BOOK: VRAL S03 IS NOW AVAILABLE

Edited by Matteo Bittanti, Gemma Fantacci, Luca Miranda, Riccardo Retez
Release date: August 2 2023 (S), August 5 2023 (Rest of the world)
Series: GAME VIDEO/ART STUDIES
Features: Softcover, 332 pages, 186 color illustrations
Format: 6×9 inches, 15×23 cm
Language: English
ISBN: 9798854159364
Price: $/€ 22,99

Introduced in April 2020 amidst a global pandemic, VRAL is an online platform offering screenings of machinima created by artists and filmmakers whose work lies at the intersection of video art, cinema, animation, and gaming. The program features outstanding video works selected on the basis of their cultural relevance, artistic achievement, and innovative style. This book collects all Season Three interviews (i.e., exhibitions 44 to 64) Featured artists: Felix Klee, Elisa Sanchez, Jason Rouse, Sebastian Schmieg, Letta Shtohryn, Federica Di Pietrantonio, Iain Douglas and Mark Coverdale, Zuza Banasińka, Gina Hara, Babak Ahteshamipour, Martina Menegon, Christian Wright, Alix Desaubliaux, Steven Cottingham, Kamilia Kard, Jordy Veenstra, Thomas Hawranke, Lasse Scherfigg, Calum Rodger, Jake Couri, Søren Thilo Funder, and Simonetta Fadda.

Both a critical and creative laboratory, GAME VIDEO/ART. STUDIES promotes open dialogue, constructive debate, and sometimes idiosyncratic investigations of ideas, practices, and artefacts that – by their very nature – occupy different layers of today’s visual culture. Using a comparative rather than specialized approach, GAME VIDEO/ART. STUDIES probes the most diverse visual experiences inspired by digital gaming and gives voice to a new generation of researchers as well as established scholars.

NOW AVAILABLE ON/ORA DISPONIBILE SU

AMAZON US, AMAZON ITALIA, AMAZON UK, AMAZON DE, AMAZON FR

LINK: VRAL S03

NEWS: VRAL SEASON ONE NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON US

We’re happy to announce that VRAL S01 is now available in the United States through Amazon, in addition to Blurb.

Introduced in April 2020 amidst a global pandemic, VRAL is a uniquely online platform offering screenings of machinima created by artists and filmmakers whose work lies at the intersection of video art, cinema, animation, and gaming. The program features outstanding video works selected on the basis of their cultural relevance, artistic achievement, and innovative style. Published by Concrete Press, this book collects all Season One’s interviews (i.e., exhibitions 01 to 21), including extra content previously released online. Featured artists: Victor Morales, Aleksandar Radan, Jordy Veenstra, Petra Széman, Thomas Hawranke, Brenton Alexander Smith, Jón Bjarki Magnússon, David Blandy, Brent Watanabe, Edwin Lo, Fantastic Little Splash, Mikhail Maximov, Luca Miranda, Mario Mu, Antoine Chapon, Bob-Bicknell Knight, Isabelle Arvers, Total Refusal, COLL.EO, Carson Lynn, and Mateus Domingos.

Head to this page to purchase your copy

The book’s official page

COMING SOON: VRAL SEASON ONE

We are happy to announce that Concrete Press will soon release a new book in the ongoing series GAME VIDEO/ART STUDIES: VRAL SEASON ONE, a comprehensive look at the state of machinima today.

Introduced in April 2020 amidst a global pandemic, VRAL is a uniquely curated game video experience, offering screenings of machinima created by artists and filmmakers whose practice lies at the intersection of video art, cinema, animation, and gaming. The program features exceptional video works selected on the basis of their cultural relevance, artistic achievement, and innovative style. An online space that provides access to a range of diverse voices, VRAL celebrates a new generation of digital filmmakers and artists and providing a broader understanding of machinima as an artform. Edited by Matteo Bittanti and Gemma Fantacci, this book collects all Season One’s interviews (i.e., exhibitions 01 to 21), including extra content previously published online. Featured artists: Victor Morales, Aleksandar Radan, Jordy Veenstra, Petra Széman, Thomas Hawranke, Brenton Alexander Smith, Jón Bjarki Magnússon, David Blandy, Brent Watanabe, Edwin Lo, Fantastic Little Splash, Mikhail Maximov, Luca Miranda, Mario Mu, Antoine Chapon, Bob-Bicknell Knight, Isabelle Arvers, Total Refusal, COLL.EO, Carson Lynn, Mateus Domingos.

VRAL SEASON ONE will be released in English only. 

GAME VIDEO/ART.STUDIES

Both a critical and creative laboratory, GAME VIDEO/ART. STUDIES promotes open dialogue, constructive debate, and sometimes idiosyncratic investigations of ideas, practices, and artefacts that – by their very nature – occupy different layers of today’s visual culture. Applying a comparative rather than specialized approach, GAME VIDEO/ART. STUDIES probes the most diverse visual experiences inspired by digital gaming and gives voice to a new generation of researchers as well as established scholars. The first published volume in the ongoing series is Riccardo Retez' Machinima Vernacolare.

Read more about Concrete Press

NEWS: PIONEERS IN MACHINIMA: THE GRASSROOTS OF VIRTUAL PRODUCTION

Pioneers in Machinima: The Grassroots of Virtual Production
by Tracy Gaynor Harwood (De Montfort University), Ben Grussi

Vernon Press, 2021

This important new work focuses on the pioneers in machinima, considered to be the grassroots and beginnings of virtual production. Machinima’s impacts are identified by the community, supplemented by Harwood and Grussi’s research and experience over a period of 25 years – from game, film and filmmaking to digital arts practice, creative technologies developments and related research and theory. Machinima is the first digital cultural practice to have emerged from the internet into a mainstream creative genre. Its latest transformation is evident through the increasing convergence of games and film where real-time virtual production as a professional creative practice is resulting in new forms of machine-generated interactive experiences. Using the most culturally significant machinima works (machine-cinema) as lenses to trace its history and impacts, Pioneers in Machinima: The Grassroots of Virtual Production provides in-depth testimony by filmmakers and others involved in its emergence. The extensive reference to source materials and interviews bring the story of its impacts up to date through the critical reflections of the early pioneers. This book will be of interest to machinima researchers and practitioners, including game culture, media theorists, students of film studies and game studies, digital artists and those interested in how creative technologies have influenced communities of practice over time.

"It provides a documentation-based (mostly interviews) perspective on several topics in the history of machinima. As a historian, I found the detailed discussion of the book's topics, plus the new source material, to be quite interesting." Henry Lowood, Harold C. Hohbach Curator for History of Science & Technology; Film & Media Collections, Stanford University Libraries

"An intelligent and very readable account of the founding of the machinima movement, it's amazing growth and flame-out with Machinima Inc. With extensive quotes from those who were there from the beginning along with detailed (and often funny) accounts of the important films and filmmakers, Pioneers of Machinima is the definitive history of early machinima." Ricky Grove, Managing Editor, Renderosity.com

"Pioneers of Machinima surfaces and celebrates the history of a medium whose early days were almost entirely hidden from view. Well researched and engaging, the book focuses on the creators whose passion, ingenuity and humor brought a new medium to life while also foreshadowing the profound impact the ability to produce, post, and share videos online would have on a generation of kids born into games." Katie Salen Tekinbas, Professor, Department of Informatics, University of California, Irvine.

Dr Tracy G. Harwood is Professor of Digital Culture at the Institute of Creative Technologies, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK. She was director of the First European Machinima Festival in 2007 and has been researching the socio-cultural impacts of machinima ever since. She has keynoted and spoken at machinima and digital arts events around the world, highlighting the impacts of machinima in practice. In 2014, she was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (England) to evaluate its cultural values (see: machinima.dmu.ac.uk). Her research into machinima has been published in leading digital arts, visual culture and marketing journals including Leonardo, Digital Creativity, Journal of Visual Culture, Journal of Marketing Management, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, and others.

Ben Grussi was part of the original core community whose earliest engagement with machinima began long before the term was coined. Like many that became part of the machinima community, its force pushed Ben in an entirely unplanned and unexpected direction. With a series of roles in the community over twelve years, Ben's knowledge of all things machinima has earned him the distinction of once being described as its own Wikipedia! Most notably, Ben was the primary curator of machinima creative work from its earliest days. This text draws on his deep knowledge of and insight into the games, film, people, and events, from within the world of machinima as it emerged and evolved.

NEWS: INTRODUCING MACHINIMA VERNACOLARE

We’re happy to announce the release of volume one in the new series GAME VIDEO/ART. STUDIES edited by Matteo Bittanti: Machinima vernacolare by Riccardo Retez.

Available both on Amazon and Blurb in Italian, Machinima vernacolare examines the relationship between cinema, television, and video games, focusing on fandom productions that made machinima into a recognizable expression of popular culture and one of the most popular examples of user generated content.

Retez focuses on Grand Theft Auto V’s Rockstar Editor, a popular video editing tool used to created countless machinima. The author describes the production, consumption and distribution practices within an increasingly complex media environments. The analysis, which is accompanied by six case studies, demonstrates that far from being passive users, video game players can become guerrilla video makers.

Born and raised in Florence, Riccardo Retez received a Master's Degree in Television, Cinema and New Media from the IULM University of Milan in 2019 and a Degree in Graphic Design and Multimedia from the Free Academy of Fine Arts in Florence in 2017, where he studied the relationship between technology-based art practices culture and the humanities. Passionate about cinema, video games and visual culture, in the past five years Riccardo produced, edited, and directed several short films and video clips. Machinima vernacolare is his first book.

GAME VIDEO/ART. STUDIES examines the complex interaction between digital gaming and the visual arts through academic contributions situated at the intersection of different disciplinary areas – game studies, art criticism, visual studies, media studies and cultural studies – and gives voice to a new generation of researchers as well as established scholars. Both a critical and creative laboratory, GAME VIDEO/ART. STUDIES promotes open dialogue, constructive debate, and sometimes idiosyncratic investigations of ideas, practices, and artefacts that – by their very nature – occupy different layers of today’s visual culture. Using a comparative rather than specialized approach, GAME VIDEO/ART. STUDIES probes the most diverse visual experiences inspired by digital gaming.

To learn more about Machinima vernacolare, please visit this page, which includes a video walkthrough (in Italian).

To learn more about GAME VIDEO/ART STUDIES, please click here.

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Siamo felici di annunciare la pubblicazione del primo volume della nuova collana GAME VIDEO/ART. STUDIES diretta da Matteo Bittanti: Machinima vernacolare di Riccardo Retez.

Disponibile su Amazon e Blurb in lingua italiana, Machinima vernacolare esamina il rapporto tra cinema, televisione e videogiochi e le dinamiche del fandom videoludico che ha elevato il machinima a una marca di riconoscimento delle produzioni user generated.

Retez esamina il Rockstar Editor, il software di montaggio video integrato a Grand Theft Auto V (2013),. L’autore descrive le dinamiche di produzione, consumo e distribuzione del machinima all’interno di un ecosistema mediale sempre più complesso. L’analisi, impreziosita da sei studi di caso, attesta che gli utenti di videogiochi non sono consumatori passivi di testi audiovisivi, bensì soggetti attivi in grado di comprendere e manipolare i significati variabili codificati in tali testi, proponendo sofisticati remake.

Nato e cresciuto a Firenze, Riccardo Retez ha conseguito una Laurea Magistrale in Televisione, cinema e nuovi media presso l’Università IULM di Milano nel 2019 e una Laurea in Graphic Design e Multimedia presso la Libera Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze nel 2017, dove ha studiato la relazione tra la cultura tecnico-artistica e tradizione umanistica. Appassionato di cinema, videogiochi e culture visive, Riccardo ha realizzato numerosi cortometraggi e videoclip. Machinima vernacolare è il suo primo libro.

Laboratorio critico e creativo, la collana GAME VIDEO/ART. STUDIES promuove un dialogo aperto, un confronto costruttivo e una disamina non necessariamente ortodossa di temi, pratiche e fenomeni che, per loro natura, s’intersecano con differenti livelli della cultura visiva. Privilegiando un approccio comparativo anziché specialistico, GAME VIDEO/ART. STUDIES scandaglia le più diverse esperienze mediali ispirate dal e al videogioco per dare voce a una nuova generazione di ricercatori così come a studiosi consolidati.

Per ulteriori informazioni su Machinima vernacolare, visitate la pagina del libro, che contiene contenuti extra, tra cui una video presentazione dell’autore.

Per ulteriori informazioni su GAME VIDEO/ART STUDIES, cliccate qui.

CFP: MACHINIMA, THE STATE OF THE ART

The 2020 edition of the MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL will be followed by the release of a printed bilingual (English and Italian) publication later this year featuring critical contributions on machinima. The book/catalog will be edited by Matteo Bittanti and Gemma Fantacci. Scholars, critics, artists, and curators are invited to submit an extended abstract (between 500-1000 words excluding references) or full papers to matteo.bittanti@iulm.it either in English or Italian.

Timeline:

April 15, 2020 Abstract submission deadline (full papers are also accepted);

May 15, 2020: Notification of acceptance/rejection sent to authors;

July 1, 2020: Full paper submission deadline;

Sept 1, 2020: Review deadline;

Oct 1, 2020: Deadline for edited papers.

Possible topics include:

Vernacular machinima vs. avantgarde machinima

Exhibition & screening of machinima

Art historical perspectives on machinima

Machinima and remix/mash up culture

Recording and sharing of in-game performances

The evolution of in-game video editors

Critical analysis of an artist's oeuvre/work

An in depth interview with a creator/artist

Innovative online distribution platforms

The evolving audiences of machinima

Inquiries may be directed to matteo.bittanti@iulm.it

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L'edizione 2020 del MILANO MACHINIMA FESTIVAL sarà seguita dalla pubblicazione di un libro/catalogo cartaceo bilingue (inglese e italiano) nel corso dell’anno con contributi critici sullo stato del machinima. Il volume sarà curato da Matteo Bittanti e Gemma Fantacci. Non è necessario che i contributi trattino necessariamente i machinima presenti al Festival. Studiosi, critici, artisti e curatori sono invitati a inviare una sinossi di lunghezza compresa tra le 500-1000 parole, esclusa la bibliografia o un articolo completo a matteo.bittanti@iulm.it in inglese o in italiano. La lunghezza dei saggi può variare.

Piano di lavoro

15 aprile 2020: termine ultimo per l'invio delle sinossi/proposte (sono accettati anche gli elaborati completi);

15 maggio 2020: notifica di accettazione/rifiuto inviata agli autori;

1 luglio 2020: termine ultimo per l'invio dell'intero saggio;

1 settembre 2020: Termine per la revisione;

1 ottobre 2020: scadenza per la redazione dei lavori.

Temi possibili includono

Machinima vernacolare vs. machinima d'avanguardia

Esibizione e proiezione di machinima

Prospettive storiche ed estetiche sul machinima

Machinima e cultura del remix/mashup

Registrazione e condivisione delle performance in-game

Evoluzione degli editor video in-game

Analisi critica dell'opera completa o parziale di un artista/collettivo

Piattaforme di distribuzione di machinima

Machinima e pubblico

Domande e proposte possono essere indirizzate a matteo.bittanti@iulm.it

BOOK. FENOMENOLOGIA DI GRAND THEFT AUTO

Mimesis Edizioni has recently released Fenomenologia of Grand Theft Auto, an edited collection of essays about Rockstar Games' celebrated series.

Each episode of Grand Theft Auto raises crucial questions about the representation - or rather, simulation - of gender, sex, class, and race in digital environments; the relationship between playing and viewing (video games/game videos); the allegiances and clashes between the game industry, journalism, and fandom; the state of storytelling in the 21c and many more. This books is an attempt to map the field of GTA Studies, identifying key scholarly concerns, approaches, and analyses. Several contributions discuss the relationship between GTA, machinima, cinema, and video art.

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Mimesis Edizioni ha recentemente dato alle stampe Fenomenologia di Grand Theft Auto, un volume antologico dedicato alla celebre serie di Rockstar games.

Grand Theft Auto è più di un videogioco: la popolare saga di Rockstar Games ha conquistato l'immaginario collettivo grazie a una magistrale riscrittura in chiave interattiva del crime movie e della narrativa pulp. Con cinque episodi all'attivo e oltre duecentocinquanta milioni di copie vendute negli ultimi vent'anni, Grand Theft Auto ha trasceso la sfera dell'intrattenimento. I vari capitoli - ambientati nelle repliche virtuali di metropoli come Los Angeles, New York e Miami - sollevano infatti questioni cruciali in merito alla rappresentazione della violenza, alla simulazione degli spazi urbani e alle politiche di gender. Fenomenologia di Grand Theft Auto esamina gli aspetti sociali, culturali e artistici della serie grazie al contributo di studiosi internazionali. Questa antologia di saggi porta in primo piano la complessità del testo videoludico e delle pratiche di consumo a esso associate. Due saggi in particolare - “Fronteggiare Fanon. Per una lettura degli aspetti neocoloniali di Grand Theft Auto V attraverso il machinima Finding Fanon II” di Steffen Krüger e “Camminare su una corda tesa sulla soglia della realtà virtuale: Il cinema di Phil Solomon in Grand Theft Auto” di Hava Aldouby - esaminano la complessa relazione tra videogioco, machinima, cinema e videoarte.

LINK: Fenomenologia di Grand Theft Auto (Amazon)

LINK: Fenomenologia di Grand Theft Auto (Mimesis)

BOOK: TRAVELOGUE

TRAVELOGUE is now available from Concrete Press.

TRAVELOGUE is a survey of audiovisual artworks made with or inspired by video games. Using machinima and interactive installations, fifteen artists examine the virtual automobile as medium, message, technological commodity, status symbol, interface, and prosthetics. Created through a process of appropriation and remix, these works lie at the intersection of fiction and documentation, performance and simulation, video art and experimental cinema.

This book is an extended catalogue of the exhibition TRAVELOGUE that I curated between September 7- 11 2016, in Mantua, Italy as part of Festivaletteratura 2016, featuring artworks by Max Almy and Teri Yarbrow, Hugo Arcier, Dave Ball, William Beaudine, Bob-Bicknell Knight, COLL.EO, Clint Enns, Matthew Hillock, JODI, Kristin Lucas, Victor Morales, Leonardo Sang, Palle Torsson. Available in bilingual edition (English and Italian) TRAVELOGUE is the follow-up to MACHINIMA. 32 conversazioni sull'arte del videogioco, which was released in 2017.

TRAVELOGUE is on sale on Blurb and Amazon US. It will soon be available on Amazon Italy.

TRAVELOGUE è una rassegna di opere audiovisive – machinima ed installazioni – realizzate per mezzo dei videogiochi. Quindici artisti internazionali esplorano l’automobile virtuale, ivi intesa come mezzo e messaggio, tecnologia e status symbol, interfaccia e protesi. Frutto di appropriazione e remix, queste opere si collocano all’intersezione tra narrazione e documentazione, performance e simulazione, videoarte e cinema sperimentale. Questo libro è il catalogo ampliato della mostra TRAVELOGUE curata da Matteo Bittanti nel settembre 2016) a Mantova, nell’ambito di Festivaletteratura 2016, con opere di Max Almy e Teri Yarbrow, Hugo Arcier, Dave Ball, William Beaudine, Bob-Bicknell Knight, COLL.EO, Clint Enns, Matthew Hillock, JODI, Kristin Lucas, Victor Morales, Leonardo Sang, Palle Torsson.