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EN ROUTE Fabian Winkler and Harald F. Müller EN ROUTE is a collaborative project between Fabian Winkler and Harald F. Müller. It explores the emergent conceptual possibilities of non-linear and database-driven digital video on DVD. 64 videosequences, shot during a two week excursion in Italy and France, are stored in a database on the DVD. A software program selects sequences from the database based on formal criteria, such as length of shot, architectural elements and colors in the shot, direction of movement and recombines them into a 5-7 minutes linear video. Every software-generated video is different from its predecessor. All software elements are part of the DVD, only a consumer style DVD player is necessary for playback. |
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Content The scenes stored in the database show spatial structures, movement, colors and typography. Shot in Italy and France, these scenes frequently portray industrial architectures of the 1960's and 70's. In most of the shots, architecture is abstracted, reduced to a twodimensional surface. The videoimage appears to float, focused on only one architectural detail but subtly moving at the same time. Many of the scenes were shot out of the car, either moving or parked. Elements of the car, such as mirrors, radio and the headlights were actively used in shooting the material, the car became an extension of the video camera: dolly; ligthing unit; prop and soundstage. |
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Architectural Montage The 64 videosequences of the source material, roughly 70 minutes of footage, are organized in 8 containers (with three longer clips being the exception). Each container holds between 5 and 11 videoclips (see diagram). The clips stored in each container have common aspects: motion, length, color, direction of movement or typography. The software program on the DVD jumps from container to container selecting one of the clips for each container respectively. This choice of clips constitutes one linear video with a length of 5-7 minutes. Based on the theories of cinematic montage emphasizing the ability of audiences to read spatial and temporal 'sense' into images shot out of sequence, each of the software generated videos presents one imaginary architectural space. There are more than 9 million different possible videos/fictive architectural spaces that can be generated by this software, watching each of these videos would take a single person more than 100 years. Exhibitions
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