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A New Cinema History Research ToolThe Case of Mapping DesmetOlesen, C.G.; van Gorp, J.; Masson, E.L.; Noordegraaf, J.J.; Fossati, G.

Publication date2016

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Citation for published version (APA):Olesen, C. G., van Gorp, J., Masson, E. L., Noordegraaf, J. J., & Fossati, G. (2016). A NewCinema History Research Tool: The Case of Mapping Desmet. Paper presented at Creativity& the City, 1600-2000, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

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Download date:07 Jun 2021

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A New Cinema History Research Tool

Christian G. Olesen, Jasmijn van Gorp, Eef Masson, Giovanna Fossati, Julia Noordegraaf

The case of Mapping Desmet

Today:

1. Data-driven Film History project2. Mapping Desmet Demonstrator3. Color Analysis4. Evaluation of Results

Mapping Desmet 2

1. DATA-DRIVENFILM HISTORY

Mapping Desmet 3

Giovanna Fossati (EYE/UvA)Christian Olesen (UvA)Jasmijn van Gorp (UU)Eef Masson (UvA)Julia Noordegraaf (UvA)Partners from EYE, Hiro, Dispectu

Aims

A data-driven perspective on silent cinema’s transitional phase

Mapping distribution and screening Bridging contextual and

textual digital approaches

Mapping Desmet 4

EYE’s Jean Desmet collection

900 films 1000 posters 1500 photographs 120.000 business documents 2011: UNESCO World Heritage Key collection for Italian diva films,

German melodrama, French comedies,etc.

Collection almost entirely digitized

Mapping Desmet 5

Jean Desmet, 1875-1956

Why Data-driven Film History?

Facilitates “thick depictions”(Staley 2014)

From causation to analogy Danger of false positivism Visualize uncertainty

(Drucker 2014)

Mapping Desmet 6

Research Questions:

What can we learn, through mapping, about the distribution and screening of films in the Jean Desmet collection?

How can we combine “textual” and “contextual” approaches to gain new insights into film color history?

Mapping Desmet 7

2. MAPPING DESMETDEMONSTRATOR

8Mapping Desmet

Metadata

Collection EYE database (list of films in the collection)

Database compiled by Rixt Jonkman(distributed films 1910-1912)

Cinema Context database (films screened 1907-1916 and beyond)

Mapping Desmet 9

Interface

10Mapping Desmet

3. COLOR ANALYSIS

11Mapping Desmet

Reconstructing Colour Palettes

Left to right: colour visualisations created, respectively, with MATLAB (J. Cutting), the Software Studies Initiative’s ImagePlot (L. Manovich), F. Brodbeck’s Cinemetrics

Generate color visualizations of complete films and programs Future: trace developments of film colors over time

Mapping Desmet

Color Visualization Film Program

Case: programme 1, shown at De Gezelligheid in Rotterdam, 20 to 26 February 1914

Six films: Target Practice of Atlantic Fleet US Navy (Edison, US 1912)

Gebrochene Schwingen (Messter, DE 1913)

Solitaires (Vitagraph, US 1913)

L’obsession du souvenir (Gaumont, FR 1913)

Léonce à la campagne (Gaumont, FR 1913)

Guvernørens datter (Nordisk, DK 1912)

Approx. 170.000 separate images

Mapping Desmet 13

ImagePlot – Montage Visualization

14Mapping Desmet

ImagePlot – Summary Visualisation of Two Films

Left: Target Practice of Atlantic Fleet US Navy (Edison Manufacturing Company, US 1912); right: L'Obsession du souvenir (Gaumont, France 1913)

4. EVALUATION OF RESULTS

16Mapping Desmet

Evaluation:

Mapping improves transparency metadata Mapping tool functions heuristically Filtering on color system: impact distribution? Color analysis: limited by impact digitization Distant reading has heuristic value Heuristic value to be tested further

Mapping Desmet 17

www.mappingdesmet.humanities.uva.nl

http://www.mappingdesmet.nl

A New Cinema History Research ToolToday:1. Data-driven film historyAimsEYE’s Jean Desmet collectionWhy Data-driven Film History?Research Questions:2. Mapping desmet demonstratorMetadataInterface3. Color analysisReconstructing Colour PalettesColor Visualization Film ProgramImagePlot – Montage VisualizationImagePlot – Summary Visualisation of Two Films4. Evaluation of resultsEvaluation: