For this project, we started with the semantics specific to cinema to develop our indexing process. Designed through artificial intelligence, this morphological analysis of the moving image captures both aesthetic elements (such as colors, shot scales, elements within the frame), and technical (formats and cinematographic processes) and contextual elements.
So far, we have indexed the frames of 0 movies, split into 0 scenes, now making it possible to search at the level of detail within works with an unprecedented level of detail.
The exploration engine, designed through this indexing, proposes a specific form of organization and visualization of cinematographic and iconological knowledge. It acts as a spatialization of the filmic matter following « the law of good neighborhood », a system of arrangement that favors encounter and serendipity.
This exploration tool allows you to navigate an ocean of images, discover new territories, and establish correspondences between works. Conceptualized by Aby Warburg, these « pathos formulas » (Pathosformel) cross epochs and cultures, conveying deep emotional states.
The itineraries that the exploration engine makes possible are as vast as they are precise. For example, you can ask it for all the food plans in movies released between 1920 to 1940 or all the close-up scenes where two people kiss; a selection of representations of fire in Technicolor works or all the scenes where protagonists talk about politics.
Filmatters sets itself two main goals: to highlight the cinematographic heritage and to foster the emergence of discoveries and reflections around images.