High Speed Shutter - Level 4 - Montescaglioso, Italy / art project by Adam Lendvai - 2001
Channel: Ádám Lendvai
Date: 2020-08-08

High Speed Shutter  -- The 4 camera game video

The HSS 4 camera game is a new medium, between the active engagement (sport and computer games) and the passive engagement (to watch video, sport and news programs).

Game
One game has 4 players. All players have a camera with them which records continuously (with the same view angle). The task is to film as many players for as long as possible while trying to avoid to be seen on the others recordings. The players get 1 score for every frame where another player is visible (recording more than one player at the same time worth extra scores). The game starts in the middle of the playing field given (e.g.: public space, shopping mall, forest, flat, or even museum). After the whistle the players have 30 seconds to split up and then the battle goes on for 5 minutes. The winner is the one who has the highest score, and he or she goes to the next round of the championship to play against three new challengers (the title holder has yellow and the three new player have red, green and blue t-shirts, like the RGB colors).

Strategy
Because of the aim of the game is to collect the scores (collect the pictures of the enemies), the useful tactic is not to hide, but to looking for direct fight with the others. If you find someone, you should try to keep him or her constantly on the picture, but not to go too close because he can easily move out from the screen. The duel might appear a successful tactic, but it also can be a mortal strategy if a third player can make extra scores by recording both of you.

Video
The recorded materials of the four players run simultaneously on the screen what is divided to four areas. There is a counter on the bottom of each areas, which shows the current scores, which means the amount of the frames where the other players can be seen.

Background
Like in the computer games the portraits of the players can help to choose your favorite and at the end of the round we can see the winner in action as in the sport programs. In this way the viewer can experience the three dimensional environment by being able to see it from four different and continuously changing viewpoint. The players just following the simple rules of the game, just scanning the world around them, without knowing what they create. Among the four areas of the screen visual connections constantly appear and disappear as a multi-site, live network. The video with the divided screen reminds us for the news programs (such as CNN) broadcasting hostilities, where cameramen recording under fire. It is also similar with laser and paintball games but replacing the weapons that indicate aggression to cameras. This way the camera is in the fight, so directly report us (without to contribute an outsider cameraman), however it became a weapon. The camera as a weapon isn’t an unexampled notion, because quite often noticeable the human rejection when the camera point at (just think to take a picture as still the effigy, the image of somebody, like to still the spirit, just think how the different cultures prohibit the images, or just think the home videos how the tats run away from in front of the camera).

The Championship
The High Speed Shutter 4 camera championship first 5 round started at 2001 in Italy, with participating 12 country players (all of them artist). The winner of the Italian part’s (Konrad Smolenski, Poland) price was a trip to Hungary within the frameworks of it he has opened the exhibition of the game in the Studio Gallery Budapest. The visitors could took a look to advertises of the players and then they could put bets in the bookmaker’s office to the projected matches and after to the 6. round’s live game. This round has been at the opening of the exhibition participation by the winner of the previews round (Konrad from Poland) and three visitor of the opening, those who have selected by a draw.