Technique
tx-transform is an internationally recognized film technique that transposes the
time axis (t) and one of the space axes (x or y) with one another. Normally, each individual frame of film depicts the
entire space, but only a moment in time (1/24 second).
With tx-transformed films, it is just the opposite: each
frame shows the entire time, but only a tiny portion of
space - if one cuts alongside the horizontal space axis, the left portion of the picture turns into the
"the before", the right one into "the after".
Martin Reinhart has been working since 1992
on the development of a process that, so to speak,
inverts the system of filmic order and makes it legible
transversely to the axis of time. With tx-transform,
sequences can be produced in which filmic representation
is no longer fixed exclusively through the spatial
presence of an object; rather, its form depends upon a
complex interplay of relative motions. Accordingly, an
object on film is no longer defined as the likeness of a
concrete form of existence, but rather as a condition
over time.
Motion in film
If an object at rest is filmed, it
basically does not matter whether the film is running in
reverse or extended mode, or if a cut has been made,
either during shooting or playback; the result will
always remain the same. Motion in film is only recorded
motion relative to the division of the film into frames.
In this case, "relatively static" means that
the relation between the object being filmed and the lens
remains unchanged, that a fixed axis exists between the
signal and the recording of it. Accordingly, it can be
said that motion within the borders of a frame can be
perceived only if there is motion either of the object in
relation to the camera or of the camera in relation to
the object - in short, if there is relative motion.
Precisely in this case of film, it can be simply
illustrated that one further motion is necessary in order
to create the illusion of movement: the film has to run
through the projector. The motion of the film itself
allows for only one direction: from the first to the last
frame of a reel. This informational structure along a
temporal vector can also be conceptualized as a stack of
images, such as flip-book showing sequential pictures
which, when rapidly riffled with the tip of the thumb,
produce the illusion of motion due to the quick
succession of individual layers of time. Like a reel of
film, this toy contains the totality of all spatial
aspects of motion, and can be understood as an
"information block". Normally, this block is
riffled from front to back along the time axis to create
the illusion of filmic motion.
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Motion in tx-transformations
tx-transform is another sort of cut
through this "information block", but along the
space axis instead of the time axis. Upon initial
consideration, it may seem highly improbable that these
"space cuts" could lead to discernible images,
to say nothing of perceptible sequences of motion. But
that is by no means the case. The consequence of these
"space cuts" through the "information
block" is a series of astounding visual effects:
houses start to move, heads grow out of themselves,
moving trains become shorter and shorter with increasing
speed, and much more.
In contrast to conventional films, the specification of
the motion of the camera and/or the object takes on
substantial importance in tx-transformations. In order to
be able to use material captured on film for the
production of tx-transformations, a number of different
parameters must be precisely conformed to and a variety
of criteria with respect to the relative motion of the
camera and the object must be fulfilled, whereby the
standard procedure of omitting an unsuitable segment
(cutting it out) is impossible since a single missing
image in the raw footage would have consequences for the
effect of the entire sequence. Nevertheless, the result
of a tx-transformation can appear to be completely
abstract or completely realistic, depending on the type
of shot being made.
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