De la pellicule au pixel. À propos des remédiations numériques de films expérimentaux sur Internet (et YouTube en particulier)

Abstract

Taken at large, experimental or avant-garde cinema has always tried to explore the specificities of the cinematic medium: chemistry of light, photogrammatic nature of moving images, duration, projection, film materiality, etc. All these elements are required for the film to liberate its own potential. This explains, notwithstanding the efforts and value of the dissemination by DVD distributors such as Criterion, Re:Voir, Index, LuxFilm, that many of these films are still “officially” only available on celluloid (16 mm or 35 mm). This scarcity has produced, in return, an incredible value for these films among collectors and film fans on the Web. From YouTube to MUBI or Ubuweb, we find an impressive array of experimental films that were never made to be seen in this way. These films endure violent digital remediation, savage reappropriations and remixes that are both fascinating and worrisome, and that all testify to a contemporary state of the circulation of images. In this article, we wish to reflect upon these modalities of cinematic circulation using a series of relevant examples.

Keywords

• experimental cinema
• YouTube
• Digital Cinema
• remediation
• circulation of images
• nostalgia