Symposium »Remediate – Revolution in Audiovisual Media. Characteristics and Production Methods of ›Quality TV Series‹«

Twelve years ago, the pay-TV broadcaster HBO heralded a new era in audio-visual entertainment with the broadcast of its acclaimed and groundbreaking series »OZ«. Subsequently, innovative series such as »The Sopranos«, »West Wing«, »Deadwood«, »The Wire«, »In Treatment« and »Mad Men« also went on to break the traditional boundaries between cinema and television. All of these shows exhibit a number of characteristics which had only been used sporadically before:a multilayered narrative framework, a complex cast of protagonists, a highly informed and substantive approach to the subject matter of each program, employing all types of TV and movie genres in exciting new ways. Due to these developments, the author’s position has been strengthened in a manner previously only observed in European cinema and the U.S. American independent film industry. A new kind of quality TV has been established, which is tantamount to an audio-visual revolution. Digitalization creates new viewing habits. DVD and the Internet are superseding cinema and traditional television. All this can be seen as part of an ongoing »remedialization« in the area of audio-visual products.

Over the course of the three-day symposium film theorists and academics from Germany, Austria and the U.S. will focus on these and other aspects of Quality TV, a subject matter which has yet to be thoroughly explored, especially in Germany. Furthermore, there will be opportunity to find out from creators, writers, producers and actors of such acclaimed shows as »Deadwood«, »The Wire« and »Oz« about their methods, work processes and collaborations whilst creating, conceptualizing and producing their programs.

Curated by Christoph Dreher.

Participants: Kim Akass, film scholar, Manchester; Diedrich Diederichsen, cultural scholar, Berlin and Vienna; Christoph Dreher, film maker, Berlin and Stuttgart; Tom Fontana, series creator and producer (among others, »OZ«), New York; David Lavery, film scholar, Tennessee; Janet McCabe, film scholar, Manchester; Thomas Morsch, film scholar, Berlin; Bert Rebhandl, film critic, Berlin; Ted Mann, series author and producer (among others, »Deadwood«, »John from Cincinatti«, »NYPD Blue«), actor, Los Angeles; Karen Thorson, executive producer (among others, »The Wire«), New York

Moderation: Helmut Draxler, professor of aesthetic theory at Merz Akademie andChristoph Dreher, professor of film and video at Merz Akademie

The Symposium is part of the »Remediate« research project that was called into existence by the Merz Akademie, Hochschule für Gestaltung Stuttgart and Akademie Schloss Solitude in cooperation with the film promotion body MFG Filmförderung Baden-Württemberg and the Communication Authority of Baden-Württemberg (Landesanstalt für Kommunikation – LFK).The aim of the three-year research project is to explore the historical changes experienced by the cultural techniques of film and television in conjunction with New Media.

Fri 5.30pm – approx. 10pm, Sat 10am – 6.30pm, Sun 10.30am – 3.15pm

Registration and further information: remediate@merz-akademie.de, http://www.merz-akademie.de/remediate

Participation fee (incl. meals): 45 euros (students 25 euros)