This paper investigates the relationship between historic attempts at alternative / 'free media' in the area of film & video and the development of possible new aesthetics of the moving image in a broadband multi-user computational environment.

To what extent can one still speak in terms of montage in a computational space?

A multi-user environment by definition implies a loosening of the control of aesthetic parameters. What kind of montage emerges without such control? What are the aesthetic implications of such a system of distributed authorship?

In the UK, the miners' industrial strike of 1984-85, the "longest epic of collective resistance in the annals of British labour"[1] led to the development of The Miners' Campaign Tape Project, one of many community initiatives that helped to sustain the strike, and counter the mainstream media's portrayal of the miners and their families. In this pre-digital era, this was achieved via a network of Film and Video workshops that existed across England and Wales as a means of production and distribution of videotapes with titles such as The Lie Machine (Media Coverage of the Strike) & Only Doing Their Job (The Police, the Law and the Miners)

"NOT PRODUCING. NOT CONSUMING. ONLY RECORDING. JUST TAKING STOCK. SOUNDS AND LIGHT PRODUCED BY OTHERS AND CONSUMED BY OTHERS . . . RADIO, THE PRESS AND TELEVISION. RACING TO THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE WORLD. STICKING TO EVENTS. GETTING PAID FOR THAT. GETTING PAID FOR THAT . . . BEING A PROFESSIONAL FOR RADIO, PHOTOGRAPHY AND TELEVISIONÉBEING A PROFESSIONAL."

VO Photos et Cie (Six Fois Deux) Jean Luc Godard & Anne Marie Mieville 1978

Do moving images within a computational space offer the potential for an extension of cinematic montage, or do new rules need to be created? Furthermore, what is the effect of opening the industry of film/TV culture to a world of "non professionals" already publishing on the web in their millions?

[1] Anderson, Perry. 1992. English Questions. Verso.



Author Bio
James Moore (MA RCA) is a digital artist & designer and teaches at the university of Westminster in London. His design work includes interactive projects for Lego, Nike, and Prada, and his film/video clients have included the BBC, National Museum of Wales and numerous independent film and theatre productions. His artwork has been exhibited internationally and can be found online at Day for Night Email: jam.moore@lycos.com