“Viewed in this perspective, the cinema is objectivity in time.”
(André Bazin)

This very practice-oriented course is about retracing the steps before the invention of cinematography, and through that looking the for connections between science and film.  

Devices such as the thaumatrope, the phenakistoscope, the zoetrope, the praxinoscope, the flip-book, … were invented in parallel, without or with knowledge of each other. What they have in common, however, is the scientific dream of capturing the ephemeral moments of reality as they are.

In the winter semester, we set out in search of the fleeting phenomena that surround us and worked on a detailed reproduction of one of these instruments. Students who participated in the last semester can continue their work and complete the projects they started.

In this semester we will work on the detailed analysis and reproduction of an existing work of art that depicts ephemeral phenomena. For example:

- Tacita Dean, Green Ray (2001)
- Harun Farocki, Instructions on how to Pull off Police Helmets (1969)
- Paul and Marlene Kos, Lightning (1976)

The overall goal is to set up an exhibition at the Angewandte Festival in June 2026 showing work done in the winter and summer semester.

In addition, there will be a stronger focus on reading:
Wellman, Janina (Ed.), Cinematography, seriality, and the sciences (Science in Context, Vol. 24, No. 3).
as well as
Nekes, Werner, Lexikon der optischen Medien
http://wernernekes.de/00_cms/cms/front_content.php?idcat=76
or
https://blog.studiumdigitale.uni-frankfurt.de/dr-vor-frueh/apparate-techniken/#praxinoskop

Continuous presence and participation in the discussion, exchange of work in progress, presentation of the final work at the last meeting / AAA exhibition