PLAY (RESEARCH)

AESTHETICS MARKUP LANGUAGE (AML): is our ongoing research project on the possibilities of a meta-level language that would describe cinematic element in film (and still images).  The idea here would be that if we could create a simple structure that would be abstract enough to be able to describe some of the visual (and sound) elements such as composition, mood, cuts, montage etc we could come up with a structure through which the “diagram” of a piece of work could be described.  Say, we take a certain abstract meta-level diagram of a David Lynch film (with its ominous and surreal mood) and apply this to another instance, say, a Disney film, how would then such processes of translation work and what possible and interesting results could such an experiment give us? Eventually, we plan to develop an audio-visual database that can be used to both study the tricks and skills of artists but also apply these to re-mix and re-translate our own work for whatever purpose.   One possible practical use of this, for instance, could be a rapid prototyping machine where raw video footage could be auto-cut according certain diagrams for faster workflow of repetitious tasks: such as, automated edits, color correction based on a desired ’style’ or whatever else we can come up.  Read more about the initial idea HERE.

EMERGING DIGITAL CULTURES IN ASIA AND AFRICA: THEORY AND PRACTICE: I am currently a Teaching Fellow in Digital Cultures at SOAS (University of London) and one part of my tasks was to design a practical-theoretical course that would look at emerging digital technologies in the non-Western context.  This is also the theme of a broader research project that I am involved in — that is: what the future media will look like globally and what the implications and possibilities of these will be for commercial, social and artistic fields. See below the first draft of the course outline.  Because of institutional slowness, the course that was supposed to be taught Spring 2009 now will perhaps be moved to Fall 2009.  This, of course, depends if I will be given money to teach this and what my eventual relationship will be to more institutionalized research.  See a bit more about this HERE.