The Amiga
The Commodore Amiga was the successor of the very successful Vic 20, and Commodore 64 computers. The Amiga came on the scene in 1986 and had an edge over other PC computers because of graphics capabilities. Starting with the Amiga 1000, then moving through the Amiga range into the early nineties, it was my go-to tool for animation because of it's ability to interface with video systems. I used the Amiga for experimental work, music videos then onto live speaker support and TV graphics. With desktop computers becoming more accessible, so to was the emerging scene of video art that incorporated computer graphics. Even Andy Warhol used the Amiga to create pieces which were unearthed in 2021. Now it was easier than ever to copy and paste a Campbell's Soup can.
A Reflective Deceptive
A Reflective Deceptive was a high school major art piece that combined video, 8mm film and Amiga graphics. A surreal journey down a drain grate into a world of eyes, spheres, and pool balls. Round objects I guess. The images that were shot on the 8mm film were the inspiration for the still images created on the Amiga. These images were made using Deluxe Paint software and exploited the 4096 colour palette. The film was transferred to SVHS, and likewise the Amiga images via a Genlock interface which allowed the computer to output a video signal. The video was edited between two SVHS machines and the final soundtrack recorded and striped on the top.
My school didn't have any graphics capable computers nor video equipment. My art teacher advised me strongly not to pursue the film and computer project and do a painting instead - which was real art. Ignoring his advice I found an art teacher from a different school who was getting kids into computers and video. He had a small home video editing setup which I used to compile the final piece.
A Reflective Deceptive looks very much hand made. If there is a piece to define student art film, with all of it's trappings, unrealised ambitions, and lofty manifesto - then this is a good one. However unlikely, the piece went on to top the art exam marks that year and pushed the idea of art and computers into the newspapers - however controversial on whether it was real art or not. I don't know if it's art and it doesn't really matter - it's just something I made when I was seventeen. The same argument repeats itself today over digital art and NFT's.
A Refective Deceptive broadened my horizons. The next year I was commissioned to write Desktop Video, which detailed the impact desktop computers were about to have on video editing and animation. I was also engaged by the NSW Department of Education, and The Australian Film and Television School to hold workshops and run seminars for art teachers, film makers and students on how to wrangle the beige box.
