John Ellis | Royal Holloway, University of London (original) (raw)
Papers by John Ellis
Critical Studies in Television: The International Journal of Television Studies, 2012
An innovative essay combining writing and moving images, examining a recreation of the processes ... more An innovative essay combining writing and moving images, examining a recreation of the processes involved when a 16mm film crew, composed of retired BBC technicians, set up an interview, using the equipment that they used in the 1960s. Their work was filmed using 4 cameras for the ADAPT research project, funded by the European Research Council.
Le Temps des médias, 2010
This is a post-publication version of the article originally published in Cinema, Television & History: New Approaches. Mee, L. & Walker, J. (eds.). Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Cambridge Scholars, p. 12-24 12 p., 2014
Digital remediation is changing how we can research old moving image material, but it also means ... more Digital remediation is changing how we can research old moving image material, but it also means that we lose sight of how that material was created. Seeing history as a just as much a form of storytelling as narrative fiction (and fact, for that matter), the article interrogates the assertions that 'all films are documentaries', 'all films are texts' and 'all films are data' in order to propose new approaches to the history of and with moving images.
Television has seen vast technological changes since 1960. In 1960, the revolutionary technologie... more Television has seen vast technological changes since 1960. In 1960, the revolutionary technologies were two-inch videotape and 16mm film with synched tape-recorded sound. Tape and film editing gave way to non-linear post-production in the 1990s. Now we have tapeless production in high definition.
Digitisation of historic TV material is driven by the widespread perception that archival materia... more Digitisation of historic TV material is driven by the widespread perception that archival material should be made available to diverse users. Yet digitisation alters the material, taking away any lingering sense of presence. Digitisation and online access, however, offer startling new possibilities. The article offers three: use of material in language teaching and learning; use in dementia therapy; and applications as data in medical research. All depend on ordinary TV for their effectivity.
Defining interstitials and the various roles they play; how they invade programmes; how they prov... more Defining interstitials and the various roles they play; how they invade programmes; how they provide guidance on how to watch TV
Digital technologies have transfrmed documentary for both filmmakers and audiences. 'Documentary:... more Digital technologies have transfrmed documentary for both filmmakers and audiences. 'Documentary: Witness and Self-revelation' takes an audience-centred approach to documentary, arguing that everyday experiences of what it feels like to film and be filmed have developed a new sophistication and scepticism in today's viewers. The book argues that documentary has developed a new third phase of its century-long history: films now tend to document the encoutnerrs between filmmakers (or 'filmers') and the filmed. It then asks whether those sceptical viewers truly understand the complex ineractions that take place when the cameras and sound recorrders are turned on...
Now that almost all viewers of factual footage have experience both of filming and being filmed, ... more Now that almost all viewers of factual footage have experience both of filming and being filmed, they have become much more critical of what they see. This is the real impact of the digital revolution: it has made us aware of the distinct nature of audio-visual witnessing
Television must concentrate on what it does uniquely and well, just as cinema was forced to conce... more Television must concentrate on what it does uniquely and well, just as cinema was forced to concentrate on the feature film when TV came along, dropping newsreels etc. TV aggregates audiences. TV imposes a schedule, providing a sernse of currency. TV creates a general collectivity with a distinct character: generality and anonymity. So TV will have abandon to more suitable media functions such as spot advertising, 24 hour news, local broadcasting...
In a revised edition of this unique work, John Ellis combines an examination of the cinema and te... more In a revised edition of this unique work, John Ellis combines an examination of the cinema and television industries with a detailed analysis of their aesthetic and semiotic characteristics. Visible Fictions explores new developments in the theory of narrative and ...
A heavy set man stands on a blazing Callaghan Bridge, surrounded by the sounds of early morning L... more A heavy set man stands on a blazing Callaghan Bridge, surrounded by the sounds of early morning Liberty City. He's just escaped from an exploding prison van, and fellow escapee '8-ball' is asking him to drive to a hide-out in the red light district. Then the frantic action stops, and it is now ...
... Page 10. SEEING THINGS At the same time, television has participated in the development of po... more ... Page 10. SEEING THINGS At the same time, television has participated in the development of post-war consumer society. ... The first era of scarcity coincided with and promoted a period of stan-dardized mass market consumerism. ...
BLOGS by John Ellis
On the emerging different forms of the 'audiovisual essay' and offering an example of a hybrid fo... more On the emerging different forms of the 'audiovisual essay' and offering an example of a hybrid form integrating writing and audiovisual quotation
Instant reaction to the White Paper on the BBC's charter 12 May 2016
Reporting on the Hands on History conference organized by my ADAPT research project, London 8-10 ... more Reporting on the Hands on History conference organized by my ADAPT research project, London 8-10 February 2016.
Shows what theory and practice cannot be separated as they so often are... and takes issue with the concept of "the dispositive"
Critical Studies in Television: The International Journal of Television Studies, 2012
An innovative essay combining writing and moving images, examining a recreation of the processes ... more An innovative essay combining writing and moving images, examining a recreation of the processes involved when a 16mm film crew, composed of retired BBC technicians, set up an interview, using the equipment that they used in the 1960s. Their work was filmed using 4 cameras for the ADAPT research project, funded by the European Research Council.
Le Temps des médias, 2010
This is a post-publication version of the article originally published in Cinema, Television & History: New Approaches. Mee, L. & Walker, J. (eds.). Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Cambridge Scholars, p. 12-24 12 p., 2014
Digital remediation is changing how we can research old moving image material, but it also means ... more Digital remediation is changing how we can research old moving image material, but it also means that we lose sight of how that material was created. Seeing history as a just as much a form of storytelling as narrative fiction (and fact, for that matter), the article interrogates the assertions that 'all films are documentaries', 'all films are texts' and 'all films are data' in order to propose new approaches to the history of and with moving images.
Television has seen vast technological changes since 1960. In 1960, the revolutionary technologie... more Television has seen vast technological changes since 1960. In 1960, the revolutionary technologies were two-inch videotape and 16mm film with synched tape-recorded sound. Tape and film editing gave way to non-linear post-production in the 1990s. Now we have tapeless production in high definition.
Digitisation of historic TV material is driven by the widespread perception that archival materia... more Digitisation of historic TV material is driven by the widespread perception that archival material should be made available to diverse users. Yet digitisation alters the material, taking away any lingering sense of presence. Digitisation and online access, however, offer startling new possibilities. The article offers three: use of material in language teaching and learning; use in dementia therapy; and applications as data in medical research. All depend on ordinary TV for their effectivity.
Defining interstitials and the various roles they play; how they invade programmes; how they prov... more Defining interstitials and the various roles they play; how they invade programmes; how they provide guidance on how to watch TV
Digital technologies have transfrmed documentary for both filmmakers and audiences. 'Documentary:... more Digital technologies have transfrmed documentary for both filmmakers and audiences. 'Documentary: Witness and Self-revelation' takes an audience-centred approach to documentary, arguing that everyday experiences of what it feels like to film and be filmed have developed a new sophistication and scepticism in today's viewers. The book argues that documentary has developed a new third phase of its century-long history: films now tend to document the encoutnerrs between filmmakers (or 'filmers') and the filmed. It then asks whether those sceptical viewers truly understand the complex ineractions that take place when the cameras and sound recorrders are turned on...
Now that almost all viewers of factual footage have experience both of filming and being filmed, ... more Now that almost all viewers of factual footage have experience both of filming and being filmed, they have become much more critical of what they see. This is the real impact of the digital revolution: it has made us aware of the distinct nature of audio-visual witnessing
Television must concentrate on what it does uniquely and well, just as cinema was forced to conce... more Television must concentrate on what it does uniquely and well, just as cinema was forced to concentrate on the feature film when TV came along, dropping newsreels etc. TV aggregates audiences. TV imposes a schedule, providing a sernse of currency. TV creates a general collectivity with a distinct character: generality and anonymity. So TV will have abandon to more suitable media functions such as spot advertising, 24 hour news, local broadcasting...
In a revised edition of this unique work, John Ellis combines an examination of the cinema and te... more In a revised edition of this unique work, John Ellis combines an examination of the cinema and television industries with a detailed analysis of their aesthetic and semiotic characteristics. Visible Fictions explores new developments in the theory of narrative and ...
A heavy set man stands on a blazing Callaghan Bridge, surrounded by the sounds of early morning L... more A heavy set man stands on a blazing Callaghan Bridge, surrounded by the sounds of early morning Liberty City. He's just escaped from an exploding prison van, and fellow escapee '8-ball' is asking him to drive to a hide-out in the red light district. Then the frantic action stops, and it is now ...
... Page 10. SEEING THINGS At the same time, television has participated in the development of po... more ... Page 10. SEEING THINGS At the same time, television has participated in the development of post-war consumer society. ... The first era of scarcity coincided with and promoted a period of stan-dardized mass market consumerism. ...
On the emerging different forms of the 'audiovisual essay' and offering an example of a hybrid fo... more On the emerging different forms of the 'audiovisual essay' and offering an example of a hybrid form integrating writing and audiovisual quotation
Instant reaction to the White Paper on the BBC's charter 12 May 2016
Reporting on the Hands on History conference organized by my ADAPT research project, London 8-10 ... more Reporting on the Hands on History conference organized by my ADAPT research project, London 8-10 February 2016.
Shows what theory and practice cannot be separated as they so often are... and takes issue with the concept of "the dispositive"
A website devoted the UK independent production company, Large Door, which produced 'Visions' (19... more A website devoted the UK independent production company, Large Door, which produced 'Visions' (1982-5), Channel 4's first series devoted to world cinema; 'Brazil: Beyond Citizen Kane' (1993), the definitive history of TV Globo; Angela Carter's last work 'The Holy Family Album' (1991); 'The Man Who Ruined the British Film Industry' (1996); 'French Cooking in Ten Minutes' and much more. The site links to all these programmes and includes material about them.
From the ERC funded ADAPT project, camera person David Whitson demonstrates the Eclair camera he ... more From the ERC funded ADAPT project, camera person David Whitson demonstrates the Eclair camera he used to shoot BBC documentaries in the 1960s and 1970s