The Video Essay Podcast
The Video Essay Podcast
The Video Essay Podcast
Interviews with leading critics, filmmakers, scholars and other creators about the craft of videographic criticism. Hosted by Will DiGravio. Learn more at www.thevideoessay.com
Jiří Anger on "Towards a Film Theory from Below: Archival Film and the Aesthetics of the Crack-Up"
On today's show, Jiří Anger joins to discuss his book, Towards a Film Theory from Below: Archival Film and the Aesthetics of the Crack-Up. We also discuss Jiří's approach to videographic criticism and "The First Frames of Czech Cinema," a video essay created with Adéla Kudlová.[02:15] - Videographic origin story[10:30] - Intro to the book[24:30] - Hybridity & the moving image[29:00] -  Film artifacts and a "theory from below"[34:30] - Jan Kříženecký & "Digital Kříženecký" [42:00] - Beyond decay[49:00] - Is there a "best quality" version of a film? [55:30] - "The First Frames of Czech Cinema"[1:01:30] - "The Crack-Up"[1:19:00] - On Deformative Criticism Follow the show on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more at the pod's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Get the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠free newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music by Ketsa.
Dec 31, 2025
1 hr 27 min
On the Work of Katie Bird (Chiara Grizzaffi and Annalisa Pellino w/ Kevin B. Lee)
Today's episode of The Video Essay Podcast features a conversation hosted by Kevin B. Lee with Chiara Grizzaffi and Annalisa Pellino, who discuss the videographic work of Katie Bird, including the essay, "With a Camera in Hand, I Was Alive," and in particular Bird's innovative use of a video as a creator's statement. The discussion functions as a companion to the recent conversation on this podcast between Bird and Johannes Binotto. This episode is the ninth in an ongoing collaboration between The Video Essay Podcast and "The Video Essay: Memories, Ecologies, Bodies," a three-year research project on video essays led by Kevin B. Lee, Locarno Film Festival Professor for the Future of Cinema at USI University of Lugano, with Johannes Binotto and Evelyn Kreutzer, and funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. Editing by Elsa Despoix.Follow the show on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more at the pod's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Get the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠free newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music by Ketsa.
Oct 26, 2025
34 min
Katie Bird on Approaches to Videographic Practice
On today's episode, Katie Bird discusses her work and practice in an interview with Johannes Binotto. Much of their conversation centers on Katie's 2023 desktop documentary, "With a Camera in Hand, I Was Alive." Katie and Johannes discuss the potentials of videographic practice, filming oneself as a method of videographic criticism, and her work as an independent scholar and industry professional. Other works discussed include, "young (woman) filmmaker(s)" (2023), "Feeling and Thought as They Take Form: Early Steadicam Labor, Technology, and Style, 1974-1985" (2019), and Katie's research on editing and Gunsmoke.  This episode is the eighth in an ongoing collaboration between The Video Essay Podcast and "The Video Essay: Memories, Ecologies, Bodies," a three-year research project on video essays led by Kevin B. Lee, Locarno Film Festival Professor for the Future of Cinema at USI University of Lugano, with Johannes Binotto and Evelyn Kreutzer, and funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation.Follow the show on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more at the pod's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Get the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠free newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music by Ketsa.
May 9, 2025
55 min
Jason Mittell on 'The Chemistry of Character in Breaking Bad'
On today's episode, Jason Mittell joins to discuss his videographic book, The Chemistry of Character in Breaking Bad. The book is the first in a new series of open access, videographic books from Lever Press. Jason joins to discuss the origins of the book and series, the philosophy behind a videographic book, and his longtime interest in alternative, open access forms of digital publishing. Follow the show on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more at the pod's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Get the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠free newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.  Music by Ketsa.
May 1, 2025
1 hr 46 min
Episode 7. How to Measure the World - Filmexplorer’s Video Essay Gallery
Today's episode features the latest collaboration with the Swiss publication, Filmexplorer. For the second time, Filmexplorer has invited guest curators to select video essays to screen as part of their online Video Essay Gallery. In this conversation, Evelyn Kreutzer, Julian Ross, and Volker Pantenburg discuss three videos they curated under the theme, "How to Measure the World." For more, visit filmexplorer.ch. The conversation centers on three works: Volker Pantenburg presents:capricorn sunset [a constellation] (2023) by Johannes Binotto Julian Ross presents:Constant (2022) by Sasha Litvintseva & Beny Wagner Evelyn Kreutzer presents:Xena’s Body: A Menstrual Auto-Investigation Using an iPhone (2024) by Occitane Lacurie Follow the show on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more at the pod's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Get the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠free newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music by Ketsa.
Dec 23, 2024
35 min
On "Ways of Doing" w/ Lucy Fife Donaldson, Colleen Laird, Dayna McLeod, and Alison Peirse
Today's episode features an interview with Lucy Fife Donaldson, Colleen Laird, Dayna McLeod and Alison Peirse on their ongoing series of collaborations and methodological practices, "Ways of Doing." They are interviewed by Kevin B. Lee. This episode is the seventh in an ongoing collaboration between The Video Essay Podcast and "The Video Essay: Memories, Ecologies, Bodies," a three-year research project on video essays led by Kevin B. Lee, Locarno Film Festival Professor for the Future of Cinema at USI University of Lugano, with Johannes Binotto and Evelyn Kreutzer, and funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. For more on Ways of Doing, visit their website. Learn more about the Scholarship in Sound & Image Workshop here. Listen to the previous episode with Evelyn Kreutzer and Alan O'Leary, and read a response from Miklós Kiss. Follow the show on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more at the pod's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Get the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠free newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music by Ketsa.
Dec 2, 2024
1 hr 7 min
Episode 6. Who Owns an Image? - Filmexplorer’s Video Essay Gallery
Today's episode features the latest collaboration with the Swiss publication, Filmexplorer. For the second time, Filmexplorer has invited guest curators to select video essays to screen as part of their online Video Essay Gallery. In this conversation, Evelyn Kreutzer, Julian Ross, and Volker Pantenburg discuss three videos they curated under the theme, "Who Owns an Image?" The conversation centers on the works: A History of the World According to Getty Images, by Richard Misek – 19’ (Evelyn Kreutzer) Maryam Jafri vs Mariam Jafri, by Maryam Jafri – 12’ (Julian Ross) Excerpt from Bitomsky “Das Kino, der Wind und die Photographie” (1991, 55 min), by Hartmut Bitomsky/Volker Pantenburg – 10’ (Volker Pantenburg) Follow the show on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more at the pod's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Get the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠free newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music by Ketsa.
Oct 17, 2024
48 min
Alice Lenay on Zoom Aesthetics & 'Twisties!'
Today's episode features a conversation with Alice Lenay, an academic researcher and artist based in Paris. The discussion centers on Alice's recent work Twisties!, made with Théophile Gay-Mazas and recently published in NECSUS. Will and Alice also discuss her ongoing interest in Zoom aesthetics. Learn more about the podcast's collaboration with the Cary Comes Home Festival, and our call for video essays on Cary Grant and the theme of "acrobatics," here. Follow the show on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more at the pod's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Get the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠free newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music by Ketsa.
Oct 11, 2024
37 min
Alan O’Leary and Evelyn Kreutzer on the Importance of Writing on Video Essays
There’s been a lot of debate about what the relationship should be between videographic criticism and writing. Some have wondered if video essays could function as stand-alone scholarship and break free from having to be framed by text-based explanations such as creator statements or peer reviews. But even if one acknowledges the role of writing in advancing videographic scholarship, another question emerges: which writing?  At this year's SCMS annual meeting in Boston, videographic scholars Evelyn Kreutzer and Alan O’Leary observed that several video essay presentations would cite texts from feminist film studies, genre film studies, global film studies, etc.  But there wasn’t so much reference to existing writing about videographic scholarship. And it got them thinking, why aren’t videographic scholars giving more attention to writing about video essays? Haven’t there been examples of written scholarship that are worth referencing, in shaping our thinking about the form? Is it that they aren’t known well enough or established enough to be cited? And how can we start to get a better appreciation of the role of writing in video essay scholarship?  Evelyn and Alan recorded this conversation to get into these questions. Evelyn asked Alan to come up with two written essays that could be especially helpful in understanding videographic scholarship. Alan came up with about 6 or 7, which can be found in the show notes. From those they picked two to discuss in depth, leading to a rich and contentious conversation about what scholars want from video essays, and what role writing has in determining the answers to that question. This episode is the sixth in an ongoing collaboration between The Video Essay Podcast and "The Video Essay: Memories, Ecologies, Bodies," a three-year research project on video essays led by Kevin B. Lee, Locarno Film Festival Professor for the Future of Cinema at USI University of Lugano, with Johannes Binotto and Evelyn Kreutzer, and funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. Written Essays Discussed Binotto, Johannes. In Lag of Knowledge. The Video Essay as Parapraxis. in: Bernd Herzogenrath (Ed.): Practical Aesthetics. London, New York: Bloomsbury 2021, S. 83-94. de Fren, Allison. ‘The Critical Supercut: A Scholarly Approach to a Fannish Practice’, The Cine-Files, Vol. 15, 2020, http://www.thecine-files.com/the-critical-supercut-a-scholarly-approach-to-a-fannish-practice/. Garwood, Ian. ‘From “Video Essay” to “Video Monograph”? Indy Vinyl as Academic Book’, NECSUS: European Journal of Media Studies, Vol. 9, No. 1, 2020, https://necsus-ejms.org/from-video-essay-to-video-monograph-indy-vinyl-as-academic-book/. Two articles by Susan Harewood:  ‘Seeking a Cure for Cinephilia’, The Cine-Files 15 (2020), http://www.thecine-files.com/seeking-a-cure-for-cinephilia/ ‘Canon and Catalyst in Video Essays’, ZFM 2023, https://zfmedienwissenschaft.de/en/online/videography-blog/canon-and-catalyst-video-essays Two articles by Miklós Kiss: Videographic Criticism in the Classroom: Research Method and Communication Mode in Scholarly Practice. The Cine Files 15 (2020), http://www.thecine-files.com/videographic-criticism-in-the-classroom/. What’s the Deal with the ‹Academic› in Videographic Criticism? ZFM (2024), https://zfmedienwissenschaft.de/en/online/whats-deal-academic-videographic-criticism. Follow the show on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more at the pod's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Get the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠free newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music by Ketsa.
Aug 22, 2024
56 min
Cinema & Machine Vision: Live at The King's Festival of Artificial Intelligence w/ Daniel Chávez Heras
Today's episode features a conversation recorded live in May at The King's Festival of Artificial Intelligence in London. The event featured as the launch of Cinema and Machine Vision: Artificial Intelligence, Aesthetics and Spectatorship, a new book from Edinburgh University Press by Daniel Chávez Heras, who is a lecturer in the Department of Digital Humanities at King's College London. Before a live audience, Daniel and Will chat about the themes and topics covered in the book, the intersections of AI and Film Studies, and answer audience questions. To learn more about Daniel and his work, click here. Daniel has also agreed to give away two copies of the book to listeners! Learn more here. Follow the show on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more at the pod's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Get the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠free newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music by Ketsa.
Jul 23, 2024
1 hr 11 min
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