Distant Viewing the Amateur Film Platform

Tim van der Heijden*, Taylor Arnold, Lauren Tilton

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterAcademicpeer-review

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Abstract

This chapter explores the Amateur Film Platform (2014–2023). This online platform, initiated by the Netherlands Institute for Sound & Vision, hosted a unique collection of more than eight thousand films and videos made by Dutch amateur filmmakers. It featured amateur footage from the early 1900s until the 2010s, recorded on different technological carriers, including 35mm, 16mm, 9.5mm, 8mm, Super 8, VHS, MiniDV, and other formats. Utilizing the Distant Viewing approach and toolkit for computationally analyzing large collections of audiovisual materials, the chapter aims to investigate any formal, stylistic, and aesthetic patterns or changes over time in the Amateur Film Platform’s collection. The authors argue for a “hybrid heuristics” approach for undertaking data-driven film historical analysis, which combines distant and close viewing with critical reflection on the hermeneutic implications of digital methods and technologies for exploring historical amateur media collections at scale.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationDoing Digital Film History
Subtitle of host publicationConcepts, Tools, Practices
EditorsSarah-Mai Dang, Tim van der Heijden, Christian Gosvig Olesen
Place of PublicationBerlin; Boston
PublisherDe Gruyter Oldenbourg
Pages239-270
Number of pages32
ISBN (Electronic)9783111082486
ISBN (Print)9783111081496
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 Dec 2024

Publication series

SeriesStudies in Digital History and Hermeneutics
Volume11
ISSN2629-4540

Keywords

  • amateur film
  • film history
  • digital history
  • media history
  • digital film historiography
  • Amateur Film Platform
  • Distant Viewing
  • digital humanities
  • data visualization
  • computer vision
  • audiovisual archives
  • amateur media collections
  • digital hermeneutics

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