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Poster for Commentary

Commentary

1980 · 1 min

A brief, ambiguous video experiment that feels like peering through a peephole at someone quietly wrestling with the screen.

Overview
“Made just before Around & About, this work is something of a ‘manifesto in jest’ against television…. I’m a sit-in viewer looking slightly up at the screen making simple gestures into the camera. The mood is ambiguous as I seem to be watching a mirror, covering my face, reaching out to the camera, obstructing my head with a harsh (interrogator’s) lamp, and maybe more. The image, distorted through a fisheye lens, gives the impression of a concave monitor, as if the whole act were seen through a peephole or pinhole camera. In some sense I ‘play’ both sides of the screen—performer and viewer attempting to ‘connect’ either way. As ‘commentary’ it’s two-way, making it also a commentary on commentary.”

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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
    Pacing
    measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
    Attention
    demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
    Themes
    • media
    • identity
    • isolation
    Places
    None
    Era
    contemporary
    Audience
    adult
    Form
    • single location
    Content intensity
    • Gore none
    • Language none
    • Violence none
    • Sex none
    All scales, 0 to 10
    Scales, 0 to 10
    ScaleValue0 to 10
    Action0
    Horror1
    Humour2
    Realism6
    Romance0
    Tension2
    Darkness3
    Complexity7
    Emotional weight3

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    Where to watch in the UK

    No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

    Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

    Details

    Genres
    documentary
    Directed by
    Gary Hill
    Runtime
    1 min
    Country
    United States of America

    TMDB