OVERVIEW

THIS IS THE TRAILER FOR A SHORT FILM, WHICH I SHOT IN SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA, AS A CINEMATOGRAPHER FOR DIRECTOR LIAM YOUNG. THE FILM TITLED "SEOUL CITY MACHINE" WAS ORIGINALLY CREATED FOR THE SEOUL BIENNALE OF ARCHITECTURE. WRITTEN AND NARRATED BY AN ARTIFICIALLY INTELLIGENT CHATBOT, THE FILM IS A LOVE LETTER FROM A CITY OPERATING SYSTEM TO ITS CITIZENS.

SEOUL CITY MACHINE IS A CITY SYMPHONY FROM THE URBAN LANDSCAPE OF TOMORROW. NARRATED AND SCRIPTED BY AN AI CHATBOT TRAINED ON SMART CITY DATA SETS THE FILM IS A LOVE LETTER FROM THE CITY OPERATING SYSTEM TO THE CITIZENS IT AFFECTIONATELY MANAGES. THE FILM IS A PORTRAIT OF A CITY WHERE MACHINES AND TECHNOLOGY ARE NOW THE DOMINANT INHABITANTS OF SPACE. OUR GUIDE TO THE CITY IS THE DISEMBODIED VOICE OF ITS URBAN OPERATING SYSTEM SOFTWARE. THE SCRIPT AND DIALOGUE HAS BEEN GENERATED THROUGH A CONVERSATION WITH A REAL ARTIFICIALLY INTELLIGENT CHATBOT. WE LISTEN AS THE CITY MACHINE VOICES ITS OWN CREATION STORY AND INTRODUCES ITSELF TO ITS CITIZENS. THE FILM IS AN ABSTRACT SEQUENCE OF VIGNETTES, FRAGMENTS AND MOMENTS OF A FUTURE SEOUL, A CITY IN WHICH ALL OF THE HOPES AND DREAMS, FEARS AND WONDERS OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES HAVE COME TRUE. USING CONTEMPORARY SEOUL AS A VISUAL BACKDROP THE PRESENT DAY CITY IS OVERLAID WITH CINEMATIC VISUAL EFFECTS TO DEPICT AN AUTONOMOUS WORLD OF MACHINES WHERE THE SKY IS FILLED WITH DRONES, CARS ARE DRIVERLESS, THE STREET IS DRAPED IN AUGMENTED REALITY AND EVERYONE IS CONNECTED TO EVERYTHING.

THIS FILM WAS SCREENED AT THE NEW YORK METROPOLITAN MUSEUM IN 2019.