The events provide an opportunity to examine the fundamental technical conditions and the resulting aesthetics and variables in the relationship between technology, the individual and the medium.

The recording, editing and viewing of image and sound are carried out, discussed and explored both individually and collectively.

WE SHALL SURVIVE IN THE VIDEOS OF OTHERS

Under this ongoing title, the results from both the winter and summer semesters are presented in a screening of artistic and performative media practice.

“We shall survive in the memories of others” – Vilém Flusser’s statement “We survive in the memories of others” is further explored in a figurative sense in the exercises of artistic and performative media practice.

Who participates in the ‘other’ here, and how?

The videos created in the courses on various topics stem initially from the intensive examination of videos and audiovisual works by others.

Vilem Flusser, cultural theorist and media philosopher, addressed photography and video as art; he wrote of the ‘techno-imaginary’ and of the new power of imagination that we must learn through the digital realm and which we digitally redefine and transmit.

The process and principles of transmission form an integral part of the exercises in artistic media practice in various ways. The collective work in the studio, in which roles in front of and behind the camera are swapped, serves as the starting point for collaborative realisation. These take place under varying daily direction by students or as assignments based on formal, seemingly absurd tests, with and without a camera. This creates a pool of raw material that is used by all participants.

In addition, the groups engage with found footage – that is, existing audio and film material – which is transferred from one context to another to take on new meaning. In this way, the rotating principle of internal camera work is complemented by the incorporation of external images and sounds.

Revolt, pop or contemplation – I hope you all enjoy transcribing, transposing and playing out inner images and compositions during the sessions on artistic, performative media practice.

Working in a film collective:

How do collective work processes function in a non-hierarchical team: e.g. daily direction? Within all exercises, a pool of video and audio material is jointly created, which is used by all participants in the events.

Planning and realisation of artistic video or media projects:

Minimalism - formalism - electronic vocabulary - artistic narratives - experimental narrative forms and documentary essays.

Video sketches in camera editing mode between chance and control, formal concepts, scripts and planned sequences explore different working methods. Visual axes, directions in shots and sequences, image composition and editing, rhythms and transitions require complex formal and content-related decisions. My own judgements and expectations shape not only the appearance of the montage but also the recording of image, language, text and sound. How do I compose acoustic spaces, image sequences and settings or the sound-image scissors or text-image scissors? Which dimensions and parameters define the audiovisual construction and principles of representation? Interpretative sovereignty and principles of medial diversity are further developed together and expanded to include divisible truths.

Plenum:

Joint viewings form the basis for discussions about formats of playout and publication as well as interactions between videos in the sequence of a programme and principles of intermedial effects.

Installation - video sculpture and object - media spaces, projection and virtuality:

The example of projection reveals a hybrid space between physical and virtual space that can be used as an orbital, non-relativistic place for teaching. The transition between physical and virtual surfaces triggers investigations into the immaterial and its tangible carriers, such as Android gadgets, natural interfaces and two-dimensional shadows or images of the sun or in the sundial.

Light:

Fundamentals of lighting design within diverse lighting logics as well as experimental work with light as a medium.

Sculptural action - creature and camera - live appearance and recording - performance - live art - film & stage:

Based on the distinction between models and actors in the context of Robert Bresson's "Notes on the Cinematograph", different possibilities of directing and staging people in front of and with camera (work) are tested, as well as performative formats such as video walk, performance lecture/lecture, reenactment and media activism. The latter is based on the directionality, immediacy and real time of the medium of video, which has represented a constant socio-political creative potential since the 1970s.

Found footage:

HEAVEN & ABUSE - how do we define the handling of found footage? Conceptual appropriation of AV materials, electronic vocabulary and film quotations - filmmaking without camera work.