Many a link-baiting slideshow and BuzzFeed post have been using animated GIFS, the moving images assembled from videos, sequences of photos or original animations.
But how did the initially cheesy, early computer and Internet age animation trick using a file format become the au courant method for obsessing over celebrities and being web-ready shorthand for expressing emotions? SXSW has the answer: According to the GIF artists and writers in “The Economy of the GIF,” you can blame your phone and microblogging platform Tumblr.
The GIF lineage goes something like this: they were first used in website banners and as quickie animations in those quaint AOL disc days of the Internet — and then Flash animation came along. Remember when websites resembled the futuristic, highly-interactive interfaces of science fiction films? With those slick drop-down menus and fancy moving ads? That was Flash.
Flash still exists, but with Apple and its iPhone (which famously does not support Flash-based animations or videos), web designers and animators and branding gurus had to rethink their media strategies. Suddenly, entire websites were rendered unreadable on phones and other mobile screens.
So as Flash fell out of fashion, simpler web designs prevailed and led to a GIF renaissance of sorts — because GIFs will still display on phones and tablets and other magic, mini computer devices. And it helps that social networking sites and phone web browsers have made using the Internet much more photo-centric (hence, Tumblr).
Plus, GIFs, says writer Lindsey Weber (who’s done some GIF work for BuzzFeed and New York magazine) are better representations of how we consume the Internet in 2013.
“[GIFs] span this space between photos and videos,” Weber says. “The GIF takes the best parts of a photo and the best parts of a video and puts them together. It’s just a better way to ingest that.”
And they’ve become so wildly popular, argues artist Jimmy Repeat (who’s GIFed for MTV in the past), they’ve become a new art form all in themselves.
“GIF is the new medium because it’s more of a challenge than a static image,” he says.
Perhaps their greatest claim to legitimacy is their looming legal precedent: Weber says GIF-related lawsuits and copyright cases are just around the bend — she’s come up against all kinds of rights issues with the GIFs she worked with.
But for now, there’s still plenty of GIF fun to be had. Just go on Tumblr and get lost for days.
Right on the heels of another Film & TV Festival announcement from South by Southwest (SXSW) we're seeing familiar faces on the other side of the fourth wall. This time, the topic is two conferences: Film & TV and Innovation, which will highlight people known in each sphere as they speak on panels. SXSW and its more than 600 sessions will be held March 12-18.
A press release picks out some of the most notable additions to the lineup, as follows (shortened for brevity):
Film & TV Conference sessions:
- Albuquerque Aftermath: From Breaking Bad to Pluribus — with creator Vince Gilligan, star Rhea Seehorn, composer Dave Porter, costume designer Jennifer Bryan, producer Trina Siopy and President of Sony Pictures Television Studios Katherine Pope.
- A Waste of Time with Larry David and Jeff Schaffer — with [comedian] Larry David, [director] Jeff Schaffer, and LA Times’ Lorraine Ali.
- Cast and Creators on HBO's ROOSTER — with series co-showrunners Bill Lawrence and Matt Tarses, executive producer and series star Steve Carell, and cast members Danielle Deadwyler and Charly Clive.
- Jamie Lee Curtis. If Not Now, When, If Not Me, Who? Pivoting and Manifesting! — with actor, producer, author, and activist Jamie Lee Curtis.
Innovation Conference sessions:
- A Conversation with Nothing's CEO and Co-Founder Carl Pei — with [consumer electronics brand exec] Carl Pei.
- The Guardian in Conversation with Mahmoud Khalil on the Cost of Dissent — with [Algerian-Palestinian activist/political prisoner] Mahmoud Khalil, The Guardian’s US Editor Betsy Reed and Legal Director of the Center of Constitutional Rights Baher Azmy.
- Ibogaine in America: The Parable of Our Time —with [veteran] Marcus Luttrell, [neuroscience/psychology professor] Dr. Gul Dolen, [CEO of Americans for Ibogaine] Bryan Hubbard, and former Texas Governor Rick Perry.
- Real-World Impact of AI: Opportunities, Risks and Intellectual Property Oh My! — with The Hon. Michelle K. Lee, founder and CEO of Obsidian Strategies and former Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
This year attendees can safeguard their presence at sessions that are important to them by selecting them in advance. Guests with Platinum badges get three reservations per day, while those with Innovation, Music and Film & TV badges get two. Reservations can also be made for comedy shows, and mentor sessions and workshops do not count for daily limits.
Guests will really have to plan ahead for these reservations: they open February 19 and 26 at 9 am for Platinum badge holders and festival badge holders, respectively. They can be made through the web schedule or SXSW GO app.
Today's announcement also contained information about the SXSW Community Service Awards, which are given to local individuals and organizations. This year's recipients (also in SXSW's shortened language) are:
- Awais Azhar, Executive Director of HousingWorks Austin, a nonprofit organization that aims to increase the supply of affordable housing in Austin.
- Mary Bailey, dedicated social justice advocate and co-founder of the Last Prisoner Project, which fights to release every cannabis prisoner and support their reentry into society.
- Taylor McGraw, Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Bell. [McGraw is] a nationally recognized leader in youth-led journalism, shifting the organization’s student reporting from the classroom directly to the halls of power.
- Francene Blythe-Lewis, President and CEO of Vision Maker Media, the longest-running Native American media organization, a cornerstone of Indigenous public broadcasting.
- Jonathan 'Chaka' Mahone, visionary storyteller, one-half of the award-winning hip hop duo Riders Against the Storm, and founder of DAWA, a safety net for People of Color that are experiencing short term life crisis.
Platinum and Festival Badges ($1,995 or $820-1,395, respectively) are on sale now at sxsw.com. These badges give attendees priority access to certain events.