Soft Cinema
Encyclopedia
Soft Cinema is a collaborative new media art
project headed by Lev Manovich
. Manovich states that "soft cinema is a digital editor that provides an interface between human editors and a database of footage to 'perform' different edits of the footage. Each performance is unique because software works with a set of parameters that allow for 'potentially every dimension' of a film to change." Soft Cinema juxtaposes the aesthetics of software culture, cinema
, and architecture
into an interactive manifestation of computer-driven films, dynamic visualizations, installations
, architectural designs, print catalogs, and DVDs. Soft Cinema takes advantage of real-time software-based cinema, and how it may be applied to aspects of the contemporary life we live in. For example, the creation of "mega-cities", or how new technology has come to effect subjectivity. The software in soft-cinema completely relies on the use of databases, choosing, organizing and editing movies on the fly in a non-linear but structured fashion, based on a set of variables defined by the authors. The database is programmed so that the story is almost never the same. Manovich views soft cinema as allowing the human mind to create a story for themselves, as each scene is going to require a unique interpretation. Other contributors in the project include: Marshall McLuhan
and Andreas Kratky
.
Soft Cinema attempts to address four issues:
Texas looks at the 'Modern experience of living between layers', that is, how time has created different 'layers' of space throughout the world we live in. The film calls on a number of databases, each structured in the same fashion. The database containing video footage (as opposed to music) holds 425 clips selected from footage that Manovich himself shot at various locations over several years. Manovich aims to capture the idea of a "Global City" throughout these shots. Each video clip in the database holds 10 parameters, including location, subject matter, average brightness, contrast, the type of space, the type of camera motion, and several more. The software uses these parameters in selecting each clip, finding clips that are all similar in some fashion to the next.
in Gateshead, UK.
Mission to Earth symbolizes the experiences of a modern immigrant as well as the experiences of those during the Cold War. It attempts to show the trauma associated with a shift in identity as one changes his or her life. The Soft Cinema software uses several frames at once in this piece, displaying different things in each frame to portray the split in identity that the main character, Inga, experiences. The software also changes the size and number of windows as it grabs the content from the database. Most of the video used for the database was shot in London, Berlin, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, and Sweden.
-media database (videography, animations, narratives), editing rules, image processing software, sound design, screen layout and installation design concepts.
-implementation logistics, edit list generation software, display software, screen layout system.
-graphic design (Soft Cinema catalogues).
-Website Production
media database visualisation.
-music database.
-the announcer.
-video logging.
-voice over editing.
-voice over editing.
-text editing, voice over.
-voice over.
-voice over.
-architect (the version for Cinema Future exhibition).
architect.
-architect.
-installation construction + hardware.
New media art
New media art is a genre that encompasses artworks created with new media technologies, including digital art, computer graphics, computer animation, virtual art, Internet art, interactive art, computer robotics, and art as biotechnology...
project headed by Lev Manovich
Lev Manovich
Lev Manovich is an author of new media books, professor of Visual Arts, University of California, San Diego, U.S. and European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, where he teaches new media art and theory, software studies, and digital humanities...
. Manovich states that "soft cinema is a digital editor that provides an interface between human editors and a database of footage to 'perform' different edits of the footage. Each performance is unique because software works with a set of parameters that allow for 'potentially every dimension' of a film to change." Soft Cinema juxtaposes the aesthetics of software culture, cinema
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, and architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
into an interactive manifestation of computer-driven films, dynamic visualizations, installations
Installation art
Installation art describes an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called Land art; however, the boundaries between...
, architectural designs, print catalogs, and DVDs. Soft Cinema takes advantage of real-time software-based cinema, and how it may be applied to aspects of the contemporary life we live in. For example, the creation of "mega-cities", or how new technology has come to effect subjectivity. The software in soft-cinema completely relies on the use of databases, choosing, organizing and editing movies on the fly in a non-linear but structured fashion, based on a set of variables defined by the authors. The database is programmed so that the story is almost never the same. Manovich views soft cinema as allowing the human mind to create a story for themselves, as each scene is going to require a unique interpretation. Other contributors in the project include: Marshall McLuhan
Marshall McLuhan
Herbert Marshall McLuhan, CC was a Canadian educator, philosopher, and scholar—a professor of English literature, a literary critic, a rhetorician, and a communication theorist...
and Andreas Kratky
Andreas Kratky
Andreas Kratky is a media artist and a visiting professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. He was born in Berlin, Germany and currently lives and works in Berlin and Los Angeles...
.
Soft Cinema attempts to address four issues:
- "Algorithmic Cinema." By using a set of rules authored by its creators, "the software controls the screen layout, the number of windows and their content.
- "Macro-cinema." If a computer user employs windows of different proportions and sizes, why not adopt the similar aesthetics for cinema?
- "Multimedia cinema." In Soft Cinema, video is used as only one type of representation among others: 2D animation, motion graphicsMotion graphicsMotion graphics are graphics that use video footage and/or animation technology to create the illusion of motion or rotation, graphics are usually combined with audio for use in multimedia projects. Motion graphics are usually displayed via electronic media technology, but may be displayed via...
, 3D scenes, diagrams, mapsMAPSMaps is the plural of map, a visual representation of an area.As an acronym, MAPS may refer to:* Mail Abuse Prevention System, an organisation that provides anti-spam support...
, etc. - "Database CinemaDatabase cinemaOne of the principal features defining traditional cinema is a fixed and linear narrative structure. In Database Cinema however, the story develops by selecting scenes from a given collection...
." The media elements are selected from a large database to construct a potentially unlimited number of different narrative films, or different versions of the same film.
Texas
The original piece was created for the 2002 "Soft Cinema installation", for an exhibition titled "Future Cinema: Cinematic Imaginary after Film."Texas looks at the 'Modern experience of living between layers', that is, how time has created different 'layers' of space throughout the world we live in. The film calls on a number of databases, each structured in the same fashion. The database containing video footage (as opposed to music) holds 425 clips selected from footage that Manovich himself shot at various locations over several years. Manovich aims to capture the idea of a "Global City" throughout these shots. Each video clip in the database holds 10 parameters, including location, subject matter, average brightness, contrast, the type of space, the type of camera motion, and several more. The software uses these parameters in selecting each clip, finding clips that are all similar in some fashion to the next.
Mission to Earth
The original piece was commissioned in 2003 by the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary ArtBALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art
The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art is an international centre for contemporary art located on the south bank of the River Tyne alongside the Gateshead Millennium Bridge in Gateshead, North East England, United Kingdom...
in Gateshead, UK.
Mission to Earth symbolizes the experiences of a modern immigrant as well as the experiences of those during the Cold War. It attempts to show the trauma associated with a shift in identity as one changes his or her life. The Soft Cinema software uses several frames at once in this piece, displaying different things in each frame to portray the split in identity that the main character, Inga, experiences. The software also changes the size and number of windows as it grabs the content from the database. Most of the video used for the database was shot in London, Berlin, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, and Sweden.
Absences
The Absences piece was created without a pre-set narrative. It takes advantage of the assumption that, given different sets of images and footage, the viewer will connect what is seen and create their own structured narrative. The theme surrounds the aspect of natural and urban surroundings. Like previous works, the images shown each hold unique parameters which the soft-cinema software chooses from when viewed by the user. These parameters include brightness, contrast, texture, activity, frequency, and several others.People
- Lev ManovichLev ManovichLev Manovich is an author of new media books, professor of Visual Arts, University of California, San Diego, U.S. and European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, where he teaches new media art and theory, software studies, and digital humanities...
-media database (videography, animations, narratives), editing rules, image processing software, sound design, screen layout and installation design concepts.
- Andreas KratkyAndreas KratkyAndreas Kratky is a media artist and a visiting professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. He was born in Berlin, Germany and currently lives and works in Berlin and Los Angeles...
-implementation logistics, edit list generation software, display software, screen layout system.
- Christine Bokelmann
-graphic design (Soft Cinema catalogues).
- Patrick Liem + Isabelle Gerrard
-Website Production
- Schoenerwissen (Anne Pascual and Marcus Hauer) | Berlin
media database visualisation.
- DJ SpookyDJ SpookyPaul D. Miller , known by his stage name DJ Spooky, That Subliminal Kid, is a Washington DC-born electronic and experimental hip hop musician whose work is often called by critics or his fans as "illbient" or "trip hop". He is a turntablist, a producer, a philosopher, and an author...
| New York
-music database.
- Olia LialinaOlia LialinaOlia Lialina is a pioneer Internet artist and theorist as well as an experimental film and video critic and curator...
| Stuttgart
-the announcer.
- Rachel Beth Egenhoefer | San Diego
-video logging.
- Ted Apel | San Diego
-voice over editing.
- Mathhew Kabatoff | San Diego
-voice over editing.
- Gloria Sutton | Los Angeles
-text editing, voice over.
- Francesca Ferguson | Berlin
-voice over.
- Rachel StevensRachel StevensRachel Lauren Stevens is an English singer-songwriter, actress, presenter, dancer, television personality and model. She is a former member of the successful pop group S Club, and launched a solo recording career in 2003, releasing seven singles and two albums in the UK between 2003 and 2005...
|New York
-voice over.
- Ruth Lorenz_maaskant | Berlin
-architect (the version for Cinema Future exhibition).
- Jason Danziger_think/build group| Berlin
architect.
- Andreas Angelidakis | New York
-architect.
- ZKM | Karlsruhe
-installation construction + hardware.