Digital Currents.

This research group aims to conduct critical and applied research into digital cultures as social, political and aesthetic manifestations in the arts – and specifically in cinema – within the contemporary socio-technical context. Its objective is to investigate the profound changes that digital technology, the internet, mobile devices and tools for the categorisation and synthetic production of images are bringing about in today’s audiovisual cultures. The group will analyse and explore areas such as the impact of
social media, video games and artificial intelligence on filmmaking and curation, as well as strategies and tools for archiving and preserving digital content at source, the environmental footprint generated by all of this, and existing alternatives. Adopting a distinctly critical perspective, the group will also look beyond hegemonic industries and ways of working to experiment with new methodologies. Collaboration with other local, national and international organisations will be encouraged for the development
and public presentation of projects, which may take both theoretical and practical forms and may be physical, digital and/or hybrid in nature.

The working methodology will be organised across two parallel levels. On the one hand, working groups will be set up to address specific aspects of digitalisation in line with the proposed lines of research, involving reading, research and specific practical developments. On the other hand, a monthly seminar will be held to serve as a forum for sharing the developments of each working group, sharing progress, discussing insights and realising the overall objectives. One of the group’s activities will be organising research visits, which may include trips to museums, festivals, companies or institutes that provide applied knowledge.

During the research, open-source tools will be used to promote digital sovereignty to the extent permitted by technical capabilities and available resources. These tools will facilitate both in-person and online collaborative work during group meetings and forum sessions, as well as asynchronous and individual work. The group will be an open space of mutual respect in which to share and discuss ideas; expressions of intolerance on the grounds of gender, race, sexual orientation or class, or discrimination of any kind, will not be tolerated.

Some of the proposed areas of work for this course are:

A. Archiving and preservation of digital content. Against a backdrop of constant transformation in digital image materials, infrastructure and software, the archiving and preservation of native digital content poses a challenge in a well-established sector that is not particularly inclined towards innovation. At the same time, the exponential increase in the scale of audiovisual production and circulation -which has occurred since the digitisation of media and the adventIruzkinaNabarmendu of the internet- has raised new questions about the limits of archives and their preservation. However, these profound technological changes have also brought new tools, structures and devices that offer ample scope for experimentation. What archiving and preservation protocols does native digital content require, and how flexible are they in adapting to technological change? What audiovisual content should be archived and preserved in a context of hyper-expanded audiovisual production? What technologies are available for experimenting with new forms of archiving and preservation?

B. Computer vision, databases and synthetic image generation. The development of computer vision systems has introduced a new form of automated visual mediation, widely used in contexts of surveillance and social control. Visual identification and categorisation tools and procedures, together with the increase in the production of images and their online circulation, have facilitated the creation of image databases on an unprecedented scale. These images, labelled and categorised to be viewed and analysed by computer systems, constitute a new form of curatorial practice applied to computational audiovisual systems; and, in turn, they are the images used to train generative artificial intelligence models, developed thanks to the continuous increase in computing power against a backdrop of high speculation and political and financial volatility. What role do computer vision and the automation of meaning-making play in technologically mediated societies? Where does human visual culture fit in, and what is its role, within the vast collections of images created to train and test computational systems for the identification, categorisation and generation of images? What is the impact of synthetic images on the conception of the image as an element of memory, evidence, communication, propaganda or fiction?

C. Images as a means of social interaction and algorithmic monetisation by major corporate platforms. The proliferation of mobile phones with cameras and internet access has liberalised the means of production, circulation and consumption of audiovisual material. These devices transformed opto-mechanical images into computational ones and facilitated access to corporate platforms for global social interaction, designed to attract and monetise attention through advertising. Against a backdrop of stringent technical and moral mediation by social media and cognitive extraction on corporate messaging platforms, new practices of audiovisual creation and curation are emerging, interwoven with rapid algorithmic currents. The limits and possibilities imposed by the major platforms represent a new space for production and dissemination, from which new audiovisual trends are exploring niches within digital folklore, which, on occasion, are beginning to reach a wider audience. How do social media and messaging platforms shape the creation and circulation of audiovisual material? What artistic and cinematographic practices have emerged and are present within the context of social media and messaging platforms? What non-corporate alternatives exist for audiovisual socialisation, and what scope do they offer for the creation and circulation of audiovisual material?

D. Virtual worlds and video games. The falling cost and ease of access to tools for creating virtual spaces and video games have fostered an environment in which major video games with massive budgets coexist with small, one-person projects. Artistic production takes place in both spheres, and experimentation lies at the heart of many of these small virtual worlds and games. In art and cinema, terms such as ‘world -building’, ‘machinima’, ‘modding’ and ‘in-game photography’ encompass some of the practices carried out in virtual environments. In a historical context where the number of people who play video games now constitutes a majority—and, consequently, their imaginaries permeate society on a massive scale—their reciprocal influence with cinema is today a fertile ground for creation. What transformations has the digital image undergone in the context of virtual worlds and video games? What are the hybridisations between virtual worlds, video games and cinema in the current context? What forms of circulation and public presentation are audiovisual creations linked to virtual worlds and video games taking on today?

E. Materialities of the Digital Image in the Climate Emergency. Digitalisation, mobile phones and the internet, together with social media, streaming platforms, messaging apps and generative artificial intelligence models, have transformed images into an element that forms part of a complex global network of infrastructure, equipment, communication networks, devices and terminals. Whilst scientific evidence and on-the-ground experience leave no room for doubt regarding the effects of the climate emergency, the development of new audiovisual technologies is exponentially increasing resource extraction and energy consumption. In response, new technological cultures are proposing alternative tools and creative processes that explore the small-scale, community-based, reuse-oriented and resource-efficient. How can we calculate and report the environmental impact of the digital image when it forms part of a complex web of materials, infrastructure and devices with a global reach? Under what material paradigm are current audiovisual technologies being developed? What non-extractive, low-consumption alternatives exist, and what new alternatives could be developed?

Research group
Principal Investigator (PI): Jon Uriarte
Timeline: newly established