Insight into Oscar nominated pictures - Culture & Arts

New subject needs new form
By Qin Jian

DV作为一种新的艺术表现形式，在厦门诞生的时间并不长，但相比传统的艺术表现形式，它更能够激发学生的想像力和创造力。许多厦大学生的DV作品甚至在国际大赛上获奖。厦大美术系教授秦俭在该系率先引进了DV艺术创作课程，以下是他对DV艺术的一些看法。

Many art critics or artists in the contemporary art field think that we are living in an era of the moving image. This means that DV (digital video) has become one of the most common forms of media for contemporary artists to make their art pieces. Personally, I don't totally agree with it, simply because I think there are many other media forms still existing in contemporary China. I do believe, however, that the new media generated by science and technology is always a basis for innovative visual art.

I was deeply impressed by the teaching situation of Sandberg Institute in Holland, when I was giving a workshop there three years ago. One thing that left a great impression on me was that DV had become one of the main subjects that students wanted to learn and teachers wanted to teach. By comparison, the media that students were playing with during that period in my college was controlled by all kinds of traditional materials, such as oil paint, ink paint, brushes and clay. It is not only a matter of material, but also the ways of thinking and acting regarding art teaching and learning.

Playing with new media, students at the Institute showed me how creative and positive they could be. Without any doubt, I decided to set up a curriculum with this new media in my college. I made this decision as a means to free students from traditional materials and roles, and to see, feel and react to the world, more or less, in their own way.

I invited two groups of DV artists recommended by the Dean of Sandberg Institute, who established the first new media department at Gerrit Rietveld Academy. The workshop that my students got from their European teachers was fantastic! The camera shot that they made out of daily life and normal objects surprised their teachers and even themselves. Through enthusiastic, individual discussions between teachers and students, the students thought of new ways to express themselves, which culminated in their DV works.

This is the main point of the new media that the new subject needs a new form. Such a concept used within the teaching field should provide a basic approach for the younger generation.
Just a year later, a lot of DV works made by my students were selected by judges for international exhibitions and competitions, some of which even won prizes! For example, the works by Tang Nannan, Lin Xi, Yu Xiaojing were nominated for the "One Minute Awards" prize in 2003.

As a teacher and curator of the activity, I am truly encouraged by these happenings. I have noticed there are more and more DV art lovers who like to make and show their DV works to the public and share their personal feelings with others. Xiamen 2004 First DV Art Festival, which is underway, could be an opportunity for DV lovers.

To all DV lovers, I would like to share one thought with you: Don't worry about technique, just show us what and how you see the world and your life with DV. You will probably surprise us or even yourself!

Young DV fanatics
By Enid Chen

Numbers of youngsters regard DV (digital video) as a symbol of fashion through which they hope to record their thoughts and perceptions of the society in which they live. Currently, there is a group of students on the beautiful campus of Xiamen University, who are telling their own stories and creating documentary videos using new DV technology. The 1394 DV Workshop is one such group of DV fanciers.

The 1394 DV Workshop has around six DV film-makers at the moment, who conceive the stories, prepare, shoot and edit short dramatic scenes and documentary-style videos all by themselves. The information they record on the video tape is edited into a cohesive and informative story. From February 29th to March 14th, some of their short films are being put on screen at the Train Spotting Club, as part of the First DV Art Festival of Xiamen. Although their shooting and editing techniques may not be as professional as those of the gurus, their works have intrigued more and more university students and gained wide recognition.

Tang Nannan, one of the members of the group focuses on the aesthetic aspect of story telling with video technology. Some of his works were even put on show at the 2003 International One Minute DV Competition held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. This March, some of his works will go in for China Contemporary Video Art Exhibition to be held in the Modem Arts Center in France.

Zhang Weiwei, another member of the workshop revealed the reason why she enjoys short-film making with DV technology. "As a new fashion, DV film making interests me mainly because I can have art experience exchanges with others through my own shooting and editing and can become acquainted with some successful foreign works as well. It's a rewarding experience during the process of film-making with DV technology as our knowledge accumulates and skills improve."

Message Board

One Minute DV
Works Exhibition
1分钟DV展映
Time: Until March 14
时间： 3月14日之前
Venue: Train Spotting Club, 5th floor of Shimao Commercial Building
地点：世贸商城5楼猜火车影吧

Experience Exchange
—Talks by DV Winners
DV获奖者创作经验谈
Time: 16:00, March 13
时间： 3月13日16:00
Venue: Train Spotting Club, 5th floor of Shimao Commercial Building
地点：世贸商城5楼猜火车影吧

Lecture on DV New International Trends
DV国际新潮流讲座
Lecturer: Visual artist— Lin Lin
主讲：旅欧视觉艺术家林琳
Time: 16:00, March 14
时间： 3月14日16:00
Venue: Train Spotting Club, 5th floor of Shimao Commercial Building
地点：世贸商城5楼猜火车影吧

DV Competition
青年DV大赛
Time: Feb. 29 — May 31
竞赛时间： 2月29日至5月31日
Theme options:
1. My friends
2. Movie
参赛题目（任选一题）：
1. 我的朋友
2. 电影