SCUM MANIFESTO the FILM 10

The first intervention concerned the vertical stability of the im-age. The latter was subject to jumps and oscillations, constituting the most visible and uncomfortable defect for viewers. It can be attrib-uted to the viewing conditions of the root-tape during the copying process, or even to the viewing conditions of the rushes during the editing of the master (copy). To what extent should the image be stabilised? The digital restoration tool Archangel can provide per-fect stability but is this what we are aiming to achieve? The entire removal of its instability would represent an act of fundamental in-fidelity to the aesthetic and technical properties of the original vid-eo image: the instability of the visual display is like the “signature” of a fragile analogue filming and broadcasting technique. The un-reeling of open-reel tapes cannot be as stable as that of future vid-eo-cassette formats. Given that the camera was mounted on a tri-pod, we proceeded to a complete image stabilisation. This proved to be totally inadequate: the effect is akin to that of a digital image with a vintage filter. It was thus necessary to set the level of verti-cal stabilisation of the image as accurately as possible, in order to provide the most comfortable viewing conditions without betray-ing those of the original viewing conditions. To do so, we relied on audio-visual archives of the time, two 16 mm films: Au fait, qu’est-ce que la vidéo ? (In fact what is the video?) (prod. CNDP, 1981, viewable on Gallica) and Alma Futur, quand les habitants prennent l’initiative (Alma Future, when locals take the initiative) (prod. ACET / Vidéo 00, 1981, viewable on Dailymotion). We can see close-up shots of the video screen displaying half-inch tapes, under the supervision of experienced users.

To conclude on this chapter, attentive viewers will certainly no-tice a sudden frame movement at 2 min 30 s. Should it have been corrected? A close examination enabled us to assert that it is due to a shock given to the camera by the person filming, during shoot-ing. It is once again tempting to talk about the “signature” of this