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Book ChapterDOI

A Spatial Typology of Cinematographic Narratives

01 Jan 2014-Vol. 5, pp 161-174
TL;DR: In this article, a spatial typology of cinematographic narratives using a cybercartographic application has been developed to map the narrative structure of 46 contemporary Canadian films, characterized by the locations of the action, the movement between these locations, and the different places mentioned in these films.
Abstract: The research presented in this chapter aims to initiate the development of a spatial typology of cinematographic narratives, using a cybercartographic application. This application has been developed to map the narrative structure of 46 contemporary Canadian films. The spatial dimensions of these narrative structures were characterized by the locations of the action, the movement between these locations, and the different places mentioned in these films. Throughout the process of mapping and analysing these criteria, some recurrent narrative forms were identified, as well as some connections between certain cinematographic genres (such as documentaries) and complex spatial narrative structures. Based on these results, an initial spatial typology of cinematographic narratives is proposed.
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors argue that some such methods have not always been and need not be so allied, and suggest neglected methods to revisit, new alliances to be forged with critical human geography and cultural critique, and possible paths to enliven geographical imaginations.
Abstract: Quantitative and cartographic methods are today often associated with absolute, Newtonian conceptions of space. We argue that some such methods have not always been and need not be so allied. Present geographic approaches to relational space have been largely advanced through radical political economic and feminist thought. Yet we identify quantitative and cartographic methods (taking as exemplars a range of thinkers, some of whom were most prominent in the 1960s and 1970s) that can contribute to these approaches to relational space. We suggest neglected methods to revisit, new alliances to be forged with critical human geography and cultural critique, and possible paths to enliven geographical imaginations.

39 citations


Cites background from "A Spatial Typology of Cinematograph..."

  • ...The digital humanities have consequently struggled to align the spatial imaginaries of film and text with the singular absolute spaces of the enlightenment map (Piatti, Reuschel, and Hurni 2013; Caquard and Naud 2014; Travis 2014)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a cyber-cartographic application designed to address this issue and provide solutions to help properly map some of the many dimensions of narratives, including the places of the narration (geography), the connection between these places (geometry), as well as the temporal dimension inherent to storytelling.
Abstract: Narratives and places are deeply connected. Places often contribute to the shaping of a story, just as stories contribute to the production of spatial identities. Mapping narratives can thus have a double goal: to explore the geographic structure of a story, and to better understand the impact of stories on the production of places. While it may be easy to locate narratives as points on a map, this type of representation is rarely relevant in capturing and characterising the complex spatio-temporal dimensions of the narratives. In this paper, we present a cyber-cartographic application designed to address this issue and provide solutions to help properly map some of the many dimensions of narratives, including the places of the narration (geography), the connection between these places (geometry), as well as the temporal dimension inherent to storytelling. This application, originally developed to map contemporary Canadian cinematographic narratives (see examples here: http://scaquard.classone-tech.com/),...

38 citations

Proceedings ArticleDOI
07 Nov 2017
TL;DR: This work suggests an approach to pluralizing the spaces available to geographic computation, and extends generalized projections to encompass spatial multiplicity, fragmented spaces, wormholes, and an expanded role for interruptions.
Abstract: The digital geohumanities---and geographic computation generally--- have advanced greatly by representing phenomena within geographic coordinate systems. More specifically, most visualizations and analyses only proceed once data are rendered into a single coordinate system via geolocation and one or more projections. But does it follow that geographic computation should require all phenomena to be represented in Euclidean or spherical geometry in a singular, absolute, Newtonian space?We suggest an approach to pluralizing the spaces available to geographic computation. We both supplement the technical architecture for projections and subtly reframe the purpose and meaning of projections. What we term numerical, generalized projections thereby become more central to GISystems. We suggest how existing libraries might be modified with minimal disruption (taking the widespread and foundational proj.4 library as example). We also envision modifications to existing OGC technical specifications for projections and coordinate systems. Finally, in conversation with the interpretative practice and nuanced spatialities of the digital geohumanities and critical geography, we further extend generalized projections to encompass spatial multiplicity, fragmented spaces, wormholes, and an expanded role for interruptions.This will facilitate: 1) interpretative approaches to scholarship and diverse constructions of space common in the humanities; 2) computational engagement with the ontological and epistemological commitments to relational space of critical human geography; and 3) scientific efforts to understand complex systems in the spaces and times that emerge from those systems' dynamics, revisiting a desire common in early quantitative geography; and 4) the desire for a broad basis of understanding geographic information in GIScience.

7 citations


Cites background or methods from "A Spatial Typology of Cinematograph..."

  • ...mapping cinema developed by Caquard and colleagues [11, 14], events that happen in different locations are indicated by geolocated positions on a basemap rendered in web Mercator (with worldwide scope in a thought-provoking interpretation of one film), as shown in Figure 2....

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  • ...[11, 14] have developed textual and cartographic methods to examine the spatial narrative of film....

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Proceedings ArticleDOI
10 Oct 2022
TL;DR: This paper reviews the problem of computational narrative generation where a goal-driven narrative (in the form of text with or without video) is generated from a single or multiple long videos and outlines a general narrative generation framework.
Abstract: Man is by nature a social animal. One important facet of human evolution is through narrative imagination, be it fictional or factual, and to tell the tale to other individuals. The factual narrative, such as news, journalism, field report, etc., is based on real-world events and often requires extensive human efforts to create. In the era of big data where video capture devices are commonly available everywhere, a massive amount of raw videos (including life-logging, dashcam or surveillance footage) are generated daily. As a result, it is rather impossible for humans to digest and analyze these video data. This paper reviews the problem of computational narrative generation where a goal-driven narrative (in the form of text with or without video) is generated from a single or multiple long videos. Importantly, the narrative generation problem makes itself distinguished from the existing literature by its focus on a comprehensive understanding of user goal, narrative structure and open-domain input. We tentatively outline a general narrative generation framework and discuss the potential research problems and challenges in this direction. Informed by the real-world impact of narrative generation, we then illustrate several practical use cases in Video Logging as a Service platform which enables users to get more out of the data through a goal-driven intelligent storytelling AI agent.

1 citations

References
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Journal Article
TL;DR: The cartographic paradox has been mobilized by montage, animation, and motion pictures as discussed by the authors and it has been argued that understanding the mobilization of these scopic regimes may lead to the production of affective geovisualizations.
Abstract: Understanding the contrast and challenge of cinematic cartographies may lie in querying what John Pickles (2004, p.89) calls the “cartographic paradox.” The cartographic paradox is that linear perspective and projectionism inform cartographic practice. Yet, these two scopic regimes are both complementary and contradictory. The cartographic paradox has been mobilized by montage, animation and motion pictures. The penultimate technology of linear perspective is cinema, whereas the penultimate technology of projectionism is GIS and animated cartography. I argue that understanding the mobilization of these scopic regimes may lead to the production of affective geovisualizations.

5 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors study the geographic discourse developed by Canadian cinema through an analysis of the places structuring Canadian cinematographic narratives and identify the existence of territories under- and overrepresented by Canadian cinemas, as well as territories of consensus and divergence that exist between different categories of Canadian cinema such as Quebecois, anglophone, and hybrid.
Abstract: Les films sont porteurs d’un discours geographique original. Au-dela de la vision d’un auteur, ils refletent souvent le regard qu’une societe pose sur les territoires. L’objectif de ce projet de recherche est d’etudier le discours geographique developpe par le cinema canadien a travers une analyse des lieux qui structurent ses recits. Cette analyse est basee sur l’etude systematisee d’une selection de 46 films canadiens contemporains. Ces films ont ete transformes en une base de donnees geographique de plus de 2200 lieux a l’aide d’une grille de lecture originale. L’analyse de ces lieux a permis de definir des espaces sous representes et sur representes par les films canadiens, ainsi que de circonscrire des espaces de consensus et de divergence pouvant exister entre differentes categories de cinemas canadiens que sont le cinema anglophone, quebecois et hybride. Parmi les resultats interessants, on peut noter un manque d’interet generalise pour l’hemisphere sud—et notamment pour l’Amerique Latine—ainsi que pour les espaces nordiques (en dehors du cinema des premieres nations). On remarque aussi une absence quasi-totale de Vancouver a l’ecran, alors que Toronto et les Etats-Unis apparaissent regulierement. Mais le resultat le plus marquant concerne probablement la difference fondamentale de traitement dont fait l’objet le Quebec et plus particulierement Montreal. Montreal est en effet un espace de divergence par excellence : d’hyper-utilisee dans les films quebecois, la ville apparait totalement ignoree par le reste de la production cinematographique canadienne. Cette opposition extremement tranchee illustre l’importance que revet le centre ville de Montreal comme espace symbolique de l’identite nationale quebecoise. Geographic sketches of contemporary Canadian cinematographic narratives Films carry an original geographic discourse. Beyond the vision of an author, they often reflect a society's perspective on territories. The goal of this research is to study the geographic discourse developed by Canadian cinema through an analysis of the places structuring Canadian cinematographic narratives. This analysis is based on the systematic study of a selection of 46 contemporary Canadian films. These films have been transformed into a database of 2200 places using an original geographic reading grid. Analysis of these places identifies the existence of territories under- and over-represented by Canadian cinema, as well as territories of consensus and divergence that exist between different categories of Canadian cinema such as Quebecois, anglophone, and hybrid. Some interesting results include the general lack of interest in the southern hemisphere—notably Latin America—as well as in the Nordic territories (outside of First Nations cinema). It is also interesting to note the quasi-absence of Vancouver on the screen, while Toronto and the United States appear recurrently. But the most striking result is probably the profound divergence in the way Canadian cinema treats the province of Quebec in general, and the city of Montreal in particular. Montreal is indeed the perfect example of a space of divergence: the city is heavily represented in Quebecois films, but completely ignored in the rest of Canadian cinematographic production. This deep opposition illustrates the importance of downtown Montreal as a symbolic space of Quebec national identity.

5 citations


"A Spatial Typology of Cinematograph..." refers background in this paper

  • ...some of their attributes has revealed some general trends in the way Canadian cinema represents the world in general, and Canada in particular (see Caquard et al. (2012) for more details)....

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  • ...The mapping of these narrative places and some of their attributes has revealed some general trends in the way Canadian cinema represents the world in general, and Canada in particular (see Caquard et al. (2012) for more details)....

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Book ChapterDOI
29 May 2012
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore how film-making can take on a mapping function, as well as how maps can act as analogies for films (in other words, how films can sometimes be said to have map-like qualities).
Abstract: How can films map? Is cinematic ‘mapping’ more than a metaphor? Can films be regarded as cartographic documents? This chapter explores mapping as a cinematic process. It explores ways in which film-making can take on a mapping function, as well as ways in which maps can act as analogies for films (in other words, how films can sometimes be said to have map-like qualities). It does so by means of a set of examples: Eric Rohmer’s Paris films. In 13 of the 25 feature films that Rohmer made between the early 1960s and mid-2000s, characters journey through Paris — on foot, by train and occasionally by car.1 Through these characters, I argue, Rohmer enacts what Teresa Castro (2009) refers to as ’cinema’s mapping impulse’. Various basic cartographic processes (for example, drawing lines, connecting points, and reconciling accurate geographic representation with graphic simplification) recur throughout Rohmer’s cinematic representations of the city. As a result, the map of Paris appears as an implied presence in his films, as filmed journeys through city streets and on railway lines.2

3 citations


"A Spatial Typology of Cinematograph..." refers background in this paper

  • ...Through his analysis, Misek (2012) argues 1 An extended version of this paper will appear in Taylor and Lauriault (Forthcoming), Developments in the Theory and Practice of Cybercartography (2nd edition), Elsevier. that Rohmer’s films can be envisioned as a map of Paris, connecting hundreds of…...

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  • ...In his essay on the mapping of Rohmer movies in post-war Paris, Richard Misek (2012) addresses the question “how can films map?” through a spatial approach to the everyday life dimension of the geography of Paris, as developed in 25 feature films....

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  • ...In his essay on the mapping of Rohmer movies in post-war Paris, Richard Misek (2012) addresses the question “how can films map?” through a spatial approach to the everyday life dimension of the geography of Paris, as developed in 25 feature films. According to Misek (2012, 56), in these films “Rohmer provides a Parisian’s view of Paris rather than the more familiar touristic view that we often see in films set in Paris.” This Parisian view is made of cafés, parks, streets and public transportation, more than of monuments and famous landmarks. Through his analysis, Misek (2012) argues...

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  • ...According to Misek (2012, 56), in these films “Rohmer provides a Parisian’s view of Paris rather than the more familiar touristic view that we often see in films set in Paris.”...

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Book
01 Jan 2012
TL;DR: The cartographie elle-meme n'en recele pas moins une poeticite propre qui merite d'etre exploree, de meme que la poetique des auteurs litteraires est susceptible d'entre, au sens propre du terme, cartographiae, voire georeferencee, and que peuvent converger dans l'analyse d'œuvres fictionnelles les approches geocritique and geomatique as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Dix geographes et dix litteraires reflechissent en commun sur la notion de cartographie, aujourd'hui transversale a toutes les disciplines et souvent galvaudee dans le discours scientifique ou journalistique contemporain. A rebours de son usage inflationniste, les co-auteurs conservent au terme son ancrage territorial. D'instrument de connaissance du reel et de production de l'espace, la cartographie est devenue non seulement un theme litteraire, mais surtout un mode d'organisation du savoir, notamment en histoire de la litterature, ainsi qu'un mode d'investigation des textes, apprehendes sous l'angle de leur referentialite. Suspectee par Michel de Certeau, et d'autres a sa suite, de depoetiser le reel, la representation cartographique moderne est ici questionnee quant a ses presupposes epistemologiques, dans le but de restituer a la geographie sa dimension poetique. La cartographie elle-meme n'en recele pas moins une poeticite propre qui merite d'etre exploree, de meme que la poetique des auteurs litteraires est susceptible d'etre, au sens propre du terme, cartographiee, voire georeferencee, et que peuvent converger dans l'analyse d'œuvres fictionnelles les approches geocritique et geomatique.

3 citations