CALL FOR PAPERS

After the great success of the previous series of interdisciplinary hybrid events titled “Under-the-Radar”, we are pleased to announce the 8th International Symposium in Vienna, Austria. Again the emphasis is on the intersection of animation, experimental media, artistic filmmaking and digital culture. This event is combining the opportunities of an academic conference with the possibilities of a film-art festival. We are inviting scholars, researchers, artists, producers, mediators, and stakeholders to take part, either with a presentation, a proposal for film programs or as participants. As this meeting is bringing together various fields of art, media, and technology, we like to call this converging function a “confluence.”

When you think about a mediated experience, an audio-visual project, animation or film production,
the question of “the story” is an essential element during development, completion, and promotion of your venture.

Let us think about this point and consider some of the possible questions:
What is a story? Do we need stories? Are we looking for stories? How do we define a story?
How do we work with stories? Are stories necessary for effective outcomes?
Is everything just a story, or do we just project stories into everything?
Where does a narrative begin, where does it end?
Is there something like the “non-narrative, and if so, how do we tell the story of it?
Do we describe, what seems to have no story, with meta-stories?
Can we even think or feel or dream without an underlying narrative that we relate to?
Is any description, any depiction, any representation some sort of story,
some sort of narrative construction that is a necessary component of communication?
Do we need the narrative, an emotional narrative, a drama, stirring and exciting stories,
adventures, legends, myths or fantasies to reach a broad audience?
Could we communicate without packaging abstract ideas into concrete tales?
How do we construct our stories, how do stories construct themselves?
Do we customize our stories depending on the chosen medium of communication?
What role does “The Narrative” really play in our interaction, both – in current times – and across the centuries?
Are we tied to stories like slaves to a galley, or are they the wings that we can use to raise ourselves from common and ordinary grounds?
Stories are there, and they rule our lives, but is there a world without them?
How do you handle that, how do you use them, what is your story?

You can also come up with your own question and your own approximation,
as long as it relates to “the narrative” – or its opposite – or some other connected idea.
Make sure that you are focussing on moving images, on animation in the broader sense,
on animation as a conceptual foundation of motion media, or on traditional approaches to animation,
or overlaps and structural “spills” into film, virtual-reality, game, interactive tools and similar fields.
We are looking for a discussion of new ideas, not so much for a pure review of established positions.

Authors from all over the world are invited to submit abstracts for original and unpublished papers/presentations.
All papers will be peer-reviewed by the program committee based on their originality, significance, methodological soundness, and clarity of exposition.
We are looking forward to welcoming you all to a fruitful meeting with open discussions and important networking opportunities.
Abstracts and presentations must be delivered in English and must follow the instructions on the submission page.
Submissions imply the willingness and ability of the author to attend the entire conference and to present in Vienna.

Vienna is the capital of Austria, situated at the Danube river in the center of Europe. The city tops the ranking of the “Mercer – Quality of Living Ranking” for the 9th year running in 2018 and is one of the top destinations for conferences, meetings and cultural events in the world. Besides one of the three main UN-offices Vienna hosts the headquarters of many international institutions, companies, and organizations. It embraces culture and tradition from a rich and dense past, combined with singular architecture, exciting gastronomy, nightlife, and a beautiful landscape surrounding the urban space. As one of the major tourist destinations and throughout the entire year the approx. 2 million inhabitants are happy to share their “lebensraum” with visitors from all directions and corners of the world.