BEGIN:VCALENDAR
PRODID:-//Columba Systems Ltd//NONSGML CPNG/SpringViewer/ICal Output/3.3-
 M3//EN
VERSION:2.0
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260513T130239Z
DTSTART:20260514T080000Z
DTEND:20260514T150000Z
SUMMARY:Filming the City
UID:{http://www.columbasystems.com/customers/uom/gpp/eventid/}y27h-mp42b6
 6m-pdh97c
DESCRIPTION:How might moving images reshape the ways in which cities are 
 studied\, represented and understood? This question sits at the centre o
 f an upcoming USL ThinkSpace event\, which brings together scholars work
 ing across the arts\, architecture\, urban studies and film studies to r
 eflect on the methodological and conceptual possibilities opened up by v
 isual practices.\n\nAcross these fields\, visual media are increasingly 
 mobilised in two interconnected ways. On the one hand\, film and other v
 isual forms are approached as objects of analysis\, offering insight int
 o how urban life is framed\, narrated and mediated. On the other\, they 
 are taken up as research practices in their own right\, enabling forms o
 f engagement with the built environment that are attentive to movement\,
  temporality and embodied experience. This dual positioning of visual me
 dia invites a reconsideration of how spatial knowledge is produced\, and
  of what counts as evidence\, method and representation within urban res
 earch.\n\nThe event opens with a series of presentations that engage wit
 h these questions from distinct yet overlapping perspectives. Amanda Rav
 etz\, whose work in visual anthropology and observational cinema has bee
 n foundational to the development of film as a mode of inquiry\, reflect
 s on the qualities of intimacy\, presence and attentiveness that underpi
 n visual research. Drawing on a wide range of projects\, her work foregr
 ounds the relational dimensions of filming\, where narrative emerges gra
 dually through sustained engagement and careful observation.\n\nJennifer
  Coates approaches film from the perspective of Japanese studies\, with 
 a focus on how cinematic representations of urban life are shaped throug
 h architecture and habitation. Building on existing work on mise-en-scèn
 e and spatial expression\, her research considers how built environments
  do more than reflect interior states\, instead participating actively i
 n the formation of narrative and character. Through analyses of recent f
 ilms set in Tokyo\, she explores how the relationship between inhabitant
  and environment becomes central to storytelling.\n\nZiqiu Ren’s work sh
 ifts attention to the methodological potential of filmmaking within arch
 itectural and urban research. Drawing on fieldwork in Chinese marketplac
 es\, she reflects on what she terms ‘intimate cinematic observation’\, a
  mode of engagement that foregrounds slowness\, proximity and the produc
 tive ‘messiness’ of the field. In this context\, what might conventional
 ly be seen as limitations becomes integral to capturing the subtle\, inf
 ra-ordinary spatialities of everyday life.\n\nChristoph Lueder brings a 
 complementary perspective\, considering film and time-based drawing as t
 ools for both immersion and analysis. His work interrogates how visual m
 edia can collapse distinctions between data collection\, interpretation 
 and dissemination\, while also making visible the positionalities of res
 earcher\, participant and viewer. In doing so\, it raises important ques
 tions about authorship\, narration and the ethics of representation in s
 patial research.\n\nTogether\, these contributions highlight the extent 
 to which visual and moving image practices are reshaping the terrain of 
 urban studies. They point towards forms of research that are iterative\,
  relational and attuned to the fleeting and often overlooked dimensions 
 of everyday life.\n\nThe afternoon session extends this conversation thr
 ough a collaborative workshop\, inviting participants to share short ref
 lections on their own projects that engage with visual methods or moving
  image practices. Rather than formal presentations\, these contributions
  are conceived as starting points for discussion\, creating an opportuni
 ty to exchange methodological reflections\, surface emerging questions a
 nd explore potential directions for future work.\n\nWe hope this event w
 ill foster a shared space of experimentation and dialogue\, situating vi
 sual practices as integral to ongoing efforts to understand and engage w
 ith the complexities of contemporary urban life.
STATUS:TENTATIVE
TRANSP:TRANSPARENT
CLASS:PUBLIC
LOCATION:Hanson Room\, Humanities Bridgeford Street\, Oxford Road\, Manch
 ester\, M13 9PL
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR