This is an introductory course on the aesthetics and history of cinema, approached from the crossroads of the present; a moment in which, beyond the crisis being experienced by the very concept of history as a totalising narrative, real suspicion is spreading about the ordering of diachronic time and the idea of progress. Specifically, the subject questions whether it is even possible to chart the history of cinema from our own time. And it does so in the hope that it is, or in other words, with the aim of telling the (hi)stories (plural) that together make up the history of cinema.  In a more general sense, it is also a subject about time, pure and simple.  Throughout the first two decades of the 21st century, the categories that have traditionally be used to structure a hundred years of cinema, all of which are based on stylistic dichotomies (classicism vs. modernity) or teleological parameters, have been called into question by the different movements of revisionist historiography that often transcend the cinematographic. Cultural studies, affective theories, media archaeology, the analysis of reception, cultural materialism, ecocriticism and gender and postcolonial studies are just some of these critical approaches. Historians have added the word ‘turn’ to their vocabulary (the affective turn, the archival turn, the materialist turn), graphically demonstrating the need to rethink the linear and evolutionist approach that has traditionally been adopted in relation to cinema. 

However, from localised places of resistance, collectives and minorities focused on microhistory and subaltern histories, alternative narratives from below, critical stances that oppose academic hegemony and university sufficiency have arisen.  How, then, can we approach the narrative of film history without automatically rejecting our heritage or falling into the trap of denialist cynicism, an exogenous and scientistic perspective, or a simple lack of curiosity? To what extent should the narrative of film history in a film school also be the narrative of our own memory? Are we part of that history we reject? In this sense, this subject on time in cinema is also a subject on our time in cinema. 

With the aim of addressing the possibility of history not only theoretically but also from an applied perspective, the subject proposes a dialogue-based methodology featuring divergent yet complementary voices throughout the different sessions. The idea is to construct a paradoxical and plural history that is open, rhizomatic, nonlinear, carnivalesque and metamorphic. In this sense, we will follow the path laid down by Nicole Brenez when she warned that ‘cinema never ceases to tear itself apart, to deepen its fractures, to vary the powers of the discontinuous and its double, to work on the caesura and to allow defection to work.’

This subject seeks to establish a theoretical, philosophical and ethical foundation that will serve as a basis for the rest of the course.  Audiovisual preservation is not simply a body of technical knowledge about how to conserve the materials that make up our audiovisual heritage; it also requires the adoption of an ethical and political stance in relation to the decisions made when applying said knowledge. Although universal preservation standards based on scientific studies exist, each region of the world is different and must adapt said standards to its specific circumstances. The subject includes a series of seminars run by audiovisual preservation experts, in which we will discuss the common philosophical foundations that underpin the safeguarding of any part of our audiovisual heritage, along with how preservation has been approached in different parts of the world throughout history. The subject will also include a first practical introduction to the obsolete technology that enabled the creation of our heritage and is fundamental to understanding audiovisual creations throughout history.

This subject invites you to explore manual black and white, negative and reversible development procedures in the laboratory. Using material filmed at the school, you will learn about the specificities of each development process. You will also come to understand how the chemical substances used interact with both the structure of the film and other key aspects for ensuring adequate conservation. This subject is common to both the Film Preservation and the Filmmaking itineraries.

The aim of this subject is to teach you to develop film mechanically on a film developing train. This enables you to understand and appreciate every step of the photographic process, from the moment the image is captured to its materialisation in the form of a visible negative. Learning to master chemical substances, exposure times and temperatures will not only help you develop precise technical skills, it will also provide a unique emotional and artistic experience. This subject is common to both the Film Preservation and the Filmmaking itineraries.

Investigation into the history of video formats, their technical characteristics and use, risk factors, and principles and tasks for collection management. The course will cover both analogue and digital materials stored on magnetic tape, ranging from professional and broadcast formats to those used for independent production and home videos. Collection management topics include identification and inspection, the creation of inventories, standards for collection care and handling, and conservation/preservation planning. Based on the idea that magnetic materials are endangered, students will also be trained in digitization, the only tool available to ensure that valuable contents survive. We will examine the physical and chemical description of the material in order to understand and mitigate the effects of deterioration and the best way of treating it, with particular stress on digitisation processes. Students will learn how to assess deterioration in magnetic media, plan for digitisation and to understand the conservation requirements. By the end of the course, they will know how to digitise magnetically stored video material using the rack in the laboratory.

This subject offers EQZE students on the Film Curating and Film Preservation itineraries the opportunity of taking on an exploratory role (researcher and curator) within film and audiovisual archive practice, bearing in mind the three (always intertwined) tenses of cinema: the past, linked to memory; the present, linked to action; and the future, linked to planning and foresight. This philosophical and methodological proposal aims to prompt students to think about historical and contemporary cultural and political problems from the perspective of the conceptual framework offered by the concepts of profanation (Giorgio Agamben), the creative act (Gilles Deleuze) and the political ontology of the image (Ariella Aïsha Azoulay). The aim is to observe, reflect on and question the 'ritual' uses of archives in order to then subvert them through critical and/or playful practices. From this perspective, students taking the subject are invited to question their own practices and ideas and view them as potential spaces for resistance. This subject is common to both the Film Preservation and the Film Curating itineraries.

Preserving “digital assets“ is by now nothing new. Yet, due to the fast and everchanging pace at which digital systems, and their underlying electronics are being changed, it has become more and more useful and necessary to getting to know not only the “nature“ of digital data itself, but also being aware of which components, trades and aspects influence their lifecycle.In this class, the students will get to know and understand “what is a file“. Which parts, processes and systems should work together to not only preserve digital data intact, but also make it find-able and (re-)usable under yet unknown, future conditions.This includes introduction to commandline interfaces, simple programming/automation basics and media-format conversion - which have proven invaluable for sustainable professional work with digital data. This foundation of understanding digital data/documents is then gradually connected to best practice for deciding, defining and maintaining the infrastructure and workflows for building a proper digital preservation strategy. The students will learn theories and modern practices, and how these technical properties, access- and conservation-policies/strategies influence each other.

This subject explores film documents preserved in archives, with special attention being paid to their technical characteristics and the critical analysis of materials. It also analyses the relationship between the element and the work and examines photochemical formats, their deterioration, the chemical reactions associated with degradation processes and the influence of environmental factors. Students will learn methodologies for inspecting, cleaning and treating different elements and inventorying and evaluating collections, as well as research methods aimed at the preservation and restoration of film works.

The digitisation of photochemical material is a widespread practice today in all international archives and film libraries. In all modern archives, the conservation and dissemination of materials, as well as research activities, necessarily involve digitisation processes. Students will learn the basics of digitisation, along with the strategies they need to follow in each specific case. They will also have the opportunity to put their knowledge into practice throughout their training at school.

The DIAMANT film restoration software is a professional solution for film restoration, cleaning and repair. The objective of this workshop is for the students to become familiar with the DIAMANT software, its different tools, its possibilities, its limits and its risks, through practice on specific materials.

The aim of this course is to help students understand and become familiar with film restoration tools using the DaVinci Resolve software package. It also aims to teach them, using real examples, how to apply techniques for facilitating the restoration of cinematographic materials, as well as how to resolve any technical doubts that may arise. During the workshop, students will develop the color of the proposed exercises in order to be able to work autonomously. They will see all the phases of the colorization of a project: forming, primary, secondary, mastering, etc. A personalized follow-up of the work of each student will be carried out during the class, resolving doubts and conflicts until their understanding. The purpose is that each student knows how to face the restoration material in order to recover it as much as possible.

Research into the history of video formats, their technical characteristics and use, risk factors and the principles of and tasks involved in managing this type of collection.  The subject covers both analogue and digital materials stored on magnetic tape, ranging from professional and broadcast formats to those used for independent production and home videos. Topics linked to collection management include identification, inspection and inventory, as well as standards for collection care and handling and conservation/preservation planning. Based on the idea that magnetic materials are endangered, students will also be trained in digitisation, the only tool currently available to ensure the survival of valuable contents. We will examine the physical and chemical description of the material in order to understand and mitigate the effects of deterioration and gain insight into how best to treat it, with particular stress on technical digitisation processes. 

Students will learn how to assess deterioration in magnetic media, plan for digitisation and understand the specific requirements of conservation.  After completing the syllabus, they will know how to digitise magnetically-stored video material using the rack in the laboratory.

Archives differ in terms of their identity-based characteristics and the context surrounding them, something that inevitably impacts how the collections are managed. These subject analyses the different variables affecting audiovisual archives and the methodologies they apply. We will discuss current standards and debates regarding how to manage material, ranging from its conservation and manipulation to exhibition rights and accessibility, bearing in mind each institution’s specificities and possibilities. The course aims to provide the keys to enabling students to adapt to different situations in the world of archives and to gain the skills required to design and activate a strategic management plan for a collection. This subject is common to both the Film Preservation and the Film Curating itineraries.

This subject includes an initial theoretical part in which we will address the basic concepts of film identification, paying particular attention to sound materials. We will analyse the main characteristics of the most common sound formats in film production, as well as the primary physical characteristics of sound and the most relevant concepts linked to its digitisation and restoration. In the second (principal) part, we will work directly with film materials.

This subject adopts a theoretical-practical approach to the cataloguing of audiovisual works and associated documentary processes. Where can we find reliable information?  How should we manage the issue of copyright? Why is the unitary concept of a work losing ground to perspectives based on versions and manifestations? Since the beginning of film at the close of the 19th century, right up until the emergence of video at the beginning of the nineteen-seventies, all audiovisual works were shot in photochemical format and it was in this same format that they were both distributed and conserved. Technological changes have always destroyed some materials and rendered other inaccessible due to the obsolete nature of the devices required to reproduce them. From this perspective, the definition of new standards poses certain challenges for preservation, while at the same time facilitating documentation and cataloguing processes. The identification and classification of works and their various versions in standard and substandard formats constitute a key practical part of this subject. This subject is common to both the Film Preservation and the Film Curating itineraries.

Film history and film criticism are disciplines that are constantly engaged in a creative and critical process of rewriting. Filmmakers and critics do not create from scratch—their work is always, consciously or unconsciously, a response to previous artistic manifestations. In recent years, audiovisual essays have become a prominent example of this critical rewriting. In this subject we will establish relationships between different audiovisual essay formats and different periods, trends and ideas in film history and criticism. The subject also includes a practical exercise.

The Observatory  provides a space for training, practice and research in sound. It starts from the zero degree of listening to deny the existence of silent cinema, explore the impact of technology, the sound design of gestures and everyday objects, radio art, sound ethnography, sound art... In addition to pre-established themes, it can also adapt to the specific needs of group members at any time, linking into practical work and projects under development.

This course, which takes place the first four modules, seeks to confront students with the nature of their film and the methodology of approach. Where does your film come from? What is it about? What emotion is it trying to arouse? Can it be told in images? How does the author want the spectator to feel at the end of the screening? From these and other issues, the course is intended to initiate – or get back to, in some cases – the processes of reflection and development of the work process that will culminate in the film. The course basically focuses on three points: first, working with the Starting Point or origin of the film as the soul of the creative journey; second, the need to expand the scope of this journey from concrete elements capable of adding complexity and depth to the film and, finally, the concreteness of the project from the writing stage.

Words are worn out, sunk under the weight of unconscious use. They come and go in a lazy drift, victims of inattentive use and learned inertia. This subject invites you to set fire to that dull tumult of dry words. It aims to rescue them from indifference, open them up, one by one, and place them in a text. But to do this, we must first cultivate a certain degree of linguistic craftsmanship. It is not about waiting for inspiration to strike, but rather about writing a lot and reading even more. Genius, the muse, pneuma, or the duende, as Lorca would say that ‘mysterious power that everyone feels and no philosopher can explain’, cannot be taught and has no instructions manual. Yet, as Baudelaire observed it ‘obeys, like hunger, like digestion, like sleep’. Therefore, the only way to reach it is through work, process, practice: immersing oneself in the technique, so that when it arrives, it finds fertile soil. 

Igniting the word is therefore about observing with open senses, searching for the precise word, the exact phrase, the necessary image. It is, in essence, a writing workshop that uses the ignited word to summon emotion.

Making a botanical film is above all a work of patience and affection. Taking as a starting point the methods of film without a camera and some tricks of the amateur gardener, we will create a collective filmic herbarium, from the collection of specimens to their projection.
 
This workshop is aimed at people from all backgrounds who want to explore alternative methods of filmmaking. Cinebotanicals are, after all, accessible proposals that allow the reuse of filmic support materials and tools to give rise to a piece whose control always remains in the hands of nature itself.

Using a case study format, this course engages students with complicated contemporary artworks in order to understand the primary issues and emerging strategies for the conservation of media art. Artists use a wide variety of audiovisual formats and technologies to create complex installations that are fascinating to study. Examples range from artworks using obsolete components like TVs (cathode ray tubes) to multi-channel synchronized works, works using game engines or custom code, or works that pull data from the Internet. These artworks typically contain many interrelated parts that must be deciphered and documented to ensure the artwork will function in the future in a manner that is faithful to the artist's vision.

The course combines curatorial and conservation perspectives in the study of several artworks held in the collection of a local contemporary art museum. Students research exhibition histories, consult institutional files, examine an artwork's component parts, and discuss the artworks with museum staff. In the process, a great deal will be learned about the interpretation, care, and conservation of artworks in museums and archives.

This workshop looks at the production of home-made photochemical emulsions. Although it is based on film archaeology, it explores many contemporary creative questions. It is a workshop for those interested in the history of materiality, although it will also appeal to filmmakers curious about film not just as a means of storing their ideas, images and soundtracks, but rather as a material that actively forms and distorts these ideas, images and sounds.

The last stage in the gradual acquisition of knowledge, skills and abilities linked to the processing of photochemical films. The subject introduces students to the techniques and workflows of a professional laboratory through the practical handling of specific technologies for developing (16 mm colour and black and white), colour correction and copying. By acquiring these practical skills, students also help maintain inter-generational knowledge of the film culture and industry that would otherwise be lost. Furthermore, those on the course can assume responsibility for processing the film materials generated at the school, thereby keeping the EQZELab service active.

This subject focuses on the audio-visual of artist in the context of the Basque Country. It takes as its starting point the fluid relationships of the moving image and the displacements between cinema and artistic practices, especially those that take places in the art system: museums, art centres and galleries, or in the outskirts of the cinema itself. Based on a series of case studies, viewings, outings and guests, the subject examines the local landscape of audio-visual creation.

Right from the very beginning, cinema has always been a colour medium, and many different processes have been developed to add a touch of colour to black and white images. From chemical tints and tones to manual painting, the development of Technicolor and modern emulsions, film has always used colour as a means of artistic expression. In this workshop we explore the original colour of film and the aesthetic possibilities that these techniques offer to filmmakers and artists.