Movies
has been around for of years, robots have inhabited the earth for only a couple
of decades. However, there exists an extended and rich history of technology
being integrated with theatre, acting and performance dating back to the
traditional Greeks. These have ranged from tools utilized in the mechanics of
theatre (winches and revolves, for example), the mixing of complex props into
performances, the utilization of realistic mannequins and puppets, to the
utilization of technological themes within the narratives themselves. There is
a long history of film practitioners investigating and trying out computer
technology; however the late 20th century showed an increased amount of
experimentation with technology. During this era , the rapid pace of
technological development was reflected and mirrored in performance contexts in
films everywhere the planet (Dixon, 2007). This upsurge in multimedia
performance demanded of scholars and reviewers a new critical language to
accurately describe and analyze the work of this nature.
The
majority of film productions utilizing digital technology have focused on
computer generated computer graphics and characters (Youngblood and Fuller,
1970; Manovich, 2001; Ohta and Tamura, 2014; Schofield, 2016a and Schofield,
2016b However, the acceptance of Computer generated technology in film has not
been universally positive and lots of keep off against the changes (Catmull,
1978; Magnenat-Thalmann and Thalmann, 1987 and Clark, 2014). As modern
consumers we all live tied to our own personal, ubiquitous, interactive digital
devices. New technologies are developed and subsequently introduced and
experimented with in media contexts. Artists and film pioneers continue to push
the boundaries of old and new media in their efforts to explore the ongoing
relationship between technology and human bodies. Traditionally, technologies
have had a bent to contain and limit bodies, fixing them on screen, as if viewed
through lenses. In a cinema context, the appropriation of those technologies
has sometimes reiterated or exposed these restraining boundaries
(Parker-Starbuck, 2011). Although there have been many examples of
entertainment robotics, including the use of robots as robotic story tellers
(Montemayor, 2000), robotic dance partners (Kosuge et al, 2003), robotic plants
that give users information such as incoming email (Jacobs, 2003), and robotic
(Shibata et al, 1999 and Fong et al, 2003).
However,
from a search perspective, not much has been published within the literature.
Early entertainment robotics centered on animatronics, where the robot
generally plays prerecorded sounds that are synchronized with the robots
motion. These sorts of robots can often be found in old movies and theme parks;
however, the interaction is usually in one direction, that of the robot
presenting information, although the robot? performance could also be triggered
by the presence of the human. However, the 2005 AICHI Expo demonstrated several
robots designed to entertain, including the utilization of robots as actors and
dance partners (Goodrich and Shultz, 2007); similar work on the relationship
between acting, drama, and artificial agents is presented in recent work using
robots as improvisational performers. However, here again, the role of the
human is as an observer, and therefore the interaction is minimal and more
implicit (Bruce et al, 2000. Although the robot doesn't literally merge or
interact with other live bodies during this piece, the very introduction of
such technology on stage introduces the concept of a whole new era of cyborg
theatre and cinema.
The majority of film productions utilizing digital technology have focused on computer generated computer graphics and characters (Youngblood and Fuller, 1970; Manovich, 2001; Ohta and Tamura, 2014; Schofield, 2016a and Schofield, 2016b However, the acceptance of Computer generated technology in film has not been universally positive and lots of keep off against the changes (Catmull, 1978; Magnenat-Thalmann and Thalmann, 1987 and Clark, 2014). As modern consumers we all live tied to our own personal, ubiquitous, interactive digital devices. New technologies are developed and subsequently introduced and experimented with in media contexts. Artists and film pioneers continue to push the boundaries of old and new media in their efforts to explore the ongoing relationship between technology and human bodies. Traditionally, technologies have had a bent to contain and limit bodies, fixing them on screen, as if viewed through lenses. In a cinema context, the appropriation of those technologies has sometimes reiterated or exposed these restraining boundaries (Parker-Starbuck, 2011). Although there have been many examples of entertainment robotics, including the use of robots as robotic story tellers (Montemayor, 2000), robotic dance partners (Kosuge et al, 2003), robotic plants that give users information such as incoming email (Jacobs, 2003), and robotic (Shibata et al, 1999 and Fong et al, 2003).
The
first dedicated robotic theatre has recently opened at the Copernicus Science
Centre in Warsaw, Poland (Poynton, 2016). Parker-Starbuck (2011) claims that
when considering cyborg subjectivity gender still matters, that individual
bodies???human or robotic???however abled, raced, sexed, all matter within the
formation of a subjectivity that opens out to encourage a composite position.
Ultimately, the robot actors are bodies on the stage. The cyborg actors form
links and connections with the audience through technologies in a presumed
cyborg consciousness (Parker Starbuck, 2011). These robot actors are often
immersed within technology, but resist being absorbed by it; there is a smooth
acceptance by most audiences that evades gender, age, race, class.
