Skip to main content

Contextual studies: Virtualism

What do we mean by Virtualism?
- In media context, the simulation of 'the real': primarily through digital contsruct and manipulation
- The aesthetic tension between physical and digital; material Vs immaterial; 'the uncanny valley'

Virtualism in visual media
- Game of thrones - fantasy drama, dramatic elements (narrative and characters) relies on realism, fantasy (non-realist) elements relies on digital construct
- Sanctuary - fantasy/ sci-fi drama, dramatic elements (narrative and character) relies on realism, visual infect (environment) entirely digital

- 'Virtual' news sets are purely representational
- Simulates reality; we decide by genre symbols

Aesthetic tension
- What is 'real' ?
- What is 'created' ?
- Analogue (practical) or digital?
- How do we perceive the difference?

'The Uncamny'
- "an uncanny effect often arises when the boundary between fantasy and reality is blurred" - Freud 1919
- Heimlich - the familiar and comfortable
- Unheimlich - the unfamiliar and strange

'The uncanny valley'

- Following Freud's theory, the perceptual gap between that which is perceived as 'real' and that which is 'almost real' (or a close simulacrum)
- Provides aesthetic sense of discomfort, eerieness or revulsion

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Storytelling – Preparing and shooting news packages

News packages •These are self-contained news items. • Unlike VOs/SOTs, the news anchor need do no more than introduce the item and then wrap it up at      the end. • The reporter themselves also wraps up the story with their ‘TAG’ at the end (name, location) • The package contains the reporter usually both on camera and also their voice as “track” ( aka              VO/Comm). • Use the script as a template for structuring and guiding your edit. • Ensure you fully research what you are trying to shoot so that you are as prepared as possible. Structure and Content A good package will contain a mix of the following elements :  – Interviews, vox pops & set ups  – Sequences and actuality  – GVs/archive  – PTCs and walky talkies  – GFX It is useful to structure your piece as you might a good written piece of work:  – INTRO  – BODY OF ARGUMENT – expert opinion, stats, backgrou...
Post a Comment
Read more

Transition Unit: Shoot Day 2 - Maidstone Studios

Our second shoot was at the Maidstone Studios in the car park. We were shooting at night for an interrogation scene, and night time would give the scene some more depth and feel.  We encountered quite a few problems during the shoot. On the day, at about 11:00, our actor who was going to be playing the villain dropped out, so we had to find someone else for a 8:00pm shoot. Fortunately, we were able to find someone by 12:30, which was a relief. The next problem we had was that as we needed it to be quite dark for our shoot, it was staying light for quite a while. due to this, we were late to start filming. This had a knock on effect with our schedule, as the actor who was playing our villain had to get a train back to London at 10:03. This problem, accompanied by some more technical problems with our equipment, forced us to cram a three hour shoot into just 50 minutes.  we just managed to do it, but if I were to do this shoot again, I would try and make sure that the equi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Editing Workflow

There are several steps that an editor needs to take when working on a project, and they need to be taken well so that the work is carried out at the best quality and best ability of the editor. It is always good for an editor to have a good workflow, as this will save so much time and effort in the long run, when carrying out this workflow becomes the standard way that you carry out an edit. Doing this will also cause you less stress inn your production, which can also help your editing, as when you are stressed about it, there may be some things that you miss during the edit. All of this being carried out is what will create a better post-production experience. Through some research into editing workflows, I found that there are 7 steps to the process, which when carried out, check all the boxes of what an editor needs to do.  1. Media Ingestion and Management - Copying your video media from your camera to your computer.  You need to have  an easy to understand, r...
Post a Comment
Read more