An Interactive Investigation of Visual Decoding Antonio Medrano: Media Arts and Technology Nicole Starosielski: Film and Media Studies

Concept:

Advances in technology have opened up new possibilties for convergence of media forms, but few of these have been adopted on a large scale. Digitally mediated visual content still circulates primarily through film, television, the internet and video games. On one hand, new potential forms haven’t been adopted due to strong corporate investment in existing forms, but on the other, due to cultural attachment to traditional viewing practices. Though some media artists have created projects to visualize hybrid media, there are few ways for a typical viewer to experiment with and visualize alternate possibilities.

Media Remix is an interactive investigation of this potential convergence. What would a hypertextually linked television show look like? What about the internet played as a film? What about a film spatially navigable like a video game? Though each of these possibilities could be painstakingly recreated by an artist, Media Remix allows multiple users to simulanteously interface with different content (originally from the internet, films, TV and video games) through a controller which combines functions from each of these forms.

Instead of presenting a single new proposal for what digital media experience could be, Media Remix will allow a public audience to interrogate their viewing practices and experiment with the development of form. Media Remix will cause its users to question why the forms they encounter on a daily basis are structured the way they are and how they are related to visual and audio content.

Content and Controls:

The content will consist of random content from a specific genre (here, war is featured) across several media forms. This content can then be manipulated and remixed through functions on the remote control.

Each viewer would also wear a set of headphones which serves to focus their attention on the screen she is manipulating. These headphones would work to re-emphasize the role of sound in media as half of the conveyed experience.

Installation:

The installation will consist of nine flat screen LCD panels, nine remote controls and nine sets of headphones.

References:

Media Remix is an investigation of the interrelationship of structure and content of media forms. Valuable references in the production of this product would include various structuralist observations of media.