“That’s a Take”: The International Television Commercial as Short Film Narrative

From Ingmar Bergman and Jean-Luc Godard, to Michel Gondry and Wim Wenders, an amazing number film directors have produced some fascinating commercials for television; we are developing a new edited volume of interdisciplinary scholarship from any critical/methodological perspective that examines the international television commercial production as a short film narrative. As previously examined in Consuming Images: Film Art and the American Television Commercial (Edinburgh University Press, 2020) which established the complex vitality of the television commercial both as a short film and as an art form, the television commercial has an aesthetic and historical dynamic linking it directly to cinematic and media cultures. Through close and comparative readings, we will examine the presence of international film styles on the television commercial from all nations throughout broadcast history and the resulting influence of the television commercial on the film medium, exploring an intertwined historical, aesthetic, and technical relationship.

We are interested in all historical and contemporary broadcast cultures and welcome insightful close and comparative readings examining the international television commercial.

We would welcome any discussion of your ideas prior to any formal submission.

Please submit an abstract and 100-150 word “BIO” by May 30, 2023 to Gary Rhodes & Robert Singer at this email address: <Intcomm2022.gmail.com>