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The ORGANIC CINEMASCOPE ("OC") is a software-driven multimedia cinema experience designed for licensed public presentation in an installation exhibition setting.
MECHANICS OF PRESENTATION The format of the OC is based upon the original ideas and experiments with "cut-ups" as pioneered by William Burroughs, Antony Balch, and Brion Gysin. In particular, the following two concepts are explored:
The subjective reality of any individual is not linear; it is continuously modified and butchered by the infinite number of random and/or uncontrollable variables acting upon us each day.
Cut-ups allow us to learn what we didn't know we already knew. That is, it is through forced interjections of seemingly random elements into our stream of consciousness that we can come to grips with the dynamic nature of our environment.
The model for the OC is not a linear film script in the tradition of the Classic Hollywood Narrative (CHN), wherein individual scenes are constructed and pieced together to form a coherent whole, complete with exposition, rising action, climax, denouement, and resolution. Instead, the fictional narrative scenario of the OC draws upon a self-contained database of mixed media clips called the DIOGESIS. Each clip in the DIOGESIS is referred to as an ELEMENT, and its functionality in the context of the OC's storyline (the "FILM") is determined by a combination of predetermined and random factors. This form of dynamic cinematic storytelling is known interchangeably as GENERATIVE CINEMA, ORGANIC CINEMA, and VIRAL CINEMA. The reference to a virus can perhaps best be appreciated in a detailed examination of the relationship between individual ELEMENTS, the DIOGESIS, and the "PROJECTOR."
STRUCTURE OF THE DIOGESIS The DIOGESIS is technically a large software database which forms the "primordial soup" from which the PROJECTOR draws the storyline of the FILM. Each ELEMENT in the DIOGESIS contains two separate forks: the MEDIA FORK and the SCENARIO FORK. MEDIA FORK: This is essentially a container for an individual media clip. It can hold a still image, sound file, or motion picture footage. This is the "cell body" of the ELEMENT, and it is the digital information housed within this fork that is presented to the viewer in the storyline of the FILM. SCENARIO FORK: This contains the "behind-the-scenes" information for the PROJECTOR to filter as it searches for new ELEMENTS to incorporate into the FILM. In keeping with the cell metaphor, this information acts as both the neurotransmitter and receptor of the ELEMENT. Only through a compatible connection between scenario forks can one ELEMENT in the DIOGESIS link to another ELEMENT.
INTERACTION BETWEEN THE PROJECTOR AND THE DIOGESIS The PROJECTOR serves the following functions: Scanning of the DIOGESIS for suitable ELEMENTS. Retrieval of the ELEMENTS from the DIOGESIS. Presentation of the ELEMENTS on the VIEWING ENVIRONMENT. Monitoring of the output of the scenario in the context
of the current FILM EPISODE. The following steps occur "backstage" as the FILM generates itself to the viewers: 1. The SCENARIO FORK of the most recent PROJECTED ELEMENT (that is, the last ELEMENT seen by the viewers on the VIEWING ENVIRONMENT) is analyzed by the PROJECTOR, which temporarily catalogs the information. 2. The PROJECTOR performs a random scan of the DIOGESIS, searching for an ELEMENT with a compatible SCENARIO FORK. Once a suitable match has been made, the PROJECTOR copies the ELEMENT from the DIOGESIS and sends it to the VIEWING ENVIRONMENT according to the properties defined within the SCENARIO FORK. 3. The PROJECTOR stamps the original ELEMENT (the one permanently residing in the DIOGESIS) as "used."
ACT 1: Narrative material taking place within the first five minutes (or closest possible approximation) of the EPISODE. ACT 2: Narrative material taking place within the twenty-minute time-frame between ACT 1 and ACT 3. ACT 3: The final five minutes (or closest possible approximation) of the EPISODE. The PROJECTOR then uses this on-the-fly variable as an added filter in determining its selection of the next ELEMENT. This ensures a consistent running time of each EPISODE (within a few minutes), and helps give the overall EPISODE the fundamental structural requirements for an accessible narrative.
ALTERNATIVE METHODS OF PRESENTATION There may be circumstances where the generative format of the FILM will not be practical. This may be due to limited resources on the part of the exhibitor (e.g. an inadequate VIEWING ENVIRONMENT), and will be the case if the FILM is ever presented in a single-screen format (e.g. television broadcast or transfer to celluloid for theatrical presentation). In these cases, the mechanics of the PROJECTOR can be modified so that a variety of aspects of the final presentation are controlled, namely: 1. The total running time of the EPISODE can be modified,
by one of three methods:
c) The EPISODE can be set to run indefinitely, by removing the step in which the PROJECTOR tags already-presented ELEMENTS as "used." In this format, ELEMENTS can be repeated, and the end result is more akin to a mixed media "exhibit" than a narrative FILM. This format invites further exploration on the part of the viewer into the concepts of cut-ups and random juxtaposition of sensory information, as the same scenes are played out in drastically different associative contexts.
e) By modifying the way in which the PROJECTOR determines what does and what doesn't constitute a valid link between two ELEMENTS, the narrative of the EPISODE can be controlled in regard to its level of abstraction and disjointedness. Note that the ELEMENTS themelves remain the same; what changes is the degree to which the story is permitted to act on its own "instinct" and "gut reactions," rather than follow the traditional, linear pacing of a typical "mainstream" film.
2. The canonization of the EPISODES of the FILM can be done
according to the needs and desires of the exhibitor. Each of the completed
EPISODES will normally exist in mutually-exclusive DIOGESES, thus allowing
individual EPISODES to be shown in the same VIEWING ENVIRONMENT by a
simple switching of digital storage devices. This is analogous to swapping
videotapes in a VCR. However, viewers wishing to experience the entire
cumulative canon (i.e., all currently available episodes) as one "movie"
can do so, through the merging of the separate EPISODE DIOGESES into
one central "reality base." The PROJECTOR will function in
the same way, whether there are fifty ELEMENTS in the DIOGESIS or a
thousand. One issue that warrants mention is the speed of the PROJECTOR, especially when considering a DIOGESIS made up of multiple EPISODES. The mechanics of the PROJECTOR allow for a substantial amount of "buffering room" between the DIOGESIS and the VIEWING ENVIRONMENT. Basically, this allows one ELEMENT to be projected while the buffer prepares the next one, allowing for seamless streaming of material upon the VIEWING ENVIRONMENT. However, it may be practical and preferable in many cases to allow the PROJECTOR to "cook up" a new episode the night before a presentation, so that the mechanical overhead of search-and-retrieval between the PROJECTOR and the DIOGESIS is absent during the public presentation of the EPISODE itself. There may be circumstances, of course, where the target audience would prefer to forego the nonstop flow of ELEMENTS in favor of witnessing the mechanics of organic cinema in action.
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The OC expands upon the original cut-up experiments
by incorporating modern computer technology and optimizing the benefits
of all current mass media. Unlike a traditional "multimedia"
presentation, the individual benefits of each medium are not compromised
through integration with other media; rather, the structure of the OC
allows each medium to stand on its own, and furthermore permits each
element of artistic creativity to exist in the environment best suited
to it.
4. The
PROJECTOR checks the status of the current FILM EPISODE, and determines
the location of the present scenario (that is, the cumulative scenario
created by all the ELEMENTS up to this point) in the time-frame of the
EPISODE. A running internal clock, monitored by the PROJECTOR, identifies
the location as either ACT 1, ACT 2, or ACT 3:
b) The EPISODE can be set to play itself out as
long as possible. In this case, the PROJECTOR will continue to retrieve
and present ELEMENTS until nothing remains in the DIOGESIS. Note that
this does not guarantee that all ELEMENTS will be projected in the course
of the EPISODE; more than likely a "stalemate" will be reached
wherein the PROJECTOR is unable to find a SCENARIO FORK match from the
remaining ELEMENTs, and the EPISODE will be forced to conclude at that
point.
d) The PROJECTOR
can be set to allow manual direction of the narrative. Each time an
ELEMENT is projected, the director can personally choose from the range
of potentially linkable ELEMENTS remaining in the DIOGESIS. In this
manner, a preset "flight path" can be designed for the PROJECTOR
to follow in a future presentation.
