Filmobile

Saturday, 06 February 2010 14:52

The first international platform for the discussion of mobile technologies, mobile art and mobile moving-image practice was launched in London in the end of June. FILMOBILE is a project that aims to create dialogue between industry, filmmakers and artists working with mobile devices. Having successfully kick-started its activities with a networking event, the FILMOBILE exhibition and conference is now being planned for April 2008 at the University of Westminster in London, to explore the cultural impact brought about by new mobile technologies.

The first international platform for the discussion of mobile technologies in relation to media culture, mobile phone art and technology took place at the Centre for Excellence, University of Westminster. Five internationally acclaimed industry speakers and an audience of 40 experts convened to open a discussion on the potential of mobile technologies. The speakers reflected the whole spectrum of contemporary media industries, ranging from the international broadcaster Current TV to London based artists and filmmakers. London’s creative practitioners and key industry players made up the audience, provoking a vibrant debate and raising a number of significant issues for consideration. The event emphasised the need to establish a forum for the exchange of ideas and the transfer of knowledge between the disconnected specialist groups.

Max Schleser, filmmaker and co-organiser of the FILMOBILE project, opened the networking session. He screened extracts from the mobile-mentary project (www.mobile-mentary.co.uk ); the first feature length project conceptualised for mobile viewing and simultaneous silver-screen projection. Alfie Dennen of moblog UK presented an overview of the cutting-edge mobile blogging projects he has pioneered in recent years, including www.werenotafraid.com (a response to the 7/7 terror attacks and one of the first and most famous UK blogging sites), and www.bigartmob.com (a collaboration with Channel 4 to create a fun public art archive). He highlighted the connection of mobile devices to the Internet, noting that as a content production device, the mobile phone, has reached a standard comparable to miniDV and digital still cameras (although G3, UMTS and imode data streams are not yet at this qualitative level). Predicting that the network providers will market flat-rate data access due to the saturation of mobile devices, Alfie envisioned the media landscape as a unified space in which media will be streamed to any device, citing USB as a standardised and universally acceptable data exchange format. Moreover he illustrated that while the mobile market and technologies are still evolving, there is real potential for individuals, artists, filmmakers and companies of any scale to contribute to the development of applications and products:

“You can do things really easily with sophisticated platforms and sophisticated technologies, and the barrier to entry to do anything on and with mobiles is actually a lot lower than people think” (Alfie Dennen – mobloguk)

zzizzl films distributes and markets short films and content for mobile devices. The online platform is focused on the creative and independent sectors, and the business model is based on a profit-share with the creatives and practitioners. The idea behind zzizzl films is not to compete with film-festivals or cinema, but to introduce alternative means for the mobile audience to enjoy content. Dennis Morrison outlined the potential of the mobile audience by considering how many people take the tube or bus to work:

“When you are in-between times you are not doing much. This is the time when you could be watching something that is challenging, entertaining, thrilling or all of the above. And what is wonderful is that I have so many people who say ‘I have never thought about this, where can I get this?’” (Dennis Morrison – zzizzl films).

Aside from transforming audiences we are also faced with transforming industry practices. FILMOBILE presented innovative broadcaster Current TV, set up in 2005 by Al Gore and Joel Hyatt, which invites the public to screen short non-fiction films (or ‘pods’ as these documentary productions are known in the Current TV domain). Producers of content screened on the net and on cable TV are supported and remunerated for their filmic work. This is the television industry’s leading model of ‘Viewer Created Content’ (VC2). Davide Scalenghe, Outreach Manager at Current TV, highlighted the mobile phone as a key tool for engaging the audience:

“Our goal is to enable participation, and allow as many voices as possible to speak about what is on their minds. And one of the most accessible means is obviously the mobile phone. You have this amazing device in your pocket and wherever you are you can film what’s going on and piece it together…” (Davide Scalenghe, Outreach Manager at Current TV)

The projects presented at the FILMOBILE event emphasised the paramount influence of mobile technologies, and their contribution to contemporary media culture. The popularity of www.wearenotafraid.co.uk indicated that mainstream media could no longer cope with audience demand. During the London 7/7 events, BBC broadcasts relied heavily on user-generated content, and these images were nominated by the Sunday Times magazine as some of the best examples of photojournalism that year. Besides changing patterns and modes of production and consumption, the relationship of immediacy and indexicality to the mobile medium reintroduces debates that have existed in documentary film theory since the term was coined in 1926. Daniel Florencio, a Brazilian documentary maker, exemplifies a strand of filmmakers who now use the mobile phone at moments when a DV or HDV camera could not capture the same content. The ‘fly on the wall’ can now publish moving-image on the web, opening up new possibilities for users, producers and ‘pro-d-users’ alike in the contemporary media age of myspace and youtube:

“It is easy and more convenient to film on a mobile phone than a big camera. People are very aware of the camera; “I’m gonna be on telly!”, “Who are you filming for?” There is this karma that the mobile phone does not have. People do not take you too seriously, they think you might put it on youtube… There is this feeling that mobile phones are not as much a threat as a video camera.” (Daniel Florencio, filmmaker)

Besides the discussion on mobile content, practitioners, Daniel, Romain and Max expressed their interest in new emerging mobile aesthetics. While the relentless progression of technology allows little space for reflection, the works presented made use of the technology’s distinctive characteristics. Romain’s work offered a personal intimate space, Daniel’s was characterised by a streetwise urban cool, while Max posited an experimentation in cinematic communication with time and space, on and beyond the silver screen. While noting the acceleration of technological advancement, Romain pointed out the vast circulation of mobile devices among users:

“Everyone’s got their phone with them. About a year and a half ago the repartition of mobile camera phones was predicted to reach one billion worldwide by 2010, and now some people are saying we are already there. It is just an incredible boom.” (Romain Forquy, photographer)

The question and answer session indicated the widespread relevance of the FILMOBILE platform, spanning educational and economical domains. New mobile technologies are seeded globally, while business models mushroom and audiences eagerly harvest new content or experiences. Meanwhile there is no established discourse on the role of the network providers, streaming rates, formats of production and content, or the audience experience. These themes will provide a basis for the FILMOBILE conference and exhibition in April 2008, which will aim to address the issues raised at the networking event.

From August onwards FILMOBILE welcomes submissions on the following topics, though the conference is by no means limited to these debates, and further suggestions are welcome for discussion in an inclusive open forum.

1. Technology and innovation – everyday life and access to mobile media (past, present and future.)
2. Mobile markets and audiences, and the mobile mass media.
3. Content creation / re-creation (re-purpose?)
4. Content consumption – do people want / need / desire mobile viewing? (Snacking content. Start-Stop Viewing.)
5. Distribution of mobile content – the role of the operators and manufacturers in the domain of WI-FI devices.)
6. Data charges and their relation to the creative industries. (Change: now? never?)
7. Mobile technologies in education.
8. Generation Mobile.
9. Mobile bloggers.
10. Mobile culture.
11. Mobile art.
12. Mobile photography.
13. Mobile filmmaking / moving-image.
14. Mobile media.
15. Mobile gaming.
16. Mobile storytelling (narrative, non-narrative, experimental).

FILMOBILE would like to thank its supporters and sponsors: the University of Westminster, the Higher Education Innovation Fund, CREAM Research Centre, CEPLW, London Westside, the London Development Agency and London Gallery West.

If you would like to present, show or screen a project, raise your company profile or take part in the FILMOBILE conference or exhibition, please do not hesitate to contact FILMOBILE at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .