Into the Pixel Study Guide

Studyguidepic_image At the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival ® , thousands of visitors to the Ontario College of Art and Design were engaged by a transformational exhibit, Into the Pixel. This free installation, part of the Festival’s inaugural Future Projections programme, was a series of thirty-two images from video games that were re-contextualized by being lifted out of the small screen, expertly enlarged and displayed in frames in a non-traditional art gallery setting.

Into the Pixel inspired audiences at the Toronto International Film Festival to view video games in a new light, and spurred discussions about the artistic qualities of video games and their relationship to film. The topics of these discussions varied widely; indeed there is much about video games for those interested in film or media literacy to explore. 

Alongside the more scholarly debates, “How did they do that?” was a recurring question at Into The Pixel .

While the booming video-game industry has spawned popular post-secondary programmes on game design to train future generations of video-game developers, there remains a need to demystify the creative process for young creators. Many secondary students know they want to make video games, but aren’t sure how their skills and visions fit into the industry.

In response, the Youth Learning department of the Toronto International Film Festival Group collaborated with an interactive-industry expert representing the International Game Developers Association Education Special Interest Group to create the Into the Pixel Study Guide, an introduction to game design and careers in interactive entertainment using imagery from Into the Pixel.

We encourage educators to continue considering the question of whether video games deserve the same artistic recognition as cinema.

During the exhibition, frequent considerations cited in the discourse about the convergence of the mainstream film and gaming industries included:

  • Machinima: filmmaking within virtual environments, most often made using video game rendering engines. 
  • Production technologies: both the film and games industries often incorporate technologies such as CGI & 3D animation, motion capture of live-action performances and green-screen composite rendering into their works. Increasingly filmmakers turn to 3D game engines and environments when planning shots and storyboarding.
  • Film adaptations of video games including Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within as well as game adaptations of films such as The Godfather: The Game and Enter the Matrix

In terms of the bigger picture, it is worth noting that, early in their evolution, films were widely considered to be nothing more than entertainment.  Now, of course, they are recognized not only as an art form but also as a powerful tool for communication.

Educators may find it illuminating to consider the following quote by Dr. Kevin Salatino, lead juror for Into the Pixel , substituting the word “movies” for “video games”:

"Video-game graphics as fine art presents a number of challenges to the museum curator of prints and drawings.  To begin with, video games are just that — games — and the temptation to dismiss them as nothing more than entertainment for the masses is powerful.  They are also subject to a series of externally imposed, creatively restricting formulae; they are serial in nature, and thus subordinate to the need to tell a story quickly and efficiently; they are transient (that is, designed to be consumed and discarded at a rapid rate); they can be dependent upon the visual language of a traditional mimetic animation that seeks the closest equivalent of reality; and they have a tendency to emphasize carnage at the expense of other human behaviors.  These, at any rate, are the perceptions/prejudices that I brought to the table when I was asked to help judge a selection of video-game artwork for Into the Pixel. To my surprise, those prejudices were, in academic parlance, quickly problematized, if not exploded."

Kevin Salatino, Curator of Prints & Drawings, Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Video games are at a nascent stage.  Education about video games will enrich and enliven the discussion regarding their place in the artistic community.

The Into the Pixel Study Guide aims to both introduce educators to gaming as a storytelling medium and to increase students’ understanding of the complexity of video games as creative works and as an industry.

Images from the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival ®

Into The Pixel Reception at 2007 Toronto International Film Festival Into The Pixel Reception at 2007 Toronto International Film Festival Into The Pixel Reception at 2007 Toronto International Film Festival Into The Pixel Reception at 2007 Toronto International Film Festival Into The Pixel Reception at 2007 Toronto International Film Festival Into The Pixel Reception at 2007 Toronto International Film Festival

Photo Credit: Les Wawrow/WireImage

The Official Website of Into the Pixel ®

"Video Games are an influential aspect of pop-culture and entertainment whose impact goes beyond the digital arts to influence perspectives in art, cinematography, literature, and even fashion. Behind every game character and dynamic environment are artists whose talents birthed the image seen in the 3-D world." Click here to view artwork on the Into the Pixel website.

 

Media coverage from the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival ®

“Videogame art to exhibit at TIFF” (The Toronto Star)

"Game on at the Film Fest” (NOW Magazine)

“Toronto International Film Festival Goes Into The Pixel” (Torontoist.com)

“Pixel Projections” (Torontoist.com)