How you see it

An article on Video Installation and

how flm makers present their work
as an art form
By Zachary Mitchell
In brief summary, video installation is exactly
what it says on the tin; how a flm is installed.
Its a contemporary art form that combines
installation art with video technology,
making use of all aspects of the surrounding
environment to afect the audience. Te
installment is how the video is set up: in what
environment the designer chooses; in what
form; how it is viewed; and many other, more
precise details.
Lets talk about a few of these. Te environment
of a video installation involves the surroundings
that the viewer will be experiencing as they
watch the video. For example, a night-time
nature video might
be installed in a dark
room with a foor
made from grass
and fake starry sky
ceiling. It all adds to
the atmosphere of
the video and enhances the experience for the
viewer.
Te form of a video is simply the way it is
presented; whether on a screen, or projected on
to a wall or object for example.
How it is actually viewed involves the way the
viewer sees the video. It might be reduced to
the size of a matchbox so that the audience
has to get extremely close to view the video;
or perhaps projected on to the ceiling so that
the viewer has to lie on their back to watch it
properly. Tere are countless variations and
combinations of installing video and what really
makes it an experience is how the designer
might have set it up to captivate your full
attention.
Many of us are aware of how flms use subtle
techniques to plant ideas in our subconscious;
and video installation is a form of this. But
what makes it interesting is the way a video
installation is designed to immerse the viewer
in what they are seeing to the fullest extent
possible. Cate Consandine does this really well
with her art piece Cut Colony - where two wall-
sized screens are perpendicular to each other in
a very dark room. Te viewers are always aware
of both pieces - and this is what immerses them
in the environment of the videos, she says. I like
the way she used space to create a narrative,
and Ive been inspired by her piece in that Im
going to be installing my piece on a screen in
a large, noisy room akin to a gaming festival
centre. In contrast the Lumiere Brothers - whose
installation is their cinematographe, which
someone had to bend over to watch the video
inside - used a simpler method and just had
a very small screen playing the flms they had
made.
One of the main techniques used by video-
installation designers is the use of space as a
primary feature in the narrative structure. Tis
way, the common linear cinematic narrative
is spread throughout the space; thus creating
an immersive scene. In this situation, the
viewer plays an active role as they complete
the narrative sequence by being in the space.
Sometimes, the idea of a participatory
audience is stretched further in interactive
video installation - like motion triggered paint
strokes on a wall. Some other times, the video is
displayed in such a way that the viewer becomes
part of the plot as much as a character in a
flm. Pretty interesting stuf!