Study of Cinema Verite

Cinema VeritÐ"©

The camera was developed to capture life in its essence. Over time, filmmakers moved away from this sentiment and left reality behind the scenes. However, the Cinema VeritÐ"© movement strived to bring life to the people through video. TV Land and Cinema VeritÐ"©: Defining the Moment are two documentaries that depict this revolutionary art form and its' effect on the world.

While different in structure and overall goal, both films document the history of the Cinema VeritÐ"© movement. Labeled as experimental art, video art, guerilla television, and computer art, the goals of the movement were to "film truth" as actually expressed through its' formal title. The artists were interested in presenting the truth but through a skewed, experimental and spontaneous point of view. In the 1960's, a Korean composer and artist by the name of Nam June Paik began the video revolution. He aimed to remove all preconceived notions of television and art. After moving to the United States, Paik became the forerunner for this movement. One of his early works, Magnet TV challenged viewers to reexamine media. Paik placed a piece of furniture on the set as a work of art. He then took a magnet and altered the polarity of the cathode-ray tube, altering the image on screen. In TV Land, the audience experiences this moment and gets the chance 'to be part' of this passionate and thrilling moment. It is evident that each member within this community desired to learn, grow and change society through their art as seen in the footage. Another piece of work, Something Pacific shows a statue of Buddha facing itself on closed circuit television.

TV Land gives the audience insight into incredible moments of time when the limits of the imaginations stretch, such as when Paik became the first owner of the Sony Portopak. It is one thing to learn the history, but to gain access to such a personal moment is moving. The first portable videotape recorder, the Portopak, gave filmmakers and artists the flexibility they needed. The portable camera allowed Paik to film anything and everything, including the Pope's motorcade parade, which he filmed on the first day he had it. The low cost and portability gave the experimental artists access to daily life, which was at the heart of the movement.

Paik began to work with WNET in New York City where he felt he had "the license to create". Working with such leaders as John Godfrey, Howard Klein, and David Loxton, Cinema VeritÐ"© work exploded on mainstream television sets. Global Groove began with a voiceover expressing to viewers that this program is representative of the future, when you will be able to watch any channel from all over the globe. Rock and roll dance, mixed with images of global villages, artists, musicians, or live theatre Global Groove created a dreamlike space that transcended the screen. Shuya Abe and Paik also created the first video synthesizer, which produced random, uncommon and indefinable images. During Global Groove the images were manipulated, layered, colored, and shifted. Through technology, creativity, and sheer courageousness, Paik turned television