Short Program: Generator

Review By Max Burke

Generator is a shorts program which collects 20 short videos created entirely with computer-generated graphics programs. This isn't CGI in the sense of the latest-and-greatest whizz-bang Hollywood special effects, but short, abstract videos created by feeding data into various computer programs and creating what is termed “generative art.” The video artist then edits together the best of the generated programs and in collaboration with electronic musicians, completes the piece with an audio component.

Most of the videos which appeared in the Generator program were assembled for a Generative Art program at the Ars Electronica Festival 2006 in Linz, Austria. Three others were sourced from a forthcoming DVD, Advanced Beauty. Generator offered some of the most genuinely avant-garde programming at theSan Francisco Film Fest, and I felt blessed to be able to witness these works on the big screen. The sparse crowd of video art devotees that accompanied my early screening on a weekday morning appeared enthralled as well, although it must be said that the purely abstract and experimental nature of the program, as well as the sometimes abrasive soundtrack – created by experimental electronica luminaries such as Farmers Manual, Ryuichi Sakomoto, and Alva Noto – is not particularly intended for mass consumption.

Highlights included work by Pandapanther, a design firm based in New York which created vivid, constantly changing shapes of great color and detail. The relatively natural look and organic feel of their piece was in contrast to more abstracted and oppressive works such as the Dutch group Telcosystems' “Crosslinx” piece, which used a proprietary software program to visualize the music of Jason Haas. The result of this was something like an MP3 “visualizer” program on steroids, creating an ever-changing 3-D representation of music, allowing the viewer to meditate on the intersection of virtual space, automatically generated imagery, and computer music. Along with “Meta-Epics,” another Telcosystems piece included in the program, “Crosslinx” was a hypnotic and provocative work.

Also of note was the Austrian/Japanese cooperative Dextro, who offered up 2 short pieces of starkly beautiful black and white imagery with abstract electronica accompaniment. The absolutely gorgeous works appear to be inspired by some of the more mathematically divine shapes in nature, seashells and transparent jellyfish floating in the ether. An underlying sense of menace, created by the interaction of the constantly transforming shapes in the video pieces and the slow, insistent soundtrack, added another entry point for critical inquiry into the pieces. Finally, Joshue Ott's experiments with Superdraw, a software program which translates simple line drawings into pieces of generative, animated art, cannot be overlooked. In collaboration with musician Morgan Packard, the pieces here – such as “Unsimulatable” - may be a glimpse into the future of live electronic music performances. With the musician in direct collaboration with the visual artist, utilizing Superdraw to instantly respond to the changes of texture in the soundtrack, the visual becomes another instrument in the overall performance, as opposed to just a passive computer program that receives aural information and generates visual accompaniment.

Generator was the most forward thinking program I had the pleasure of seeing at the San Francisco International Film Festival, and it represents a vital aspect of the international independent film community. Namely, computer programmers and artists, usually working in small groups and collaborating with electronic musicians to help create what may be the future of live electronic music as well as experimental and video art. Much more information, including video samples, on the above-mentioned musicians and artists can be obtained through a simple Google search. Adventurous cinephiles and experimental filmmakers are encouraged to seek them out.