Gunter Lösel | Zurich University of the Arts (original) (raw)
Papers by Gunter Lösel
Das Spiel mit dem Chaos, 2013
Das Spiel mit dem Chaos, 2013
The Routledge Companion to Theatre, Performance, and Cognitive Science, 2018
International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media, 2021
The last 20 years have seen numerous claims and suggestions to overcome purely text-based researc... more The last 20 years have seen numerous claims and suggestions to overcome purely text-based research. In this article I will describe the RESEARCH VIDEO project, that dedicated itself to the exploration of annotated videos as a new form of publication in artistic research. (1) Software development: One part of our team developed a software tool that was optimized for artistic research and allows for a publication as an annotated video. I will describe the features of the software and explain the design decisions that were made throughout the project. I will also point out future demands for this tool. (2) Research standards: Our team continually reflected on the questions of how to meet both academic and artistic needs, trying to shape the research process accordingly. We decided to minimize academic claims to two basic claims-"sharability" and "challengeability" and explored how the research process changes, when these claims are informing each step of the research process. Finally I will discuss suggestions to make a publication as a Research Video comparable to a research paper.
This article describes the use of annotated videos in artistic research, arguing that embodied kn... more This article describes the use of annotated videos in artistic research, arguing that embodied knowledge and performative knowledge call for a temporal medium both for the analysis and the publication of results. The framework for the project "Research Video" is laid out and explained. The article shows different tools and annotation practices. It gives first insights into the development of the prototype for "Research Video".
Liminalities, 2018
In this article Lösel explores the possibilities of machines to improvise, that is, to simulate t... more In this article Lösel explores the possibilities of machines to improvise, that is, to simulate the state a human improvisor, who responds to unpredictable situations in unconventional ways. He examines ways to formalise the "rules" of improvisation and sketches out a cognitive model drawing on Newell's Unified Theory of Cognition that in theory could enable machines to improvise.
Abschlussbericht Research Academy 2019
Filming, Researching, Annotating, 2021
Mein Dank geht an Herrn Prof. Dr. Thomas Mosimann vom Geographischen Institut Hannover, der die A... more Mein Dank geht an Herrn Prof. Dr. Thomas Mosimann vom Geographischen Institut Hannover, der die Arbeit als Erstprüfer freundlicherweise betreut hat, sowie an Herrn Professor Gerald Kuhnt, der das Ko-Referat übernimmt. Herrn Dr. Volker Hennings von der Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR) gilt als Initiator des gesamten Projektes besonderer Dank. Viele Hilfestellungen und eine wohltuende Klarheit, die mir bei mancher Verirrung wieder den Blick geöffnet hat, haben die Arbeit wesentlich erleichtert. Die Kolleginnen und Kollegen der bodenkundlichen Referate B4.24, B4.25 und B4.26 der BGR sowie einige Kollegen aus den bodenkundlichen Referaten des Niedersächsischen Landesamtes für Bodenforschung (NLfB) haben mich in den zurückliegenden Jahren auf unterschiedlichste Weise begleitet und unterstützt und diese Zeit zu einer schönen Wegstrecke werden lassen. Dafür sei Dank. Die Arbeit ist auf der Basis des Forschungsprojektes "Maßstabsübergreifende Optimierung pedoökologischer Grundlagenkarten für die Modellierung von Boden-und Landschaftshaushaltsfunktionen durch Aggregierung und Disaggregierung" bei der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) (Projektkennung: 202531) entstanden. Ohne die gewährte finanzielle Unterstützung wäre das Vorhaben nicht möglich gewesen. Hierfür möchte ich mich bedanken. Mein besonderer Dank geht an meine Familie. Sie hat in einigen Phasen auf meine Anwesenheit verzichten müssen und mir den Rücken freigehalten. Für das Korrekturlesen und gute Gespräche danke ich Ilka, Peter, Stephan, Inga und Regina. Viele Menschen haben mich in den letzten Jahren begleitet und auf ihre Weise unterstützt. Wer sich angesprochen fühlen möchte, kann es hiermit tun. Diese Arbeit wurde mit L A T E X erstellt. Durch die vielfältigen Vorarbeiten bekannter und unbekannter Helfer zu diesem Textsatzsystem konnte ich mich auf die Inhalte konzentrieren und gleichzeitig ein gutes Layout erstellen. Meine Gedanken sind bei meinem Vater, dem die Begleitung dieser Arbeit sicher viel Freude gemacht hätte.
Filming, Researching, Annotating, 2021
Das Spiel mit dem Chaos, 2013
Filmen, Forschen, Annotieren, 2021
Filming, Researching, Annotating, 2021
The handbook Research Video is the introduction to a new kind of software and publication based o... more The handbook Research Video is the introduction to a new kind of software and publication based on annotated videos. Practitioners and researchers who work with motion data, such as those from the fields of performative art, film, behavioral research or sports science, are supported in their work process and are given the opportunity to feed in content that a printed book cannot convey. Introduction to the novel form of publication, based on annotated videos. Low-threshold manual as a supplement for new, interactive software. Tool for researchers and practitioners working with motion data.
Das Handbuch Research Video ist die Einführung in eine neuartige Software und Publikationsform, d... more Das Handbuch Research Video ist die Einführung in eine neuartige Software und Publikationsform, die auf annotierten Videos basiert. Praktizierende und Forschende, die mit Bewegungsdaten arbeiten, wie etwa in Sparten performative Kunst, Film, Verhaltensforschung oder Sportwissenschaft, werden in ihrem Arbeitsprozess unterstützt und bekommen die Möglichkeit, Inhalte verfügbar zu machen, die ein gedrucktes Buch nicht vermitteln kann. Einführung in die neuartige Publikationsform, basierend auf annotierten Videos. Niederschwelliges Handbuch als Ergänzung für neue, interaktive Software. Werkzeug für Forschende und Praktizierende, die mit Bewegungsdaten arbeiten.
We felt-and still feel-that this is an important issue, as certain forms of knowledge and knowled... more We felt-and still feel-that this is an important issue, as certain forms of knowledge and knowledge generation appear to be disadvantaged in the current text-based system for publications. To get a direct impression of the tool and how it works, please visit our website: For more than 100 years film and video have been a crucial part of research in various fields like ethnography, sport science, and behavioral sciences, and now increasingly in the field of artistic and design research. With the rise of digitalization and video platforms, they start to unfold their potential as ways to generate new knowledge, share results, and challenge traditional, text-based forms of publication. Videos are present in every step of research, from video abstracts to data collection, data analysis, interpretation, publication, and the presentation of research. How will this scenario change the way we generate new knowledge? Can a video (or an annotated video) be the sole output of an academic investigation? How will it change the way we share and challenge new knowledge with other researchers and with the public? How can we build up trustworthiness within video-based research and how can we validate it? Research in fields such as art and design might be at the beginning of a long-term transformation from text-based to enhanced, multimedia practices of publication. The interplay of audiovisual material and language/text has already generated new formats such as video essays or annotated videos and will presumably lead to more formats that will reshape our thinking. Among others they will enable new forms of looking and reflecting on performative practices like theater, dance, and performance art, fostering particular modes of understanding tacit, embodied, and performative knowledges that may help research ers arrive at fresh insights. This calls for new ways of publishing that remix video and text, possibly altering hierarchies, turning video into the primary media and text into the secondary. Our intention was not only to develop a digital tool, but also to describe the entire research process under the premise that at the end an annotated video would be published. We hypothe-Research Video This model displays the research process as a sequence of transformed data (→ fig. 01). The original event (e.g. a performance) is transformed into a document (e.g., a video), which is transformed into a corpus of enriched data. Through analysis this big corpus is transformed into a selected corpus of reduced data, which then is the basis for the last transformation into a format of publication. Looking at the research process this way allowed us to be agnostic as to specific traditions of research: no matter what kind of data the research is dealing with, the underlying process stays the same. It also allowed us to trace back the impact of the anticipated output on every step of the transformation process. There are (at least) four transformations to be made (T1, T2, T3, T4) and we identified the according practices (→ fig. 02). We later added a fifth practice as it proved to be important in the use cases. Getting access to the field can be a crucial first step of research and requires a lot of sensibility and time. This book will roughly follow this sequence of practices in the model. Chapter 3 addresses with field access, Chapter 4 describes basic practices of video capture, and Chapter 5 covers important aspects of video editing. In Chapter 6 we present and discuss the practices of analyzing and reducing data and finally in Chapters 7, 8, and 9 we take a look at practices that lead to publication. In each of these chapters, we describe our solutions as found in applying the Research Video tool in the use cases. From Reader to Viewer? How will a person consume a Research Video? Of course, they will not be in the traditional role of a reader. On the other hand, they will not simply play the video as in a film performance. In fact the misunderstanding we most often encountered with the Research Video is the idea that the additional written information would display synchronously with the video, similar to subtitles. However, the amount of information necessary for scientific depth makes this impossible in principle, in our opinion. Reading or viewing the Research Video must therefore be thought of as a constant alternation between watching the video and reading the annotations.
Filmen, Forschen, Annotieren, 2021
Das Spiel mit dem Chaos, 2013
Das Spiel mit dem Chaos, 2013
The Routledge Companion to Theatre, Performance, and Cognitive Science, 2018
International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media, 2021
The last 20 years have seen numerous claims and suggestions to overcome purely text-based researc... more The last 20 years have seen numerous claims and suggestions to overcome purely text-based research. In this article I will describe the RESEARCH VIDEO project, that dedicated itself to the exploration of annotated videos as a new form of publication in artistic research. (1) Software development: One part of our team developed a software tool that was optimized for artistic research and allows for a publication as an annotated video. I will describe the features of the software and explain the design decisions that were made throughout the project. I will also point out future demands for this tool. (2) Research standards: Our team continually reflected on the questions of how to meet both academic and artistic needs, trying to shape the research process accordingly. We decided to minimize academic claims to two basic claims-"sharability" and "challengeability" and explored how the research process changes, when these claims are informing each step of the research process. Finally I will discuss suggestions to make a publication as a Research Video comparable to a research paper.
This article describes the use of annotated videos in artistic research, arguing that embodied kn... more This article describes the use of annotated videos in artistic research, arguing that embodied knowledge and performative knowledge call for a temporal medium both for the analysis and the publication of results. The framework for the project "Research Video" is laid out and explained. The article shows different tools and annotation practices. It gives first insights into the development of the prototype for "Research Video".
Liminalities, 2018
In this article Lösel explores the possibilities of machines to improvise, that is, to simulate t... more In this article Lösel explores the possibilities of machines to improvise, that is, to simulate the state a human improvisor, who responds to unpredictable situations in unconventional ways. He examines ways to formalise the "rules" of improvisation and sketches out a cognitive model drawing on Newell's Unified Theory of Cognition that in theory could enable machines to improvise.
Abschlussbericht Research Academy 2019
Filming, Researching, Annotating, 2021
Mein Dank geht an Herrn Prof. Dr. Thomas Mosimann vom Geographischen Institut Hannover, der die A... more Mein Dank geht an Herrn Prof. Dr. Thomas Mosimann vom Geographischen Institut Hannover, der die Arbeit als Erstprüfer freundlicherweise betreut hat, sowie an Herrn Professor Gerald Kuhnt, der das Ko-Referat übernimmt. Herrn Dr. Volker Hennings von der Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR) gilt als Initiator des gesamten Projektes besonderer Dank. Viele Hilfestellungen und eine wohltuende Klarheit, die mir bei mancher Verirrung wieder den Blick geöffnet hat, haben die Arbeit wesentlich erleichtert. Die Kolleginnen und Kollegen der bodenkundlichen Referate B4.24, B4.25 und B4.26 der BGR sowie einige Kollegen aus den bodenkundlichen Referaten des Niedersächsischen Landesamtes für Bodenforschung (NLfB) haben mich in den zurückliegenden Jahren auf unterschiedlichste Weise begleitet und unterstützt und diese Zeit zu einer schönen Wegstrecke werden lassen. Dafür sei Dank. Die Arbeit ist auf der Basis des Forschungsprojektes "Maßstabsübergreifende Optimierung pedoökologischer Grundlagenkarten für die Modellierung von Boden-und Landschaftshaushaltsfunktionen durch Aggregierung und Disaggregierung" bei der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) (Projektkennung: 202531) entstanden. Ohne die gewährte finanzielle Unterstützung wäre das Vorhaben nicht möglich gewesen. Hierfür möchte ich mich bedanken. Mein besonderer Dank geht an meine Familie. Sie hat in einigen Phasen auf meine Anwesenheit verzichten müssen und mir den Rücken freigehalten. Für das Korrekturlesen und gute Gespräche danke ich Ilka, Peter, Stephan, Inga und Regina. Viele Menschen haben mich in den letzten Jahren begleitet und auf ihre Weise unterstützt. Wer sich angesprochen fühlen möchte, kann es hiermit tun. Diese Arbeit wurde mit L A T E X erstellt. Durch die vielfältigen Vorarbeiten bekannter und unbekannter Helfer zu diesem Textsatzsystem konnte ich mich auf die Inhalte konzentrieren und gleichzeitig ein gutes Layout erstellen. Meine Gedanken sind bei meinem Vater, dem die Begleitung dieser Arbeit sicher viel Freude gemacht hätte.
Filming, Researching, Annotating, 2021
Das Spiel mit dem Chaos, 2013
Filmen, Forschen, Annotieren, 2021
Filming, Researching, Annotating, 2021
The handbook Research Video is the introduction to a new kind of software and publication based o... more The handbook Research Video is the introduction to a new kind of software and publication based on annotated videos. Practitioners and researchers who work with motion data, such as those from the fields of performative art, film, behavioral research or sports science, are supported in their work process and are given the opportunity to feed in content that a printed book cannot convey. Introduction to the novel form of publication, based on annotated videos. Low-threshold manual as a supplement for new, interactive software. Tool for researchers and practitioners working with motion data.
Das Handbuch Research Video ist die Einführung in eine neuartige Software und Publikationsform, d... more Das Handbuch Research Video ist die Einführung in eine neuartige Software und Publikationsform, die auf annotierten Videos basiert. Praktizierende und Forschende, die mit Bewegungsdaten arbeiten, wie etwa in Sparten performative Kunst, Film, Verhaltensforschung oder Sportwissenschaft, werden in ihrem Arbeitsprozess unterstützt und bekommen die Möglichkeit, Inhalte verfügbar zu machen, die ein gedrucktes Buch nicht vermitteln kann. Einführung in die neuartige Publikationsform, basierend auf annotierten Videos. Niederschwelliges Handbuch als Ergänzung für neue, interaktive Software. Werkzeug für Forschende und Praktizierende, die mit Bewegungsdaten arbeiten.
We felt-and still feel-that this is an important issue, as certain forms of knowledge and knowled... more We felt-and still feel-that this is an important issue, as certain forms of knowledge and knowledge generation appear to be disadvantaged in the current text-based system for publications. To get a direct impression of the tool and how it works, please visit our website: For more than 100 years film and video have been a crucial part of research in various fields like ethnography, sport science, and behavioral sciences, and now increasingly in the field of artistic and design research. With the rise of digitalization and video platforms, they start to unfold their potential as ways to generate new knowledge, share results, and challenge traditional, text-based forms of publication. Videos are present in every step of research, from video abstracts to data collection, data analysis, interpretation, publication, and the presentation of research. How will this scenario change the way we generate new knowledge? Can a video (or an annotated video) be the sole output of an academic investigation? How will it change the way we share and challenge new knowledge with other researchers and with the public? How can we build up trustworthiness within video-based research and how can we validate it? Research in fields such as art and design might be at the beginning of a long-term transformation from text-based to enhanced, multimedia practices of publication. The interplay of audiovisual material and language/text has already generated new formats such as video essays or annotated videos and will presumably lead to more formats that will reshape our thinking. Among others they will enable new forms of looking and reflecting on performative practices like theater, dance, and performance art, fostering particular modes of understanding tacit, embodied, and performative knowledges that may help research ers arrive at fresh insights. This calls for new ways of publishing that remix video and text, possibly altering hierarchies, turning video into the primary media and text into the secondary. Our intention was not only to develop a digital tool, but also to describe the entire research process under the premise that at the end an annotated video would be published. We hypothe-Research Video This model displays the research process as a sequence of transformed data (→ fig. 01). The original event (e.g. a performance) is transformed into a document (e.g., a video), which is transformed into a corpus of enriched data. Through analysis this big corpus is transformed into a selected corpus of reduced data, which then is the basis for the last transformation into a format of publication. Looking at the research process this way allowed us to be agnostic as to specific traditions of research: no matter what kind of data the research is dealing with, the underlying process stays the same. It also allowed us to trace back the impact of the anticipated output on every step of the transformation process. There are (at least) four transformations to be made (T1, T2, T3, T4) and we identified the according practices (→ fig. 02). We later added a fifth practice as it proved to be important in the use cases. Getting access to the field can be a crucial first step of research and requires a lot of sensibility and time. This book will roughly follow this sequence of practices in the model. Chapter 3 addresses with field access, Chapter 4 describes basic practices of video capture, and Chapter 5 covers important aspects of video editing. In Chapter 6 we present and discuss the practices of analyzing and reducing data and finally in Chapters 7, 8, and 9 we take a look at practices that lead to publication. In each of these chapters, we describe our solutions as found in applying the Research Video tool in the use cases. From Reader to Viewer? How will a person consume a Research Video? Of course, they will not be in the traditional role of a reader. On the other hand, they will not simply play the video as in a film performance. In fact the misunderstanding we most often encountered with the Research Video is the idea that the additional written information would display synchronously with the video, similar to subtitles. However, the amount of information necessary for scientific depth makes this impossible in principle, in our opinion. Reading or viewing the Research Video must therefore be thought of as a constant alternation between watching the video and reading the annotations.
Filmen, Forschen, Annotieren, 2021