The last film I made caused me some frustration. The image kept pixelating, partially I think because I was filming from a moving base (the train) and because the editing software struggled with the data thrown at it. Due to this I’m reconsidering the camera and editing software used. However, I can also see that it’s an opportunity – an uncontrolled distortion of the footage – one perhaps with potential for further exploitation.
Pixilation is a type of glitch. There are two types of glitches. The first is artificial, manufactured using special software or by moving footage to another Codec. The results are predictable – a particular piece of footage run through the same process twice gives identical results each time. The second type of glitch is random and happens when circumstances overwhelm the technology being used. As my knowledge grows, I can predict when it may happen but I can’t control it or have any certainty about what the end results will look like. This is the sort of glitch I’m seeing in my footage.
I’m already deliberately distorting the natural vision in the films I make so why not simply embrace the glitch as another form of this?
Source:
Sean Cubitt & Rosa Menkman, ‘Indefinite Visions’ Conference, Whitechapel Gallery, 24th to 25th June 2016
