Quantification and Substitution: The Abstract Space of Virtual Cinematography

Abstract

In order to assign space value and enter it into an exchange economy, capitalism works to reduce it to an abstract plan. Writing about this process, Henri Lefebvre coins the term 'abstract space' and describes the logics of this kind of space in detail. These logics are also at work in the digitally animated spaces of virtual cinematography, such as those used in The Matrix Reloaded (Andy and Larry Wachowski, 2003). Creating totalized, predictable spaces and populating them with highly instrumental and manageable digital replacements of actors (sometimes known as synthespians), virtual cinematography takes space and individuals to be open to geometric abstraction. Using Lefebvre's work to interpret this virtual spatial production allows a critical evaluation of the motives and consequences of this kind of computer animation to take place, and emphasizes the manner in which virtual cinematography joins up with other visual systems of spatial representation and quantification.

Far from Houdini: The ‘Magic’ of the VFX Breakdown

“…Objects with apparent physical weight turn into translucent wireframes and the various pieces that make up their final form are isolated, removed and/or rotated. The finished shot's camera positioning and movements may be retained, or the breakdown may freeze the shot in order to turn it into a kind of three-dimensional digital space, with the virtual camera now swooping through and around computer-generated objects in the manner of virtual cinematography (Jones, 2013). All of this shows us the presence and scale of VFX in a given text.…”

From Analog to Virtual: Visual Stylizations of Humanoid Characters Across Media

“…Abstraction regarding animation or movement per se can also be seen in Eadweard Muybridge's the Animal Locomotion series (1887). "By extracting a subject, be they a horse or a human, from their normal environment and placing them within a seemingly neutral place, these studies asserted their status as rational abstractions of things immeasurable to the naked eye" [22]. Jones [22] adds that the use of motion capture is also an act of abstraction, as visual information from the motion capture based on the original data can be rearranged differently.…”

“…"By extracting a subject, be they a horse or a human, from their normal environment and placing them within a seemingly neutral place, these studies asserted their status as rational abstractions of things immeasurable to the naked eye" [22]. Jones [22] adds that the use of motion capture is also an act of abstraction, as visual information from the motion capture based on the original data can be rearranged differently. The following section discusses visual representations of several popular movies, television shows, and video games characters.…”