The Archive Effect: Found Footage and the Audiovisual Experience of History

by Jaimie Baron

The Archive Found Footage and the Audiovisual Experience of History examines the problems of representation inherent in the appropriation of archival film and video footage for historical purposes. Baron analyses the way in which the meanings of archival documents are modified when they are placed in new texts and contexts, constructing the viewer’s experience of and relationship to the past they portray. Rethinking the notion of the archival document in terms of its reception and the spectatorial experiences it generates, she explores the ‘archive effect’ as it is produced across the genres of documentary, mockumentary, experimental, and fiction films. This engaging work discusses how, for better or for worse, the archive effect is mobilized to create new histories, alternative histories, and misreadings of history.

The book covers a multitude of contemporary cultural artefacts including fiction films like Zelig , Forrest Gump and JFK , mockumentaries such as The Blair Witch Project and Forgotten Silver , documentaries like Standard Operating Procedure and Grizzly Man , and videogames like Call of World at War . In addition, she examines the works of many experimental filmmakers including those of Péter Forgács, Adele Horne, Bill Morrison, Cheryl Dunye, and Natalie Bookchin.

Genres: Film

190 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[BonGard · Rating 4 out of 5]

اگه به سینمای آرشیوی تجربی فاوندفوتج علاقه داری،
خوندنش شدیدن لازمه!!!

[Travis Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will return to this gem often in my own research.

[Lau · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book not only gives information about everything you might want to know and reflect upon film archives and found footage, but it quotes and works with renown authors and essays that open a wide shot of possibilities to read and think about.