Multimedia Histories

John Plunkett, James Lyons

Description

Multimedia Histories: From the Magic Lantern to the Internet is the first book to explore in detail the vital connections between today’s digital culture and an absorbing history of screen entertainments and technologies. Its range of coverage moves from the magic lantern, the stereoscope and early film to the DVD and the internet.

By reaching back into the innovative media practices of the nineteenth century, Multimedia Histories outlines many of the revealing continuities between nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first century multimedia culture. Comprising some of the most important new work on multimedia culture and history by key writers in this growing field, Multimedia Histories will be an indispensable new sourcebook for the discipline. It will be an important intervention in rethinking the boundaries of Anglo-American film and media history.

Contents: Section 1: Exploring Remediation: Old into New Formats; Damian Sutton (Glasgow School of Art): 'The suppleness of everyday life': CGI, Lumieres, and perception after photography; Patrizia Di Bello (Birkbeck College): From the album page to the computer screen: collecting photographs in the home; Michelle Henning (University of West of England): The Return of Curiosity: The World Wide Web as Curiosity Museum; Dan North (University of Exeter): From Android to Synthespian: the myth of mechanical life; Section 2: Culture, Aesthetics and the Influence of New Media; Ian Christie (Birkbeck College): Toys, Instruments, Machines: Spectacular Illusion from Descartes to Moving Pictures and Beyond; Isobel Armstrong (Birkbeck College, University of London): 'Half sick of shadows': Optical toys and 'The Lady of Shalott'; Charlie Gere (University of Lancaster): John Cage's Early Warning System; Jonathan Bollen (University of New England, Australia): As Seen on TV: Social Dance pedagogy, Kinaesthetic crossover and the animatic imaginary; Section 3: Media Consumption and Interactivity; John Plunkett (University of Exeter): Depth, Colour, Movement: Embodied Vision and the Stereoscope; Andrew Shail (Northumbria University): Penny Gaffs and Picture Theatres: Popular Perceptions of Britain's First Cinemas; James Bennett (University of Wisconsin Madison): From Museum to Interactive Television, Spectacle to Education: Organising the navigable space of natural history display; Andrea Zapp (Manchester Metropolitan University): Networked Narrative Environments; Section 4: Bringing Media Together: Visions of Convergence; Kaveh Askari (University of California Berkeley): Photographed Poses and the Illusion of Movement in Alexander Black's Picture Plays; William Boddy (Baruch College, CUNY): 'Margin and chaos': Early Wireless and Multimedia History; James Lyons (University of Exeter): From Nip/Tuck to cut/paste: remediating plastic surgery online; Richard Grusin (Wayne State University): The Cinema of Interactions: DVDS, Video Games, and the Aesthetic of the Animate.

Sujets

• Media Studies
• Social Science
• HISTORY
• Sociologie, société et politique
• Película fotográfica
• Cinema of the United States
• General officer
• Television
• Cinema of the United Kingdom
• History of film
• General
• Film

Informations

• Publié par: University of Exeter Press
• Date de parution: 02 mars 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 2
• EAN13: 9780859899352
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

FROM THE MAGIC LANTERN TO THE INTERNET

edited byJames Lyons and John Plunkett

MULTIMEDIA HISTORIES

From the Magic Lantern to the Internet

Multimedia Historiesis an important new sourcebook for all those working on cinema, digital arts, photography, videogames, optical toys, television and the history of media and screen practice. The first book to explore in detail the vital connections between today’s digital culture and the history of screen entertainments and technologies, it moves from the magic lantern, the stereoscope and early film to the DVD and the internet. The book shows how our assessment of what we see as new and innovative in contemporary multimedia culture needs to be reevaluated in the light of a rich history of pioneering media practices that reaches back to the nineteenth century.

James Lyonsis Senior Lecturer in Film Studies in the School of English at Exeter University; he is author ofSelling Seattle: Representing Contemporary Urban America(2004) and coeditor ofQuality Popular Television(2003).

John Plunkettis Senior Lecturer in Victorian Literature in the School of English at Exeter University; he is author ofQueen Victoria: First Media Monarch(2003) and editor (with Andrew King) ofPopular Print Media 1820–1900(2004) andVictorian Print Media: A Reader(2005).

Exeter Studies in Film History

Series Editors:Richard Maltby, Professor of Screen Studies, Flinders University, South Australia andSteve Neale, Professor of Film Studies and Academic Director of the Bill Douglas Centre for the History of Cinema and Popular Culture, University of Exeter.

Parallel Tracks: The Railroad and Silent Cinema Lynne Kirby (1997) The World According to Hollywood, 1918–1939 Ruth Vasey (1997) ‘Film Europe’ and ‘Film America’: Cinema, Commerce and Cultural Exchange 1920–1939 edited by Andrew Higson and Richard Maltby (1999) A Paul Rotha Reader edited by Duncan Petrie and Robert Kruger (1999) A Chorus of Raspberries: British Film Comedy 1929–1939 David Sutton (2000)

The Great Art of Light and Shadow: Archaeology of the Cinema Laurent Mannoni, translated by Richard Crangle (2000)

Popular Filmgoing in 1930s Britain: A Choice of Pleasures John Sedgwick (2000) Alternative Empires: European Modernist Cinemas and Cultures of Imperialism Martin Stollery (2000) Hollywood, Westerns and the 1930s: The Lost Trail Peter Stanfield (2001) Young and Innocent? The Cinema in Britain 1896–1930 edited by Andrew Higson (2002) Legitimate Cinema: Theatre Stars in Silent British Films 1908–1918 Jon Burrows (2003) The Big Show: British Cinema Culture in the Great War(1914–1918) Michael Hammond (2006)

University of Exeter Press also publishes the celebrated fivevolume series looking at the early years of English cinema,The Beginnings of the Cinema in England, by John Barnes.

MULTIMEDIA HISTORIES From the Magic Lantern to the Internet

edited by James Lyons and John Plunkett

Paperback cover image: concept created by the authors using an image from the Bill Douglas Centre, University of Exeter.

First published 2007 by University of Exeter Press Reed Hall, Streatham Drive Exeter, Devon EX4 4QR UK www.exeterpress.co.uk

© 2007 James Lyons, John Plunkett and the individual contributors

The right of James Lyons, John Plunkett and the individual contributors to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Paperback ISBN 978 0 85989 773 0 Hardback ISBN 978 0 85989 772 3

Typeset in 11½/13½pt Adobe Caslon by Kestrel Data, Exeter, Devon

Printed in Great Britain by Athenæum Press Ltd, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear

List of Figures Acknowledgements Notes on Contributors

Contents

Foreword byLaura Mulvey Introduction:James Lyons and John Plunkett

vii x xi

xv xvii

Section One: Culture, Aesthetics and the Influence of New Media 1. Toys, Instruments, Machines: Why the Hardware Matters Ian Christie3 2. ‘The suppleness of everyday life’: CGI, the Lumières, and Perception after Photography Damian Sutton18 3. ‘Wouldn’t you rather be at home?’ Electronic Media and the AntiUrban Impulse William Boddy31 4. Breaking the Time Barrier with John Cage Charlie Gere43

Section Two: Exploring Remediation: Old Formats into New 5. From the Album Page to the Computer Screen: Collecting Photographs at Home Patrizia Di Bello 6. The Return of Curiosity: The World Wide Web as Curiosity Museum Michelle Henning

57

72

7. From Android to Synthespian: The Performance of Artificial Life Dan North 8. As Seen on TV: Kinaesthetic Crossover and the Animation of Social Dance Pedagogy Jonathan Bollen

Section Three: Media Consumption and Interactivity 9. Depth, Colour, Movement: Embodied Vision and the Stereoscope John Plunkett 10. Penny Gaffs and Picture Theatres: Popular Perceptions of Britain’s First Cinemas Andrew Shail 11. From Museum to Interactive Television: Organizing the Navigable Space of NaturalHistory Display James Bennett 12. Imaginary Spaces: User Participation in Networked Narrative Environments Andrea Zapp

85

98

117

132

148

163

Section Four: Visions of Convergence: Bringing Media Together 13. ‘The Lady of Shalott’: Optical Elegy Isobel Armstrong179 14. Photographed Tableaux and MotionPicture Aesthetics: Alexander Black’s Picture Plays Kaveh Askari194 15. DVDs, Video Games and the Cinema of Interactions Richard Grusin209 16. From ‘Nip/Tuck’ to Cut/Paste: Remediating Cosmetic Surgery James Lyons222

Notes Index

235 269

Figures

1. John Baptista Porta (Giambattista della Porta),Natural Magick in Twenty Books: Wherein are set forth All the Riches and Delights of the Natural Sciences(London: Thomas Young and Samuel Speed, 1658), frontispiece. Courtesy of the Bill Douglas Centre, University of Exeter 6 2. Tabletop kaleidoscope,c.1850. Courtesy of the Bill Douglas Centre, University of Exeter 9 3. Foldout stereoscope,c.1870. Courtesy of the Bill Douglas Centre, University of Exeter 12 4. R.W. Paul’s unipivot galvanometer (1913): from R.W. Paul,Unipivot Galvanometers and Measuring Instruments for Continuous Current and for Alternating Current of High and Low Frequency(London: Robt. W. Paul, 1913) 15 5. Still from Louis Lumière,Le Repas de bébé(1895). Copyright Association frères Lumière 19 6. Paul M. Smith, Untitled [kebab shop],Make My Nightseries, 1998. Copyright Paul M. Smith, 2005. Reproduced with permission of Paul M. Smith 21 7. Animating Prince Charming’s coiffure inThe Tech of Shrek 2. Copyright DreamWorks SKG/Pacific Data Images, 2004 24 8. Page from Lady Mary Filmer’s album, 1860s. Cutout albumen prints of photographs of HRH The Prince of Wales and other men, on a watercolour and goldpaint umbrella. Courtesy of Musée d’Orsay. Photo RMN 61 9. Page from Lady Charlotte Milles’s album,c.1868. Cutout albumen print of a photograph of her sister Fanny Stracey, on a watercolour and ink teacup. Courtesy of Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, University of Texas at Austin 63

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My office mug, with a digital transfer print of a photograph of my daughter Judith. Private Collection 70 Frederick Ruysch, Etching with Engraving of Skeleton Tableau, from Alle de ontleed—genees—en heelkundige werken, vol. 3 (Amsterdam: Janssons von Waesberge, 1744). Courtesy of the United States National Library of Medicine 81 Virtual idol Yuki Terai sings her hit single ‘Fly Away Alone’, fromYuki Terai: Secrets(Escapi Entertainment, 2000) 86 The JacquetDroz android harmonium player, fromThe JacquetDroz Androids(Neuchâtel: Talia Films/Musée d’Art et d’Histoire, 2001) 91 ‘Hold/path’ documentation for the Foxtrot, from An Expert,The Modern Ballroom Dance Instructor(London: Geographica,c.1926) 101 ‘Animatic’ documentation for the Charleston, from An Expert,The Modern Ballroom Dance Instructor(London: Geographica,c.1926) 103 Experimental filmstrips for the Castle Walk, from Irene Castle and Vernon Castle,Modern Dancing(New York: World Syndicate Co., c104.1914), Library of Congress, Music Division ‘Animatic’ representation of The Smack, a disco linedance, from Jennifer Meloney,You Can Disco(New York: Exeter Books, 1979) 112 Selection of stereoscopesc.1860–1880. Courtesy of the Bill Douglas Centre, University of Exeter 123 The Ghost in the Stereoscope c.1860. Courtesy of the Bill Douglas Centre, University of Exeter 124 Coleman Sellers, two designs for the Phantasmascope, inBritish Journal of Photography, 1 October 1862, p. 366 (left), p. 367 (right). By permission of the British Library, p.p.1912.h 128 ViewMaster stereoscopec.1955 and three reels. From left to right: Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation, Queen Elizabeth Visits Nigeria, Wonders of the Deep129. Courtesy of the Bill Douglas Centre, University of Exeter The Interior of a London penny gaffc.1901, from Arthur St John Adcock, ‘Sideshow London’, in George Sims (ed.),Living London, vol. 2 (London: Cassell, 1902), p. 285. By permission of the British Library, 10349.k.13 140 Drawing of cinema poster by Harry Furniss, inOur Lady Cinema (Bristol: J.W. Arrowsmith; London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co., 1914), p. 146. Courtesy of the Bill Douglas Centre, University of Exeter 142

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Drawing of cinema poster by Harry Furniss, inOur Lady Cinema (Bristol: J.W. Arrowsmith; London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co., 1914), p. 148. Courtesy of the Bill Douglas Centre, University of Exeter

143

Drawing of cinema poster by Harry Furniss, inOur Lady Cinema (Bristol: J.W. Arrowsmith; London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co., 1914), p. 150. Courtesy of the Bill Douglas Centre, University of Exeter 144 The tiling of the main feature to dominate the viewer’s screen is timed so as to allow the viewer on subsidiary streams, such as the ‘Evidence’ one here, to enjoy the moment of spectacle. Still fromWalking With Beasts(BBC, 2001) 157 The moment of spectacle is reinforced by its presence in both ‘Main’ and ‘Making of ’ streams. Still fromWalking with Beasts(BBC, 2001) 159 Andrea Zapp,The Imaginary Hotel(2002), installation view. Photo: Sylvia Eckermann 165 Andrea Zapp,The Imaginary Hotel(2002), part of the TV and Web interface, http://www.azapp.de/tih_02.html 166 Andrea Zapp,05 March/10:43 pm170(2004), installation view Andrea Zapp,A Body of Water(1999), theWaschkaue. Photo: Frank Schuberth 173 Andrea Zapp,A Body of Water(1999), shower room and water projection. Photo: Frank Schuberth 174 Four lantern slides fromA Capital Courtship(1896). Courtesy of Alexander Black Collection, Princeton University Rare Books and Manuscripts 198 ‘Making the First Picture Play’,Harper’s Weekly, 38 (20 October 1894), pp. 988–90 199 Alexander Black greets Barbara La Marr on the set ofThe Eternal City (1923). Black Family Collection 206 ‘Free Consultation’ game, ‘Nip/Tuck’ website, http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/niptuck_s2/main.html 227 ‘Interactive Surgery Tool’, author’s photograph, ‘Nip/Tuck’ website, http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/niptuck_s2/main.html 232 ‘Interactive Surgery Tool’, author’s cosmetically ‘enhanced’ photograph, ‘Nip/Tuck’ website, http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/ niptuck_s2/main.html 233