(SUPER)STATION
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IMA Number: IMA 780.09 | 3 credits
Spring 2022
Professor: Scott Kiernan, scott@esptv.com
This class meets WED 3:10-6pm in HN 436 TV STUDIO
Class website: www.superstationtv.com
You will find the syllabus, readings, and many links to clips, articles etc. for reference and expanding upon our class discussions. The site will be updated throughout the semester with new material as needed.
Course Description:
This course will challenge traditional ideas of the television studio by placing the “control room” front and center as a locus of performance. Citing examples both past and present in media and contemporary art, expanded cinema, pirate television and more; we will examine artists’ appropriation of, and interventions in, television and broadcast media. By building on, and then breaking the rules of live television production; our intensive use of the TV studio will dig deeper into experimental and tactile practices such as the design and use of our own signal processing system. We will study unconventional uses of the vocabulary and distribution models of television and apply these to independent projects in which we work as each others crew. Course work will culminate in a class “mix tape” to be aired on Manhattan public television and online.
Textbooks/Readings/Reference Materials:
You will not be required to purchase any textbooks. All material will be supplied as printouts or PDFs available on the class website: www.superstationtv.com
That said, some of our readings will come from the book Connolly, Maeve, TV Museum: Contemporary Art and the Age of Television, University of Chicago Press, 2014
If you’d like to explore some of the subject matter and concepts discussed in class further I highly recommend purchasing the book.
Grading:
Grading will be based on class participation and your personal projects.
Participation for our purposes is defined as: contribution to class discussions and critique, sharing skills and taking an active role in all crew capacities. Student completes assigned readings and can discuss or ask questions about the material. Noticeable effort is made to understand basic concepts and functions of the studio, and key concepts in readings and discussions.
Personal Projects:
Personal projects will be evaluated through in-class critique, according to the following criteria:
· Commitment. How much thought was put into the planning and conceptualization of the work?
· How does the work use the studio and crew resources effectively?
· How does this work address its precedents and where is it trying to go that is new? What is its critical function? Does it challenge any pre-established aesthetic boundaries?
· How do you speak about the work and how does the work speak for itself?
· What is at risk? What boundaries are being pushed?
Personal Projects should take risks, while addressing the site-specificity of the studio and its role as an instrument. Pre-recorded and live material may be combined at will, and we will act as each other’s crews as needed.
Some aspect of the project should transpire live, in-studio, in some capacity.
What this means however, is up to you to decide. If you choose to reject or subvert the shared production language of the studio, you should be able to effectively argue for its conceptual function in your work.
Hunter College Policy on Class Participation:
By enrolling in this course and entering the classroom, each student makes the tacit commitment to participate in the class. Active class participation involves more than mere physical presence. Students are expected to be actively involved in the class. They should take the initiative in discussion and projects, ask relevant questions, and contribute to the over-all learning environment of the class.
It is your responsibility:
1. To prepare for class by having read assignments, written papers and/or prepared projects.
2. To actively participate in class discussion and activities.
3. To take notes on discussions, presentations, and activities conducted within the class.
4. To complete all course assignments, even if you are absent from a class meeting.
Keeping in mind the above, attendance is no longer directly counted towards your grade. However, our classwork will require a large degree of cooperation as each other’s crew. Out of respect for each other, please keep absences to only what is necessary and notify the class as well in advance as possible. Things obviously come up; but if we’re prepared to be short a crew member we can make other arrangements!
Hunter College Policy on Sexual Misconduct:
In compliance with the CUNY Policy on Sexual Misconduct, Hunter College reaffirms the prohibition of any sexual misconduct, which includes sexual violence, sexual harassment, and gender-based harassment retaliation against students, employees, or visitors, as well as certain intimate relationships. Students who have experienced any form of sexual violence on or off campus (including CUNY-sponsored trips and events) are entitled to the rights outlined in the Bill of Rights for Hunter College. Sexual Violence: Students are strongly encouraged to immediately report the incident by calling 911, contacting NYPD Special Victims Division Hotline (646-610-7272) or their local police precinct, or contacting the College's Public Safety Office (212-772-4444).
All Other Forms of Sexual Misconduct: Students are also encouraged to contact the College's Title IX Campus Coordinator, Dean John Rose (jtrose@hunter.cuny.edu or 212-650-3262) or Colleen Barry (colleen.barry@hunter.cuny.edu or 212-772-4534) and seek complimentary services through the Counseling and Wellness Services Office, Hunter East 1123. CUNY Policy on Sexual Misconduct Link:
http://www.cuny.edu/about/administration/offices/la/Policy-on-Sexual- Misconduct-12-1-14-with-links.pdf
COURSE TIMELINE
We are going to do our best to stick to this schedule! Things may shift on occasion if we find ourselves particularly interested in one train of thought or way of working… However, time slots for Personal Projects will need to remain as rigid as possible to allow everyone equal time. Please carefully consider your schedule as we plan these days out together.
WEEK 1: Feb 2
Introductions and Inspirations
1. Introductions, run-through course syllabus and assigned readings
2. What is “Televisual” language?
· Pervasive tropes of the televisual
· Visual language of television vs. cinema vs. immersive media and their intersections
Historical and Contemporary examples of experiments in televisual media
Brief Screening (we will watch some of these together, others will be assigned for you to view on your own)
Michael Asher: Via Los Angeles
Robert Ashley: Perfect Lives
General Idea: Test Tube
Ann Magnuson & Tom Rubnitz: Made for TV
Jaime Davidovich: The Live! Show
Black Audio Film Collective
Jacqueline Humbert & David Rosenboom: Daytime Viewing
Doug Davis
Special Bulletin
E.S.P. TV: Work, You Don’t Say Much, Do You?
Auto Italia South East: Double Dip Concession
Jennifer Juniper Stratford
Readings for next class:
Michael Asher, Via Los Angeles, January 19, 1976, KGW-TV
Connolly, Maeve; TV Museum, Introduction
WEEK 2: Feb 9
Brief Screening/Lecture:
Small-scale/People’s broadcasting and de-centralization of the studio concept
· Pirate Broadcasting and public access television
Videofreex/Lanesville TV
TV Party
Keith Sonnier/Liza Bear, “Send/Receive”
Naftazteca TV
Paper Tiger TV
· Live-streaming platforms
· Possibilities inside of virtual and immersive spaces. Who/what is the camera?
Studio Introduction
-A hands-on introduction to the TV Studio and its equipment including cameras, lighting, switcher operation, audio, media players
Readings for next week:
Glossary of Production Terms, Director Cues
Also: Bring personal video material for use in next class. This can be something you shot or a piece of found video that you wish to use for tutorial on the video switcher and routing system.
WEEK 3: Feb 16
Basic Training / Storyboarding and Shot Lists / Studio Blocking
-Continued introduction to the studio equipment including microphones, headsets and monitoring. Further switcher introduction with hands-on incorporation of personal video projects/clips.
-Review of Control Room and further work on the Switcher
Readings:
Connolly, Maeve; TV Museum, Chapter 2: “Quality Television and Contemporary Art: Soaps, Sitcoms and Symbolic Value
Readings for next week:
See Website: Storyboarding, Scripted shoots, Blocking for Live Studio Shoots, Types of Shots
WEEK 4: Feb 23
Live Studio Drills #1
WEEK 5: March 2
Experiments in Image Processing
-Discussion of Expanded Cinema and Experimental Video Art Practices
-Basics of Video Synthesis and hybrid imaging systems
Many of the tools we will be using for this are not located at Hunter full-time. I will be bringing them into class for our use whenever possible from this date on to the end of class. This is a dense area of hands on learning that will inspire some more than others. For those who would like extended use of this equipment outside of regular class meetings we will attempt to setup lab hours, schedule permitting. This is meant
· Brief review of historical video tools: Paik-Abe, Stephen Beck Video Synthesizer, Chromaton, Fairlight CVI, Rutt-Etra
· Current video synthesis tools and hybridization with digital media
-Demonstration of alternative signal processing methods
· Connection and design of modular signal routing systems
· Basic Video synthesis component blocks
· Scan Processing, Vector aynthesis pric
· Waveform Types
· Hands on demonstration of LZX video system in tandem with studio keyers, outboard DVE (Digital Video Effects) processors, feedback manipulation and scaling
· Re-integration of analog processing into a digital capture environment
-Assign Dates and Crews for Personal Projects
For Next Week
Begin thinking about your Personal Projects for the second half of the course. See weeks 9-15
WEEK 6: March 9
Live Studio Drills #2
WEEK 7: March 16
Live Taping Scenario: Guest Artist
-We will test what we’ve learned in a live taping scenario to produce a live program for television. A visiting artist will be taped live in the studio and we will rotate between the positions of Technical Director, Cameras, Sound Engineers, CG/Pre-Roll/Tape Operators and Floor Manager. We will run through multiple short takes, rotating roles in the studio.
For Next Week
Complete a script, storyboard and blocking diagram for your Personal Project. We will review these one-on-one on March 30
Watch Otto Pienne and Aldo Tambellini’s “Black Gate Cologne”, 1968: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCs4edrrQIQ
WEEK 8: March 23
By this class you should have a preliminary Personal Project script, storyboarding, shot lists and blocking diagram. We will devote this class to further development of these projects with one-on-one advisement. By the end of the class, our full schedule for Personal Projects will be finalized including crew and needed equipment for each shoot.
This class time may also be used as a lab for preparing any footage you will be using for your production as playback material.
Read: Connolly, Maeve; TV Museum, Chapter 7: ”Production on Display" Television, Labour and Contemporary Art
WEEK 9: March 30
Final: Personal Projects Session #1
Over the remaining sessions, each class (except the final meeting) will be devoted to producing two live pieces in the studio, as directed by one of your classmates. These dates will be assigned by a discussion in class and signup sheet. Crew will rotate for each project, everyone will have at least one half of a class (or approx. 1.5 hrs including setup, completion of the piece and cleanup) to produce their piece.
WEEK 10: April 6
Final Projects #2
WEEK 11: April 13:
Final Projects #3
WEEK 12: April 20
NO CLASS SPRING BREAK
WEEK 13: April 27
Final Projects #4
WEEK 14: May 4
Final Projects #5
WEEK 15: May 11
Final Projects #6
WEEK 15: May 18
Final Class
-Review Personal Projects and Crit
-Course Review and Discussion