nARratives of augmented worlds

This paper presents an examination of augmented reality (AR) as a rising form of interactive narrative that combines computer-generated elements with reality, fictional with non-fictional objects, in the same immersive experience. Based on contemporary theory in narratology, we propose to view this blending of reality worlds as a metalepsis, a transgression of reality and fiction boundaries, and argue that authors could benefit from using existing conventions of narration to emphasize the transgressed boundaries, as is done in other media. Our contribution is three-fold, first we analyze the inherent connection between narrative, immersion, interactivity, fictionality and AR using narrative theory, and second we comparatively survey actual works in AR narratives from the past 15 years based on these elements from the theory. Lastly, we postulate a future for AR narratives through the perspective of the advancing technologies of both interactive narratives and AR

Cinema and the art of dying

This work examined the connection between stories about death and dying and Booker\u27s rebirth plot type. Through the investigation of three contemporary films, the main discussion focussed on how stories about dying can be told through the prism of rebirth, culminating in the creation of an original short film about the discussed themes

Film remakes as ritual and disguise: from Carmen to Ripley

The first book-length account of the symbolic chains that link remakes and explain their disguises, Film Remakes as Rituals and Disguise is also the first book to explore how and why these stories are told. The author focuses on contemporary retellings of three particular tales - Joan of Arc, Carmen, and Psycho - to reveal what she calls the remake's "rituals of disguise." Joan of Arc, the author demonstrates, later appears as the tough, androgynous Ripley in the blockbuster Alien III film and the God-ridden Bess in Lars Von Trier's Breaking the Waves. Ultimately, these remake chains offer evidence of the archetypes of our own age, cultural "fingerprints" that are reflective of society's own preferences and politics. Underneath the redundancy of the remake, the author shows, lies our collective social memory. Indeed, at its core the lowly remake represents a primal attempt to gain immortality, to triumph over death-playing at movie theatres seven days a week, 365 days a year. Addressing the wider theoretical implications of her argument with sections on contemporary film issues such as trauma, jouissance, and censorship, the author offers an insightful addition to current debates in film theory and cinema history

Foucault’s Heterotopias and History in Greenaway’s Suitcases

In an attempt to exemplify Peter Greenaway's fascination with hetero­topias, alternative organisation and History, this essay will focus on deci­phering the meanings in his film trilogy The Tulse Luper Suitcases, using textual evidence mainly from the first and second part. It will also occa­sionally draw on Greenaway's museum practices, since the Museum is a heterotopia that holds a prominent place in Greenaway's work. The theo­retical premises behind all the interpretations attempted lie in the work of Michel Foucault, which will serve as the fundamental background and will provide the stepping stone for the film analysis throughout the essay. As this paper will argue, these two thinkers share a nominalist view of history, which is reflected in Foucault's work and illustrated in Green­away's cinematography. The goal of this essay is thus to draw parallels between their worldviews in an attempt to interpret Greenaway's work through Foucault's theory

Smita Patil: Fiercely Feminine

Smita Patil is an Indian actress who worked in films for a twelve year period between 1974 and 1986, during which time she established herself as one of the powerhouses of the Parallel Cinema movement in the country. She was discovered by none other than Shyam Benegal, a pioneering film-maker himself. She started with a supporting role in Nishant, and never looked back, growing into her own from one remarkable performance to the next. She quickly became the go-to actress for most of the film-makers working in Parallel Cinema at the time. Patil was soon critically acclaimed both within the country and outside, for her work. She created some of the truly unforgettable female protagonists in Parallel Cinema, roles for which she is still remembered and admired. These characters are feisty, fiercely feminine, and have left an indelible impression on critics and audiences alike. What is it about her that enabled Patil to create these portrayals with such honesty and intensity? This thesis looks at her persona, as well as her craft, in order to answer this question, examining three of her films in detail: Bhumika, Manthan, and Subah

Human cloning in film: horror, ambivalence, hope

Fictional filmic representations of human cloning have shifted in relation to the 1997 announcement of the birth of Dolly the cloned sheep, and since therapeutic human cloning became a scientific practice in the early twentieth century. The operation and detail of these shifts can be seen through an analysis of the films The Island (2005) and Aeon Flux (2005). These films provide a site for the examination of how these changes in human cloning from fiction to practice, and from horror to hope, have been represented and imagined, and how these distinctions have operated visually in fiction, and in relation to genre

Out of body experiences: a practice-led evaluation of the shifting boundaries shared by analogue films and their digital counterparts

Phd ThesisThis thesis provides in-depth analysis of my practice-led PhD and the methods used to focus on key areas of research - namely exploring the shifting perceptual parameters revealed when analogue films are transferred to digital formats. With this process audio-visual content previously locked inside film’s decaying form is resurrected as immaterial code within a malleable frame. My work utilised this spectral quality to examine different layers of film representation, observing its inner structure, while also stepping back to contemplate its content from a self-reflexive distance. These multiple viewpoints introduced unique spaces within which to study the analogue past from a digital perspective: The filmstrip’s mechanically regulated motion seamlessly combines still images, sound and light into analogue interpretations of space-time. My work digitally desynchronised these elements, revealing the structural gaps between them while also suggesting their merger with a new perceptual model. Moving beyond internal film worlds to the boundaries they share with the physical viewing space, another layer of disjointed separation was introduced by producing screens that struggled to contain film content within their frames. Stepping back further, these screens occupied a space caught between the fixed viewpoint of a cinema and the multiple perspectives allowed by gallerybased installations. The shifting frame of these hybrid spaces created an oscillation between passive submersion within, and analytical distance from mediated worlds. By unmooring and offsetting the precise alignment between film structure, screens and viewing spaces, my practice revealed overlapping edges and disjointed spaces within which media from different eras interacted. This opened up new areas of research that fed directly into my theoretical studies (the thesis layout itself shifts outwards, from media structures to viewing spaces). This approach enabled me to produce a substantial body of work, iii offering an original contribution to this field