Errata

I have been experimenting with photocopiers as artmaking devices since 2002. I have primarily used copiers to create images and sequences of images for animations. Most of my work with photocopiers employs a simple reiterative process of copying copies of copies. I begin with a blank sheet of paper, and make a copy of that page. I make a copy of the resulting copy on the same machine. I take that second copy and copy it the same way. I have made several projects using variations on this technique.

Errata

The most accomplished project that has come out of this line of photocopier work is a short film entitled Errata. The imagery in this film is entirely generated through the reiterative copying technique described above. Each sheet of paper becomes a frame of animation, meaning that each on-screen image is a copy of the last. All movements, pans and zooms in the film were accomplished using standard zoom and shrink features on copy machines; the animation camera used to shoot the copies onto 16mm film was not used to manipulate or direct the film's motion. After a short animated title sequence, the film starts with the blank sheet of paper, and progresses through an evolution of texture, form and color. I used about a dozen different copiers in the making of this film, discovered in a variety of libraries and copy shops and chosen for an interesting texture or rhythm. After a few hundred copies on a particular machine, I took the last copy from that sequence and began to copy it on a new machine, creating a flowing transition. The film also features work done on a color copier.

"[Errata] is the perfect illustration of the sublime power of animation as a process of bringing nothingness to life... The film brings to life the forgotten, the unnoticed, and the accidental - and beautifully illustrates the notion of the trace."
- Michelle Puetz, University of Chicago

"[Errata] marvelously shows how a simple device - a photocopy machine and endless reams of paper - can result in magic. By copying copies, one generation after the next, the latent marks and smudges take on a life of their own. Their shapes grow heavy or fade as quickly as they appear, but what is most striking is their movement - liquid, intense and entirely unpredictable. Errata shows us the shadowed footprints of the ghost in the machine."
- Genevieve Yue, Senses of Cinema

Errata has screened in experimental film festivals in the U.S. and abroad, and was awarded an Honorable Mention prize at the 2005 Ann Arbor Film Festival. Highlighted festival screenings:

Tribeca Film Festival, 2006
International Film Festival Rotterdam, 2006
Image Forum, Tokyo & Kyoto, Japan, 2007
25fps Festival, Zagreb, Croatia, 2006
Holland Animation Film Festival, 2006
VideoEx Festival, Zurich, Switzerland, 2006
Interval(2), The Slade School of Art, London, 2006
Onion City Film Festival, 2005
TIE, The International Experimental Cinema Exposition, 2005

Obtaining copies of Errata.

If you are interested in purchasing a 16mm print or a DVD of Errata, you can contact me directly. I have an edition of fifty DVDs in hand-made packaging for sale or for trade.

Canyon Cinema in San Francisco is currently in charge of distribution of 16mm prints of Errata. You can contact Canyon Cinema through their website if you are interested in renting a print of the film for exhibition.

Errata was included on the 4th volume of the Journal of Short Film, which can be purchased from the JSF website directly or through Amazon.com.

The 2007 edition of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago's Film Video and New Media DVD will also include Errata. No definative word yet on when this DVD will be available.



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		I have been experimenting with photocopiers as artmaking devices since 2002. I have primarily used copiers to create images and sequences of images for animations. Most of my work with photocopiers employs a simple reiterative process of copying copies of copies. I begin with a blank sheet of paper, and make a copy of that page. I make a copy of the resulting copy on the same machine. I take that second copy and copy it the same way. I have made several projects using variations on this technique. *Errata* The most accomplished project that has come out of this line of photocopier work is a short film entitled Errata. The imagery in this film is entirely generated through the reiterative copying technique described above. Each sheet of paper becomes a frame of animation, meaning that each on-screen image is a copy of the last. All movements, pans and zooms in the film were accomplished using standard zoom and shrink features on copy machines; the animation camera used to shoot the copies onto 16mm film was not used to manipulate or direct the film's motion. After a short animated title sequence, the film starts with the blank sheet of paper, and progresses through an evolution of texture, form and color. I used about a dozen different copiers in the making of this film, discovered in a variety of libraries and copy shops and chosen for an interesting texture or rhythm. After a few hundred copies on a particular machine, I took the last copy from that sequence and began to copy it on a new machine, creating a flowing transition. The film also features work done on a color copier. "[Errata] is the perfect illustration of the sublime power of animation as a process of bringing nothingness to life... The film brings to life the forgotten, the unnoticed, and the accidental - and beautifully illustrates the notion of the trace." - Michelle Puetz, University of Chicago "[Errata] marvelously shows how a simple device - a photocopy machine and endless reams of paper - can result in magic. By copying copies, one generation after the next, the latent marks and smudges take on a life of their own. Their shapes grow heavy or fade as quickly as they appear, but what is most striking is their movement - liquid, intense and entirely unpredictable. Errata shows us the shadowed footprints of the ghost in the machine." - Genevieve Yue, Senses of Cinema Errata has screened in experimental film festivals in the U.S. and abroad, and was awarded an Honorable Mention prize at the 2005 Ann Arbor Film Festival. Highlighted festival screenings: Tribeca Film Festival, 2006 International Film Festival Rotterdam, 2006 Image Forum, Tokyo & Kyoto, Japan, 2007 25fps Festival, Zagreb, Croatia, 2006 Holland Animation Film Festival, 2006 VideoEx Festival, Zurich, Switzerland, 2006 Interval(2), The Slade School of Art, London, 2006 Onion City Film Festival, 2005 TIE, The International Experimental Cinema Exposition, 2005 Obtaining copies of Errata. If you are interested in purchasing a 16mm print or a DVD of Errata, you can contact me directly. I have an edition of fifty DVDs in hand-made packaging for sale or for trade. Canyon Cinema in San Francisco is currently in charge of distribution of 16mm prints of Errata. You can contact Canyon Cinema through their website if you are interested in renting a print of the film for exhibition. Errata was included on the 4th volume of the Journal of Short Film, which can be purchased from the JSF website directly or through Amazon.com. The 2007 edition of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago's Film Video and New Media DVD will also include Errata. No definative word yet on when this DVD will be available.

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