory:
- a perfect moment: when she smiled and pushed the hair away from her face
- a flap of a butterfly's wings
- a 20-25 frame burst of very popular/ common/ familiar images all of which
one can register and recognize in a fraction of a second!!! (this was a
revelation to me)

there was one beautiful film that had collected just the "the end" credit
from different black and white films when it appears on the last frame of
the film and montaged a bunch of these together in one second. amazing! so
much cinematic memory crammed in that one second.

there was another film which was just a simple smiley emoticon uploaded as a
quick time file!

which makes me think that all these one second films could be called
"emoticons". emoticons are tiny and can be inserted in between words. they
are the new form of hieroglyphic writing. see any chat room and there is a
riot of fonts and colours and smileys and emoticons... and how long does it
take to read or register a word or a phrase? a second? less than that? and
what if each word could be an animated clip? if these one second clips could
be used to punctuate or to add emphasis to textual writing itself?? are we
going to evolve a new kind of communication media??

i do think that the internet shall evolve a new way of communication that
would be radically different from the parent old medias. just as the ancient
hieroglyphs are so different from  today's written text and the zoetrope is
different from a DVD player, perhaps so shall the future media be radically
different from today's communication media in its structure and form, in the
way its produced (an animating wand replacing the pen!), the way it is read
and received and in the way it is presented and stored...

and will we still be in conversation, so to speak?

-vishal

On Tue, May 6, 2008 at 2:23 PM, Vishal Rawlley <vishal.rawlley at gmail.com>
wrote:

> I for one got quite intrigued by this video festival: Third ONE SECOND
> VIDEO FESTIVAL (www.respeto-total.com/tosvf/)
>
> Can a 1 sec clip be called a video at all?
>
> What is 1 second in film time? 25 frames of its video.
>
> But one can also have animations play at different frame rates: 50 fps or
> say 100 fps
>
> So how much can one cram in all these frames?
>
> It became a fun exercise to explore. I made six one second films! Each a
> little experiment. I posted two of them - the two that worked.
>
> 1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5arONhAdf1w
>
> 2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdXyW11dfMM
>
> I had been analyzing the aesthetics of short internet clips for a while.
> They started as animated gifs: short animations between 2-3 frames at the
> most. Then flash animations became quite a rage. Since some of these were
> programmed animations, they could employ the 'random feature' in the coding,
> which meant that even short animations were not repetitive - the position or
> colour or size of the animating object (set to random, or random withing a
> range) could change in each cycle, hence animated loops didn't look loopy at
> all, they seemed organic.
>
> Then there was a fight of the online video formats: streaming format,
> downloadable formats, for fast connections, for dial-ups, each format
> requiring its own player and component softwares installed... You tube has
> largely settled that fight for now...or has it!?
>
> So what is the content and form of these short videos meant for online
> viewing?
> Some are 'actualities' like those early films made by the Lumière
> brothers. Again the porn industry was the pioneer in the video revolution on
> the internet. These actuality clips simply showed a scene as it unfolded
> with little attempt at narrative construction (fixed camera and no edits):
> people bonking, a stunt artist doing daring tricks, someone's pet in a funny
> tangle...
>
> But there are some very clever filmmakers (if they can be called that) who
> actually made beautiful clips: shot precisely, edited crispy, deft use of
> audio, all with a clear narrative purpose. These remarkable films have a
> proper 3-act narrative structure (a beginning, a middle and an end.) within
> 10-20seconds. Although this is difficult, it is hardly inconceivable, we
> view 30 sec ads on TV all the time. These short clips employ a vast range of
> cinematic vocabulary that we are all familiar with. Some images (stills or
> clips) can contain a vast amount of information, just like some hieroglyphs
> which are more than alphabets or words but entire concepts in themselves.
> Using these compact image units, one CAN tell a story in compressed time. As
> our cinematic vocabulary is becoming increasingly rich, it is becoming
> easier and easier to convey a lot in a short clip.
>
> What is this cinematic vocabulary?
> When we see a clip of lightning flashing against a dark sky, we know its
> not an image of a weather report, rather a scene from a horror film or an
> ominous moment in the narrative. Thus a universal cinematic vocabulary has
> been forming (over 110 years of the invention of this medium) which builds
> on all our past viewings. We know from experience what a scene means without
> needing much elaboration. None of us remember being shocked by a simple
> close up or a footage of a train pulling in - exactly the images that had
> drastic reactions from audiences when they were first projected. Now you
> need special effects!
>
> Cinematic vocabulary also includes our vocabulary not just of images but
> also of sound. We know the sound of an error message on our computer from
> the sound of 'download complete'; we know gunshot sounds and the cry of a
> dynasaur without having heard one in reality... Our mental sound bank is
> constantly increasing.
>
> Combining this rich and ever-growing vocabulary, dense and short films can
> be made! But a 1 second duration really pushes limits and is worth
> experimenting with.
>
> Hegemony over universal cinematic language:
> This 'universal cinematic vocabulary' has largely been determined by the
> mass media and its conventions. It is replete with ugly stereotypes and
> dominating ideas of representation. However with a large number of
> individuals and independent groups contributing videos to the web, perhaps a
> new vocabulary may evolve! As we can see, the medium is being reinvented on
> the web, starting with actualities and simple edits, to sophisticated forms
> of continuous organic animations. Together we are evolve a new language!
> Your 1 sec video contribution is therefore important.
>
> May I remind you:
> I am not the paid representative of the third-one-second-video-festival,
> but I am a participant. And you can bet on the winning entry and win! One
> day left!!
>
> Best,
> Vishal
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> 2008/4/30 Lele Lingeñere <culetti at gmail.com>:
>
> > //////////Español abajo/////////Italiano sotto
> >
> > Third ONE SECOND VIDEO FESTIVAL (www.respeto-total.com/tosvf/) extended
> > its
> > deadline till 5/5/2008
> >
> > ////jury:
> > The winner will be selected by a formula that combines the Gambling
> > Online
> > and the algorithm DEEP DREDD (www.respeto-total.com/osvf/deepdredd/).
> >
> > ////rewards:
> >
> > + In this edition you can bet for the prize-winning video and gain some
> > good
> > money to cash or to spend on our favourite website virtual casino:
> > UNIBET
> >
> > + THE  VIDEO WINNER WILL INCREASE HIS/HER ECONOMY IN AT LEAST 500 EUROS.
> >
> > + watch the Bingo conference for the presentation of the festival
> > (spanish)
> > www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=65141081480C642C
> >
> > ////dates:
> >
> > 1 April - 5 May : UPLOAD videos
> > 5 May  -  9 May : BETTING on videos
> > 10 May           : online PRIZING
> >
> > ////requisites:
> >
> > _ fill up the application form
> > _ upload the 1 second video (.mov .wmv .avi .mpg) _ upload a snapshot of
> > the
> > video
> >
> > //////////English above//////////Italiano sotto
> >
> > El 3rd ONE SECOND VIDEO FESTIVAL (www.respeto-total.com/tosvf/) extiende
> > su
> > fecha limite hasta el 5/5/2008
> >
> >
> > ////jurado:
> >
> > El ganador será elegido por una formula que combinará las apuestas
> > online y
> > el algoritmo DEEP DREDD(www.respeto-total.com/osvf/deepdredd/).
> >
> > ////premios:
> >
> > + En esta edición podréis apostar por el video ganador y llevaros un
> > buen
> > dinero a cobrar o gastar en la web de nuestro casino virtual favorito:
> > UNIBET (www.unibet.es).
> >
> > + EL VIDEO GANADOR AUMENTARÁ SU PATRIMONIO EN POR LO MENOS 500 EUROS.
> >
> > mira la bingo conferencia de presentación
> > www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=65141081480C642C
> >
> > ////fechas:
> >
> > 1 Abril - 5 Mayo : UPLOAD peliculas
> > 5 Mayo – 9 Mayo  : APUESTAS sobre peliculas
> > 10 Mayo           : PREMIACIÓN online
> >
> > ////requisitos
> >
> > _rellenar la ficha de inscripción
> > _subir el vídeo de 1 segundo (.mov .wmv .avi .mpg) _adjuntar un still de
> > la
> > película
> >
> > //////////English & Spanish above
> >
> > Il 3rd ONE SECOND VIDEO FESTIVAL (www.respeto-total.com/tosvf/) estende
> > la
> > scadenza per l'invio di video fino al 5/5/2008
> >
> > ////giuria:
> >
> > Il vincitore verrá selezionato da una formula che combina le scommesse
> > online e l'algoritmo DEEP DREDD (www.respeto-total.com/osvf/deepdredd/).
> >
> > ////premio:
> >
> > + In questa edizione potrete scommettere sul video vincitore e
> > + guadambiarvi
> > un bel malloppo da incassare o spendere nella web del nostro casinó
> > virtuale
> > preferito: UNIBET <www.unibet.es>.
> >
> > + IL VIDEO VINCENTE VEDRÀ LA SUA SITUAZIONE ECONOMICA MIGLIORARE DI 500
> > EURO.
> >
> > Guarda lo speciale sulla rete spagnola Cuatro
> >
> > http://www.cuatro.com/videos/index.html?xref=20060131ctoultnot_15.Ves&view=b
> > aja
> >
> > ////date:
> >
> > 1 Aprile - 5 Maggio : UPLOAD video
> > 5 Maggio – 9 Maggio : SCOMMESSE sui video
> > 10 Maggio            : PREMIAZIONE online
> >
> > ////requisiti
> >
> > _riempire la scheda di iscrizione
> > _uploadare il video i un secondo (.mov .wmv .avi .mpg)
> > _allegare un'immagine del video
> >
> >
> > _________________________________________
> > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city.
> > Critiques & Collaborations
> > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with
> > subscribe in the subject header.
> > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list
> > List archive: &lt;https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/>
>
>
>