When electric sheep dream of 60fps grass
Improving Antonioni. Colour-grading in the Singularity. And the the tradition of sending randomly-generated prompts to your sound designer.
Dear Students, Alumni, Faculty, and Trespassers,
This month! in the Unfound Peoples Videotechnic newsletter…
Ways to think about AI generation and filmmaking. Ways AI is thinking about you.
The computer is crap in ways your human colleagues were never able to achieve.
New textbook extract: primal editing in the future.
The NHS goes GPO: a new opportunity for filmmakers.
If somebody was thoughtful enough to share this email with you, you can sign up for future issues here:
The stupid, beautiful poetry of collaboration
How are you using AI generation engines to inspire your work and disengage former collaborators? It seems like the whole world is sketching at once. Sketching with image and text generators. But other tools1 with more specific movie-oriented uses are emerging.
For example: text to colour grade.
Gone are the days of rambling emails to your colourist about the light, hue, shading, and atmosphere you require for each scene of your new movie. Today, you can input a rambling prompt into a prompt field instead. And let the aggregated history of internet images interpret your intentions and grade your movie.
A text-to-colour-grade machine may sound appealing to the hermit filmmaker on a budget. But it will be sad if we lose the stupid, beautiful poetry of the instructions directors give colourists (and sound designers).
This poetry was almost Bayesian Poisonist and already almost Promptist. Illogical, improbable, and revealing the director’s deep-set experiences, biases, and insecurities. And there is a danger this poetry will lose its rawness when we write it for computers rather than flesh-and-cola humans. Lose its rawness as directors chip away at their prompts, swapping out single words and fixing their spelling for hours on end until the machine gives them the look/sound they imagined.23
Bringing classic mise-en-scène bang up to date
Filmmaking automation tools may erode filmmaking-specific rituals and traditions.
But new film culture rituals may emerge from the AI toys being deployed in video game development and refurbishment.
There is AI generation for surface textures. There is AI that ‘upscales’ the graphics of well-loved old games; there is a movement of hobbyists using the AI to recompose old game graphics for modern television sets, element by element. A cloud here, a background trash can there.
Imagine doing this for the work of Antonioni, who famously painted real trees and grass to fit his palette. The hobbyist could:
Reconfigure the texture of the paint on the trees to make it more bark-like (or make it more artificial: Red Desert 2049).
Swap the type of trees for something more fashionable.
Brighten up some of the gloomier outdoor scenes; give them the ‘Mediterranean look’ that international audiences recognize and add shadows to overcast scenes.
The breeze in higher definition. The grass at 60fps.
It’s nothing Nola Luna IV didn’t try on her own movies. The difference is that now the dilettante can do it by feeding their computer an image and keying in whatever’s on their mind. (This is not a slight on the dilettante. The dilettante has much to offer - as you’ll find out next semester).
Never mind the fan edit; fan mise-en-scène is now within our grasp.
The tech is not quite there yet. But while hobbyist film conservators lose the robot battle on their kitchen table, indie filmmakers are using this kit to spruce up new material. Like noughties film students writing foreign dialogue with early Google Translate, the material may be hilarious only to those who understand the output language. In this case, it is the language of naff.
An aesthetic of obsolescence
With easy talent tech now on hand, the lone filmmaker can repair unsatisfactory footage with a few keystrokes. Isolate and remove the background. Generate a new one in DALL·E 2. The beautiful thing is that particularly in these early days of consumer AI image generation, the aesthetic will be very obvious.
Movies made with AI imagery of this sort will soon scream “2022-3” the same way unnecessary, shaky drone shouts shout “movie made in the mid-teens by a filmmaker in their late teens.” The same way early drum machines turned dumb command-following and a basic palette into a feeling.
This is precisely the effect that some of us strive for. It would be prudent to quickly amass databases of imagery to use in 15-20 years’ or half a century’s time to make something authentically retro: the neorealist Blade Runner Actual 2019.
We have been developing something along those lines at the school. Not a neorealist Blade Runner Actual 2019. But a set of icons for use across UPV’s educational materials. It has been a sensible way to get a hands-dirty understanding of the tech (or more precisely its culture). And hopefully, keep the school on the right side of Roko's basilisk.
Each one begins to look naff within a few hours of being generated. Lefty ink smudges; counter-intuitive brush strokes; bizarre bulges of associative logic; the digital artefacts of the insecure robo-artist, c. autumn 2022. The extraordinary waste of time in generating the right imperfections has been a welcome waste of resources for an under-resourced absurdist school of imperfectionism4.
It’s all starting to feel a bit electronic and insular, isn’t it? To counter the tone, here’s a new instruction from the UPV manual. It is about the future of post-production and it contradicts or at least undermines the newsletter thus far.
New instruction: Future Editing
Regular visitors to the UPV website enjoy the regular addition of instructional texts. But the website is being hinky today so here’s a newsletter exclusive
𝖨𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖿𝗎𝗍𝗎𝗋𝖾, 𝖿𝗂𝗅𝗆/𝗏𝗂𝖽𝖾𝗈 𝖾𝖽𝗂𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝖻𝖾 𝖺 𝖻𝗂𝗍 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾 𝗍𝖾𝗇𝗇𝗂𝗌 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖺 𝖻𝗂𝗍 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗀𝖺.
𝖳𝗈𝖽𝖺𝗒, 𝖾𝖽𝗂𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗂𝗌 𝖺 𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇𝖺𝗋𝗒 ‘𝖺𝖼𝗍𝗂𝗏𝗂𝗍𝗒.’ 𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝖾𝖽𝗂𝗍𝗈𝗋’𝗌 𝖿𝗂𝗇𝗀𝖾𝗋𝗍𝗂𝗉𝗌 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖾𝗒𝖾𝖻𝖺𝗅𝗅𝗌 𝖽𝗈 𝗆𝗈𝗌𝗍 𝗈𝖿 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗄 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝗅𝗂𝗍𝗍𝗅𝖾 𝖾𝗑𝖾𝗋𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇. 𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝗉𝗁𝗒𝗌𝗂𝖼𝖺𝗅 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗄 𝗂𝗌 𝖻𝗈𝗋𝗂𝗇𝗀 (𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗇 𝗂𝖿 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍𝖺𝗅 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗄 𝗂𝗌 𝖿𝗎𝗇) 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗎𝗇𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗅𝗅𝖾𝗇𝗀𝗂𝗇𝗀. 𝖧𝖾𝖺𝖽𝗌 𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗄 𝗂𝗇𝗍𝗈 𝗌𝗁𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗌. 𝖤𝗒𝖾𝗌 𝖽𝗋𝗒 𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗌𝖾𝗍 𝗂𝗇𝗍𝗈 𝖽𝗎𝗌𝗍𝗒 𝗀𝗋𝗈𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗌.
𝖶𝗈𝗋𝗌𝗍 𝗈𝖿 𝖺𝗅𝗅, 𝖾𝖽𝗂𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗂𝗌 𝗇𝗈𝗇-𝗂𝗇𝗍𝗎𝗂𝗍𝗂𝗏𝖾. 𝖥𝗂𝗇𝗀𝖾𝗋𝗍𝗂𝗉𝗌 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗄 𝖻𝗒 𝗆𝗎𝗌𝖼𝗅𝖾 𝗆𝖾𝗆𝗈𝗋𝗒 𝗋𝖺𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗇 𝗂𝗇𝗌𝗍𝗂𝗇𝖼𝗍. 𝖳𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝗂𝗌 𝗇𝗈 𝗂𝗇𝗍𝗎𝗂𝗍𝗂𝗏𝖾 𝗋𝖾𝗅𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇𝗌𝗁𝗂𝗉 𝖻𝖾𝗍𝗐𝖾𝖾𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗉𝗁𝗒𝗌𝗂𝖼𝖺𝗅 𝖺𝖼𝗍𝗂𝗏𝗂𝗍𝗒 𝗈𝖿 𝖽𝗂𝗀𝗂𝗍𝖺𝗅 𝗏𝗂𝖽𝖾𝗈 𝖾𝖽𝗂𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗂𝗍𝗌 𝗈𝗎𝗍𝖼𝗈𝗆𝖾.
𝖠𝗌 𝖾𝖽𝗂𝗍𝗈𝗋𝗌 𝖽𝖾𝗅𝖾𝗀𝖺𝗍𝖾 𝗆𝗈𝗋𝖾 𝖾𝖽𝗂𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗌𝗎𝖻-𝗍𝖺𝗌𝗄𝗌 𝗍𝗈 𝗋𝗈𝖻𝗈𝗍 𝖺𝗌𝗌𝗂𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗇𝗍𝗌, 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝖻𝖾 𝗍𝗂𝗆𝖾 𝗍𝗈 𝖽𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗅𝗈𝗉 𝗉𝗋𝗂𝗆𝖺𝗅 𝖾𝖽𝗂𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗌𝗒𝗌𝗍𝖾𝗆𝗌 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗍𝗈 𝗌𝗍𝗋𝖾𝗍𝖼𝗁 𝖻𝖾𝖿𝗈𝗋𝖾 𝗎𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗆.
𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝗍𝖾𝗇𝗇𝗂𝗌 𝖾𝗅𝖾𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍 𝗈𝖿 𝖿𝗎𝗍𝗎𝗋𝖾 (𝗉𝗋𝗂𝗆𝖺𝗅) 𝖾𝖽𝗂𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝗆𝗈𝖻𝗂𝗅𝗂𝗓𝖾 𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝖺𝗇𝗂𝗆𝖺𝗅 𝖺𝖼𝗎𝗂𝗍𝗒 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝖾𝗒𝖾-𝗅𝗂𝗆𝖻 𝖼𝗈𝗈𝗋𝖽𝗂𝗇𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇, 𝗋𝗁𝗒𝗍𝗁𝗆, 𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗉𝗈𝗇𝗌𝖾, 𝗉𝖺𝗍𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖼𝖾, 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖾𝗑𝖾𝖼𝗎𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇. 𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗀𝖺 𝖾𝗅𝖾𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝖿𝗂𝗇𝖾-𝗍𝗎𝗇𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗇𝗇𝖾𝗅𝗌 𝖻𝖾𝗍𝗐𝖾𝖾𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗆𝗎𝗌𝖼𝗅𝖾𝗌 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗆𝗂𝗇𝖽. 𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗀𝖺 𝖾𝗅𝖾𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝖼𝗈𝗎𝗇𝗍𝖾𝗋𝖻𝖺𝗅𝖺𝗇𝖼𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗍𝖾𝗇𝗇𝗂𝗌 𝖾𝗅𝖾𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍. 𝖠𝗌 𝗉𝗋𝖾𝖼𝗂𝗌𝖾 𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝖺𝗌 𝖺 𝗌𝗍𝗈𝗉𝗐𝖺𝗍𝖼𝗁, 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝖺𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝗎𝗇. 𝖠𝗌 𝖽𝗂𝗌𝗈𝗋𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗅𝗒 𝖺𝗌 𝖻𝗂𝗋𝖽𝗌 𝗂𝗇 𝖺𝗇 𝖾𝖼𝗅𝗂𝗉𝗌𝖾.
𝖥𝗎𝗍𝗎𝗋𝖾 𝖾𝖽𝗂𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝖻𝖾 𝖺 𝗅𝗂𝗍𝖾𝗋𝖺𝗅 𝗁𝗒𝖻𝗋𝗂𝖽 𝗈𝖿 𝗒𝗈𝗀𝖺 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗍𝖾𝗇𝗇𝗂𝗌. 𝖡𝗎𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗂𝗆𝖺𝗀𝖾𝗋𝗒 𝗈𝖿 𝗒𝗈𝗀𝖺 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗍𝖾𝗇𝗇𝗂𝗌 𝗂𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗆𝗈𝗌𝗍 𝖽𝗂𝗋𝖾𝖼𝗍 𝗐𝖺𝗒 𝗍𝗈 𝖼𝗈𝗇𝗃𝗎𝗋𝖾 𝖺𝗇 𝗂𝗆𝖺𝗀𝖾 𝗈𝖿 𝖿𝗎𝗍𝗎𝗋𝖾 𝖾𝖽𝗂𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗂𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗆𝗂𝗇𝖽 𝗈𝖿 𝗍𝗈𝖽𝖺𝗒’𝗌 𝖾𝖽𝗂𝗍𝗈𝗋. 𝖨𝗍 𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗍𝗌 𝖺𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝗈𝗋𝗍 𝗈𝖿 𝖿𝗂𝗍𝗇𝖾𝗌𝗌 𝗋𝗈𝗎𝗍𝗂𝗇𝖾 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖺𝗍𝗁𝗅𝖾𝗍𝗂𝖼𝗌 𝗐𝖾𝖺𝗋 𝗍𝗈 𝗐𝗁𝗂𝖼𝗁 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗒 𝗌𝗁𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗆𝗂𝗍 𝗂𝗇 𝖼𝖺𝗌𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗇𝖾𝗐 𝗍𝖾𝖼𝗁𝗇𝗈𝗅𝗈𝗀𝗒 𝗌𝗁𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝖾 𝗍𝗈 𝖿𝗋𝗎𝗂𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝖽𝗎𝗋𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗂𝗋 𝗅𝗂𝖿𝖾𝗍𝗂𝗆𝖾.
Archival instruments for mutant filmmakers
The (UK) NHS is looking for filmmakers. This is the most exciting opportunity since the post office looked for filmmakers! The deadline is 15th December 2022.
As long as we’re letting computers do the heavy lifting, here’s a useful tool for editing: a calculator for adding timecodes together, helping you move around your timeline more precisely.
Make use of it now before both time and framerates become decimalized. In the future.
Thanks for reading.
~Graeme Cole.
(Principal)
Please support the school by forwarding this bulletin to curious colleagues:
End-of-class Handout: A Lateral Reading List
Acting | Ben Gazzara Was a Sick Fuck
Distribution | In Praise of the Photocopy
Editing | Beef
Exhibition | VHS tapes on a crummy TV, in the ‘80s
Genre | Borges, Pérec, Greenaway, Raúl Ruiz, Boltanski, Paul Auster, Pessoa, Lehman
Production Design | The canon of colours
Script Development | The Fattened Aleph
Structure | Think/Classify
Subtext | Electrified Rocks
🎥 More than one way to film a spoon 🎥 | 👂 Listenography 👂
Is a robot:
A tool?
A teamie?
A teacher?
An assistant?
A guardian angel?
Or something more sinister?
What about the global warming perspective? Is the heat generated by such a process offset by the reduction in (justified) huffing and puffing from the former, human recipient of your grading prompts?
The poetry gone, how long until somebody publishes a novel that is just iterations of a single text-to-image prompt being refined over hours, weeks, and months, gradually revealing the ‘narrator’s story and demise/triumph?
A perfectionist is only satisfied when she achieves perfection. An imperfectionist rejects imperfection after imperfection until she stumbles on a pleasing imperfection.