[revised]
Whatever the Electronic Theatre is or
should be at SIGGRAPH, we can all agree that it is not what it was
and it can not be what it was. In its earliest period it was the
premiere of new work in synthetic imagery to a community of people
who were inventing that media. Today, the community has expanded
and fragmented, and it is no longer the premiere of just about
anything given that most of these "films" are available on
Youtube or even at your neighborhood theatre.
This year's Electronic Theatre was the
first I had attended since 1991. In 1991 there was a political event
that was so obnoxious that I just threw up my hands and wished them
all the best, and ignored it. It did not really matter. The
theatre had become sample reels, and ways for large corrupt media
organizations to recruit, and so forth. Thats fine, but who cares.
I kept hoping that I would either be
invited to a jury or in some way be in a position to help recreate
the theatre but that never happened.
So this year I decided to give it a
shot and see what it was.
I lasted about 7 films until I walked
out.
It started out very strong with two
very amusing pieces. The first was the Centrifuge Brain Project,
which you can find on Youtube at the URL below. And the second was a
series of bumpers for the FMX Conference. Both were very amusing and
well done.
The Centrifuge Brain Project on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVeHxUVkW4w
Centrifuge Scientist Discusses His Vision
SPHEROTHON Centrifuge, 1982
The Centrifuge Brain Project on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVeHxUVkW4w
Then we had some silly art films or
something which were pleasant and inconsequential. Certainly a lot
of work, but not particularly new or original or ... well anything
really except a lot of work. No problem.
The 7th or so project was a very well
done shock piece that used photoreal images of people turning into
garbage hamburger shit as part of some sort of political statement.
I could just see a bunch of trendier than thou assholes in England
showing off to their friends how fucking crude they could be.
Sorry, I don't have any pictures. I do not even remember the title. I do know that they had some sort of rendition of "God Save The Queen" as soundtrack.
Sorry, I don't have any pictures. I do not even remember the title. I do know that they had some sort of rendition of "God Save The Queen" as soundtrack.
The film show had a warning that the
content contained "Adult material". I thought they meant
kinky sex, I did not think they meant gratuitous human meat displays.
Whatever, its not what I want to see the technology I helped invent used for. But, if you want to see this garbage, thats ok with me. There it is, go for it. I can always walk out if I don't like it, and I did.
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