videodisc reviews: "louvre," "dream machine ii," jets and classics"

8/13/2019 Videodisc reviews: "Louvre," "Dream Machine II," Jets and Classics"

1/4

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don't know if they read my review or if we sim-ply think alike, but I'm overjoyed to see that theproducers of the magnihcent l-ouure discs have

eliminated every shortcoming of the National Galleryof Art disc (reviewed in Volume One/Number One).The superb, three-volume Louure takes near-perfectadvantage of the videodisc medium, giving us some-thing that is neither print nor video-but greater thanthe sum of the two.

l-ouure, produced in France by an independentcompany in conjunction with the museum, the Min-istry of Culture, and stateside distributor Voyager,uses several dozen motion sequences and 29,000 stillframes to depict and detail more than 4,500 of thepreeminent French museum's works. The highlightsinclude, of course, da Vinci's Mona Lisa, Michelan-gelo's The Dying Slaue and the Rebellious Slaue, and theBabylonian Gde of Hammurabi, carved in diorite dur-ing the second millennium B.C.

Each disc begins with 2l to 23 roughly minute-long motion sequences narrated in either French orEnglish (you choose). These were shot on videorather than film, producing images so sharp you cansee the cracks in the paint and chips in the sculptures.Cenerally, each begins and ends with a full-frameshot of the work, followed by closeup details linked

with well-paced camerawork, editing, and occa-sional computer matting. Instructive narration pro-vides the history of each work and of the subjectsdepicted, putting them all in context and perspec-tive. This text also appears in the slick softcover bookthat accompanies each disc, along with a random-access frame number for each work on the disc.Infuriatingly, however, neither these books northe discs themselves give directions on how to usethe "play" and "frame advance" and "left-rightchannel" controls interactively-leading to an unnec-essary trial-and-error approach and unnervinglyfrequent use of a videodisc player's "chapter/framedisplay" control. There's no excuse for not includinga text frame of instructions at the start of each disc.

The books also contain a few typos and errors. Forexample, the l5th-Century French painting The SmallRound Pieta is not at frame 49 5l I , as the front of theVolume I book states, but at 4051 l. And the French-to-English translation of an excerpt from The C-ode ofHammurabi incorrectly substitutes the word "rever-end" for the narration's proper "revered."However minor, such slips display a sloppinessone wouldn't expect from such a loving and lavishproduction. Yet let me emphasize that shortcomingsare, indeed, minor. Louure is otherwise everythingthat museum videodiscs should be. And after havingendured the real-life Louvre-with its uncivilizedcrowds, non-air-conditioned rooms, gtreaming win-dow-light on fragile paintings, and horribly rude,inefficient museum staff-l'll take this spectaculardisc set any day. (A production of ODA. Distributedby The Voyager Company, l35l Pacific CoastHighway, Third Floor, Santa Monica, CA 90401;213-451-1383. Each volume, $tOO. HyperCard harddiskette for Apple II series and Macintosh computersavailable for each volume, $ t oo each.)

LouvRe-VoLUMES 1,;

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2/4

eauty and brains-this follow-upto 1987's computer-art compendiumDream Machine: The Visual C-,omputer

(reviewed in Volume One/Number One) is, by dintof rapidly expanding technology, even more visuallyawesome than the original. And though it suffersequally from a Chamber of Commerce rah-rah feeland from favoring too-brief snippets over full pieces,C.omputer Dreans is still the most dazzling thing yet tofill up a TV screen.For those of you just tuning in, "computerart" means video images drawn on computer screensby artists with "light pens" and electronic "paint-boxes." The computer then animates these imagesaccording to the artists' instructions. Most computerart today is done for television-commercials andnewscast-graphics, primarily-but purely creativepieces are showing up more and more often. Acomputer-art piece titled "Tin Toy" recentlybecame the first to win an Academy Award foranimation."Tin Toy," unfortunately, is not excerpted here,but two similar pieces are' "LuxoJr.," about an ador-able animated desk lamp and its father; and "Red'sDream," about a lonely little unicycle with a grandimagination. The deep color, sculpted lighting,voluptuous shading, and childlike imagination theydisplay have made them instant classics, and it's aridiculous shame that C-omputer Dreams gives us so lit-tle.of each.Both these pieces are the work of artists atpolo{ofioft, one of an ironically dwindling numberof production companies specializing in computerart. Because the necessary computer equipment isbecoming less expensive and more accessible, ad

agencies and the like are turning to in-house com-puter artists. One major computer-art company,Robert Abel * Associates, has already gone undersince (hmputer Dreams went into production-a trag-edy, judging from the astonishing "Gold Series"cigarette commercials, excerpted here, that Abelproduced for an overseas market.

Fo rt unate ly, Amputer Dreams lush ly de monstratesan army of other talented animators. $/e get to see,apparently in its minute-or-so entirety, the delightful"Stanley & Stella," about a futuristic bird doomedto love a futuristic fish. Ve also get robots on paradefor Hawaiian Punch; a trip to a future-retro-Art-Deco diner; the last moments of Northwest Airlinesflight 2s5, recreated on computer for federal inves-tigators; and imagined Star li/ars satellites ani-mated for Hughes Aircraft's lawsuit against theU.S. government.

Taken together with the clear, informative narra-tion written by producer-director Geoffrey de Valoisand delivered by the delectable Amanda (Max Head-room) Pays, this 58-minute, CAV disc is an avant-garde delight. Though C,amputer Dreams is availableon videocassette from MPI, the cassette perforcelacks the brilliant sharpness of the LaserDisc. Moreimportant, the disc lets you shut off the narration and- leave the terrific music rack, so you can enjoy theshow simply as incredible video wallpaper.Vhich doesn't mean this is some sort of videodiscbimbo-far from it. De Valois takes pains to warnthat computer art, both photorealistic and abstract,can be deceptive and manipulative. "Televisionadvertisers used to be confined to images that couldbe derived photographically from the real world," hewarns us through Pays. "Today, technology pro-vides advertisers with a vast array of sensationalvisuals with which to manipulate consumers'desires." Once the dazzlement has reached its d6-nouement, he tells us, this is the nightmare behindC-omputer Dreams. (A production of Digital VisionEntertainment. Distributed by The Voyager Com-pany, l35l Pacific Coast Highway, Third Floor,Santa Monica, CA 90401; 213-451-t383. 58 min-utes, $50. HyperCard hard diskette for Apple IIseries and Macintosh computers available for $ao.)

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3/4

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successor-of-sorts to Pulling Gs(reviewed in Volume One/NumberFour), Optical Data's earlier paean tomilitary aircraft,Jets and Classies shar'es the same fasci-

nation with lethal machinery' No Boeing 757s here,but lots of B-2s, F-4 Phantoms, and li/orld \i/ar II-vintage Corsairs and Mustangs. And they are beauti-ful. If you didn't know what these aircraft did for aliving, you'd want to date them.Vith modern planes on side one and refurbishedoldsters on the flip (five motion sequences each, plus acouple of still-frame "portfolios") this CAV disc iseven more of a "coffeetable video" than its predeces-sor. Indeed, as it happens, much of the beautifullycrystalline, widescreen videography here is the workof well-known aviation photographer Mark Meyer, aformer photojournalistfor Time who went on to pub-lish two coffeetable books about his specialty. Hisloving closeups and roving pans display an almostfetishistic eye for airplane details, and his awe forthese mechanical beasts and their masters is evident.And that's just the problem-all these gorgeousimages, and no more solid information than on abaseball card. Less, actually, A baseball card at leastgives a player's birthdate, a smattering of facts, andsome statistics. Here, we're supposed to gee-whizand by-golly our way through the random-accesschapters, as we learn virtually nothing about theplanes' histories, usesr or personalities. Did the F-4drop Napalm on Vietnam? Did the P-51 Mustangchase the ruddy Jerries from jolly old? There's noway to know, and with the. exception, perhaps, ofhard-core aviation buffs already familiar with theseplanes, a viewer wants to know. And with two dis-crete audio channels available-both given over todiscofed bombast in all-too-clear digital stereo-

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there's no reason one channel couldn't have beendevoted to solid, informative narration. Neitherdoes a four-page booklet of liner notes help; do wereally care that "l never realized what back flips ittakes to get sound that is real" or that "Vhen theDAT recorder receives a signal, the analog waveformis sampled 48,000 times per second . . ."? \X/hat l wantto know is, what are F-l6s used for? Vhy does aStealth have a bat-wing designi \What was the lastbattle fought with CorsairsTToo, for all the slickness of the videography, thedisc betrays a curious lack of polish. The openingsequence, of an F-14 at a 1985 aerial show, was shoton an extremely cloudy day-was nothing bettershot since? And the black-and-white cockpit collageof various mock dogfights-was there any reason thecolorful but garbled language of the pilots couldn'thave been given to us in subtitles?The major strength of Jets and Classics is its occa-sional evocative quality-its ability to make us feelas if we're streaming through the clouds, flying theseneat airplanes ourselves. It even manages to makeone feel a little melancholy, knowing we'll probablynever have such an experience firsthand. But otherthan that, don't expect much more than pretty pic-tures from this disc. (Optical Data Corp., 30 Tech-nology Drive, Varren, NJ o7o60i 201-668-oo22itoll-free 800-s24-2481. $50.) |

Care of Laser VideodiscsClean using a soft, dry cloth, Rub with a swirlingmotion, applying light pressure. Do not use clean-ing and static-prevention sprays intended for vinylLPs. Also, liquids containing benzene or other vol-atile chemicals will damage a disc's plastic surface.Store uertically. lf stored at an angle or stackedatop each other, discs can warp.Avoid high heat and humidity. Again, to preventpossible warping.Do not play, damaged dtscs. Cracked or warpeddiscs can harni a player's delicate laser assembly.

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4/4

AUDIO/INTESr v"I-r AND TECHNOLOGY IN HNR,VIOXV ORSVOLUME TWO,ZN U,I,t BE R TH RE ER

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videodisc reviews: "louvre," "dream machine ii," jets and classics"

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