CFP: The Velvet Light Trap #56

[Jonathan M. Hall]

 CFP: The Velvet Light Trap #56

CALL FOR PAPERS

The Velvet Light Trap

A Critical Journal of Film & Television

Issue Number 56, Fall 2004

Issue Theme: DVDs

Less than a decade after their entry into the market, the impact of DVDs has
already become visible in media production strategies, legal and economic
policy, marketing and distribution, exhibition environments, and audience
reception habits. Decisions on style and content during shooting of film and
television programs increasingly take into consideration possibilities for
cross-media consumption. Recent years have also seen increased visibility of
short forms such as making-of documentaries and other ?bonus features.?
Direct to consumer sales have created lucrative markets for otherwise
marginal
films and television programs and have affected habits of consumption.  The
home viewing environment, finally, opens possibilities for interfaces with
other end-user entertainment technologies.

The Velvet Light Trap invites papers exploring issues surrounding DVD
technology as part of audiovisual culture and practice.  In addition to
papers
focusing on technology, we seek papers that examine DVDs in relation to
questions of aesthetics, narrative construction, genre, production,
promotion/distribution, exhibition, and reception--including issues of
economic
consumption and cultural use--from local, national, or global perspectives.

Possible topics may include, but are not limited to:

?  History of technology/emergence of DVD format, with respect to economic,
legal, technological, or cultural issues: What noteworthy technological
precursors influenced the format?  What industry concerns have shaped the
development and marketing of DVDs? What legal battles and cultural
discourses
have surrounded the technology?s emergence?  How have anticipated uses and
struggles over use affected its development?



? How is DVD technology designed to interface with other elements of the
expanding ?home theater? environment (HDTV, MP3 players, home stereos, etc)?



?  Role(s) of region-specific technology: how is this technology being used
to
define markets for distribution; what are the possible effects on production
style?  What impact might new region-free systems have on the economics of
distribution, production decisions, and global flow of cultural products?



?  Copyright protection: what debates have emerged around DVD technology in
terms of intellectual property and legal issues such as piracy and fair use?



? Short forms and "bonus features" (making-of documentaries, "easter eggs,"
etc): what new formats, aesthetic parameters, or even genres have emerged
with
the rise of DVDs?  Do these short forms offer new professional and creative
possibilities for production staff?



?  Cross-media production: what synergistic advantages are being exploited
in
releases of the same story concept in different versions on different media
platforms (films, games, home video)?  How are notions of the closed text
being
challenged by such modes of cross-media production?



?  Effects on experimental filmmaking: what has the reaction to new
technology
been among "experimental" filmmakers (so-called independents, art films,
guerilla, or underground filmmakers)?  Does it open up new possibilities for
otherwise marginal filmmakers, or has it worked to further marginalize these
groups?



?  Effects on alternative exhibition venues: have DVDs offered low-cost
alternatives for community cinemas?  What, if any, contribution are they
making
to grass-roots political movements?



?  Changing exhibition environments: How are films being marketed for home
viewing?  Are DVD sales being used to offset production costs for otherwise
marginal films?  What changes in aesthetics or narrational style are
resulting
from efforts to accommodate home viewing environments (e.g. sound designs
made
to work on both multiplex and home entertainment systems)?



? Straight-to-DVD movies and programs: has the phenomenon of using VHS
technology for straight-to-video productions carried over into DVD releases?
Will it help to create new local genres and offer directors opportunities
for
career advancement / alternative career paths?  What kind of production
modes
are emerging for straight-to-DVD releases?



?  Changes in habits of consumption motivated by shift from former 2-tier
(VHS)
pricing system favoring rentals to emphasis on direct sales to consumers
(USA):
what new strategies in rental industries have resulted?  Is this shift in
emphasis encouraging a new culture of collecting?



?  TV on DVD: how do DVD sales figures affect which programs are canceled,
continued, revived, or make the jump to the big screen? Are expanded sales
through direct-to-consumer marketing fueling the rise of 'boutique' labels
that
give certain programs added prestige value over others?



?  Reception: has emphasis on direct-to-consumer sales of television
programs
opened up new audiences?  Has it changed the face of fan cultures, helping,
for
example to solidify or expand a fan base for ?cult series? such as Buffy,
Star
Trek, or Freaks and Geeks?  Has it further entrenched the popularity of
other,
more mainstream shows such as Friends? Is there a new type of film and TV
criticism emerging with criteria for extras and technical level of DVD
releases?



?  Ontology of the 'original': how is the release of alternative versions
and
director's cuts challenging notions of the 'real' or 'original' work?  What
effect does digitally 'cleaning up' images or converting old soundtracks for
newer home entertainment systems (stereo, surround sound, etc) have on
understandings of old 'classics'?



?  Changing face of the archive: what films are being preserved; which films
are not?  How is this changing the traditional canon or notion of the
"classics"?  What economic and technological issues inform problems of
archiving with DVDs?



?  Pedagogy: how are DVDs being used for instructional purposes?  Are they
changing teaching styles or enabling new possibilities for instruction?





Papers should be approximately 7500 words long (roughly 20-25 pages
double-spaced), plus bibliography and endnotes, in MLA format. Please submit
three copies of the paper, plus a one-page abstract with each copy, in a
format
suitable to be sent to a reader anonymously. Papers should be accompanied by
a
cover page which includes the author?s name and contact information. Papers
not
formatted in MLA style and carefully proofread will not be considered for
publication.  Submissions for the Fall 2005 issue will be reviewed by the
Wisconsin Editorial Office. All submissions published in the Velvet Light
Trap
are first approved by the journal's Editorial Advisory Board through a
process
of blind review.



For more information, contact Eija Niskanen (emniskanen at wisc.edu,
608-456-5998), Shawn VanCour (s_vanc at yahoo.com), or Jacquelyn Vinson
(jdvinson at wisc.edu, 608-263-3997). Submissions are due September 9, 2004,
and
should be sent to:



The Velvet Light Trap

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Department of Communication Arts

821 University Avenue

Madison, Wisconsin, USA 53706-1497