Established in 1947, the Drama department at Bristol University was the first department at a British University dedicated to the study of Drama in performance. We were also the first to introduce the practical and theoretical study of film and television. Go here for the

Bristol University Drama Department
and here for staff Research Interests

By the end of 2010, we intend to publish a series of interviews on MARCEL on the subject of the history of HD from 1990 to 2010. Terry Flaxton: "We have very few verbatim accounts of the early practitioners in film From between 1890 and 1910 - as a researcher in new digital technologies, especially within the practice of High Resolution Imaging within Electronic Cinematography, I decided that this must not happen with the new digital technologies. Interestingly, the genesis of HD (a 1920 line system) can be said to have originated with John Logie Baird when directly after losing the contract for the BBC's new system to EMI, Baird immediately proposed a 2000 line. In this history, I am interviewing a wide variety of people in an attempt to construct a picture of what is forming the new aesthetic and technology besides the commercial drivers from the entertainment industry".

You can access the completed interviews at:

http://www.flaxton.btinternet.co.uk/indexHDresource.htm

Or for direct access by link - click the names:

Artists: Grahame Weinbren, Steina & Woody Vasulka

Theorists and Thinkers: Professor Sean Cubitt Part 1, Professor Sean Cubitt Part 2

HD Games Designers: John Clark, James Shepard, Peter Giles, Tom Jones

HD Consultants/Engineers: David Stump and Scott Billups 1, David Stump and Scott Billups 2

Directors of Photography: Art Adams, Steven Gladstone, Geoff Boyle

To come: Architects, Data Engineers, SFX Artists, Camera Designers, Colourists, Directors, Costume and Set Designers, more Artists and DoP's.

Another HD project that is groundbreaking on many levels, is Professor Martin White's The Chamber of Demonstrations.

This project is an AHRC Research Enquiry into Jacobean Staging and Lighting Techniques and unifies 17th century and 21st century technologies. It is the first project worldwide to allow researchers to select in real-time which angle the audience chooses to view a play from, thus emulating audience experience.
Some reviews of The Chamber of Demonstrations DVD:

"It feels as though you're actually “there”. It’s truly a great achievement, and an absolutely invaluable teaching and research resource". Mark Pilkinton, University of Notre Dame

"I was delighted by The Chamber of Demonstrations: the opportunity to see experiments with lighting and staging is invaluable. The multiple perspectives on the scenes are really wonderful, a revelation". Lois Potter, University of Delaware

"Fascinating and illuminating, easy to navigate". Signy Henderson, Middlesex University

"This is a fantastic resource. Really fine balance of semi-formal interview, lecture, example, interaction, and efficient teaching throughout". Lloyd Kermode, California State University

Martin White is Professor of Theatre at the Department of Drama, University of Bristol. He has published widely on early modern drama and theatre practice, directed numerous plays and has worked as an adviser to the Globe reconstruction in London and to the Royal Shakespeare Company. He recently contributed to the BBC Radio 4 programme, A Very Theatrical Revolution, marking the 400th anniversary of the opening of Shakespeare’s indoor playhouse, the Blackfriars.

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