“This Is Not What I Normally Do”

This video essay, a product of the “Videographic Methods and Practices: Embodying the Video Essay” workshop (Bowdoin College, July 2023), is comprised of two sections, exploring constraint-based approaches to videographic scholarship. Part 1, “The Incredible Machine,” documents an attempt at recreating a 1990s Rube Goldberg-inspired computer game interface through the handling of various film clips arranged on a computer desktop. The deliberate avoidance of digital shortcuts highlights the value of playful experimentation within scholarly and artistic practices. Part 2, “The Five Obstructions,” presents five interviews conducted under randomly-assigned constraints, fostering unforeseen responses and creative insights. These ludic experiments demonstrate the potential of constraints to stimulate creativity and to provoke unconventional outputs. Emphasizing process over outcome, the video showcases the laborious yet rewarding nature of scholarly experimentation, echoing a broader shift towards embracing the creative-academic journey in videographic scholarship.