Australian Film Theory and Criticism. Australian film theory and criticism has burgeoned over the past thirty years, but there is no dedicated book-length study of the field. This research project will fill the gap, not only tracing the specificity of Australian film theory and criticism but also reasserting its place on the international scholarly agenda. In tracing the critical positions, personalities and institutions that have shaped film theory and criticism in this country, this project wi ....Australian Film Theory and Criticism. Australian film theory and criticism has burgeoned over the past thirty years, but there is no dedicated book-length study of the field. This research project will fill the gap, not only tracing the specificity of Australian film theory and criticism but also reasserting its place on the international scholarly agenda. In tracing the critical positions, personalities and institutions that have shaped film theory and criticism in this country, this project will at once disseminate and preserve (for scholars and the general public alike) the legacy of those critical intellectuals who have striven to understand the nation's most popular art and entertainment form, the cinema. Read moreRead less
Mapping the movies: the changing nature of Australia's cinema circuits and their audiences 1956-1984. Support for film production is a high profile component in Australian cultural policy, but the cultural and commercial opportunity represented by cinema exhibition and attendance is less well understood. Focusing on the three decades after the introduction of television in 1956, this project is the first of its kind to use geospatial visualisation to map the social and economic circuits of cinem ....Mapping the movies: the changing nature of Australia's cinema circuits and their audiences 1956-1984. Support for film production is a high profile component in Australian cultural policy, but the cultural and commercial opportunity represented by cinema exhibition and attendance is less well understood. Focusing on the three decades after the introduction of television in 1956, this project is the first of its kind to use geospatial visualisation to map the social and economic circuits of cinema-going, and to identify the variables that explain cinema diversification, survival or closure. It will contribute to policy analysis in terms of local media access modelling, and will consolidate this team's international reputation for innovative Australian research in the representation of historical data.Read moreRead less
The History of Asian Australian Cinema: Diaspora, Policy and Ethics. This interdisciplinary project will develop a history of the representation of Asians in Australian cinema. Understanding this history promotes an engaged citizenry, facilitates intercultural communication and strengthens Australia's social fabric. It will enhance Australia's capacity to engage in the Asian region. Examining the creative film developments of Asian Australian filmmakers will promote an innovative cultural econom ....The History of Asian Australian Cinema: Diaspora, Policy and Ethics. This interdisciplinary project will develop a history of the representation of Asians in Australian cinema. Understanding this history promotes an engaged citizenry, facilitates intercultural communication and strengthens Australia's social fabric. It will enhance Australia's capacity to engage in the Asian region. Examining the creative film developments of Asian Australian filmmakers will promote an innovative cultural economy. The study on how film agencies and archives have managed Asian Australian cinema is a resource for policy and film makers in the industry. The new diasporic cinema studies framework developed will consolidate Australia's established reputation in cinema studies and advance international film scholarship.Read moreRead less
Only at the movies: mapping the contemporary Australian cinema market. Only at the movies? is a three-year project that asks: What is the enduring appeal of cinemagoing and how is it changing? It will provide detailed analyses of formal film exhibition and distribution in Australia by combining economic, cultural and geospatial research with industry expertise.
Between Film and Art: An International Study of Intermedial Cinema. This study of new forms of digital, intermedial art will lead to a greater understanding of the position of film in the 21st Century. It will make a major contribution to the history of aesthetics and our understanding of the role of art in contemporary societies. It will raise the international profile of Australia's contribution to theory, criticism and creative practice in the fields of cinema and art, with its investigative ....Between Film and Art: An International Study of Intermedial Cinema. This study of new forms of digital, intermedial art will lead to a greater understanding of the position of film in the 21st Century. It will make a major contribution to the history of aesthetics and our understanding of the role of art in contemporary societies. It will raise the international profile of Australia's contribution to theory, criticism and creative practice in the fields of cinema and art, with its investigative team bringing inputs from Australia, Hong Kong and France. Within Australia, it will nurture an interdisciplinary, collaborative approach to understanding, making and exhibiting the newest audiovisual art forms.Read moreRead less
Superheroes: Creative Force, Cultural Zeitgeist and Transmedia Phenomenon. Since their emergence in 1938 comic book heroes have become imbedded in our popular culture, becoming part of our modern mythology. In each form and every generation these characters serve as cultural signposts, articulating our loftiest ideals and deep-seated anxieties. The project aims to explore the historic, creative and artistic development of the genre across multiple media and its political and social significance. ....Superheroes: Creative Force, Cultural Zeitgeist and Transmedia Phenomenon. Since their emergence in 1938 comic book heroes have become imbedded in our popular culture, becoming part of our modern mythology. In each form and every generation these characters serve as cultural signposts, articulating our loftiest ideals and deep-seated anxieties. The project aims to explore the historic, creative and artistic development of the genre across multiple media and its political and social significance. The genre has been enormously successful in film, with the top 100 films accounting for approximately $13 billion in profit for the companies that produced them. The project will explore how the successful transmedia crossover further offers insight into the strategies that drive creative industries such as film, television, video games and comics. The project will work with the Australian Centre for the Moving Image to develop a Melbourne Winter Masterpiece exhibition and a series of research projects, public events and an international conference to engage both the general public and academics.Read moreRead less
Children of Frankenstein: Science Fiction, Automata and the Emergence of Robot Realities. Entertainment technologies are integral to everyday life and they play a crucial role in acclimatizing the public to new technologies. This project provides a unique account of the role played by creative industries in developing cutting-edge technologies that include robots, and film and computer game special effects that rely on artificial intelligence. The computer game industry in Australia is developin ....Children of Frankenstein: Science Fiction, Automata and the Emergence of Robot Realities. Entertainment technologies are integral to everyday life and they play a crucial role in acclimatizing the public to new technologies. This project provides a unique account of the role played by creative industries in developing cutting-edge technologies that include robots, and film and computer game special effects that rely on artificial intelligence. The computer game industry in Australia is developing into a very profitable industry and attracts an audience far greater than that of the cinema. Like film effects designers, game programmers are implementing artificial intelligence into their games. By considering Australian industries within an international context, much can be learned about our role as innovators on a global scale.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160101138
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$333,000.00
Summary
Cinema and the brain: Eisenstein-Vygotsky-Luria’s collaboration. This project aims to investigate an important collaboration between a leading filmmaker, a neuroscientist and a psychologist: the revolutionary Russian filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein, the founder of contemporary neuroscience Alexander Luria, and the cultural psychologist Lev Vygotsky. These three pioneers conducted a research program from the 1920s to the 1940s that addressed the neural basis and semiotics of screen aesthetics. This ....Cinema and the brain: Eisenstein-Vygotsky-Luria’s collaboration. This project aims to investigate an important collaboration between a leading filmmaker, a neuroscientist and a psychologist: the revolutionary Russian filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein, the founder of contemporary neuroscience Alexander Luria, and the cultural psychologist Lev Vygotsky. These three pioneers conducted a research program from the 1920s to the 1940s that addressed the neural basis and semiotics of screen aesthetics. This project intends to use this collaboration as a paradigmatic case study, identifying principles underlying the relationship between the brain sciences, cinema theory and psychology. It is expected that the project findings will be applicable in the educational sector, the film industry and in digital media policy and development.Read moreRead less
Projecting Difference: A History of the Practice and Politics of French Cinema since 1980. This cultural history project has dual aims. Firstly, it will examine how French cinema, as a narrative art, has since the late 20th century become a major vector for defining cultural identity (partially eclipsing the role traditionally occupied by literature). On the other hand, it will document and analyse the processes by which cinema practice - diverse and often fractiously critical of existing politi ....Projecting Difference: A History of the Practice and Politics of French Cinema since 1980. This cultural history project has dual aims. Firstly, it will examine how French cinema, as a narrative art, has since the late 20th century become a major vector for defining cultural identity (partially eclipsing the role traditionally occupied by literature). On the other hand, it will document and analyse the processes by which cinema practice - diverse and often fractiously critical of existing political structures - has become a central symbolic weapon in the French State's political defence of cultural autonomy and difference in a globalising world. The resulting synthesis will provide extensive new understanding of the dynamics of contemporary France.Read moreRead less
Empathy and evolution: the history of emotions and the literary and visual representation of animals. A study of emotions in human and animals is a key area of contemporary research in both the sciences and humanities. It has crucial implications for our future. This project will investigate how humans have represented the emotions in literary and visual discourses from the eighteenth-century to the present.