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One of my favourite videos is a striking self-promo clip commissioned by Shell in 1970s. The tech optimism is strong, with visuals that would feel much more at

by weast 3y ago

One of my favourite videos is a striking self-promo clip commissioned by Shell in 1970s. The tech optimism is strong, with visuals that would feel much more at home in a climate shock video nowadays. the video captures the otherworldliness of oil production and large scale infrastructure in a hypnotic way. It really is quite beautiful. https://youtu.be/_zWjT59S_wk https://youtu.be/_zWjT59S_wk

LargoLasskhyfv 3y ago
There is a documentary about a concert at the bottom of the sea, really way down in the 'basement' of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_A_platform https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_A_platform which is 303 meters under the water surface: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YtCHHpZNxo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YtCHHpZNxo It's about an hour long, mostly showing the preparation of the singer, and the crew, like security/emergency training, to be even allowed to get on, and then down there. Thereby showing how it is out there. Interesting. One can omit the last half hour, or so, if uninterested in the music, or skip around that.
dsfyu404ed 3y ago
>with visuals that would feel much more at home in a climate shock video nowadays That's likely because there's huge overlap between "climate shock video" and "video from decades past when big industry was visibly polluting things in the west" and "video filtered to look like it is from decades past". Basically you're pattern matching on the second order visual cues. A video of a pit mine full of modern equipment taken with a modern camera in 1080p or better wouldn't look the same so you wouldn't mentally bucket it the same way.
- weast 3y ago
  I think what I like so much about the aesthetic is that it its age allows me to quickly forget the second order effects of industrialization and quickly, quietly appreciate the sheer magnificence of these extraction cathedrals, the total celebration of our ability to harness nature, to defy the balance of the world in our favour. If my suspention of disbelief is paused for a minute, i recollect the opening scenes of Dr. Strangelove, where the refuelling of the bomber planes looks more like a avian pairing ritual than a technocratic feat of usurping the laws of nature. A few scenes in the shell video definitely have a phallic quality to it (like the drill bit penetrating the water, the pipes laid across the forest floor), and I even felt a moment of self referential criticism as the camera panned across the bleak oilfield in the middle of the ocean expanse. I think I disagree on the point about the "medium is the message" framing. I dont think the camera quality has much to do with it, instead the visual qualities arise from the lack of a need to show that critical view, as the blank optimism overshadowed the less savory views by a mile. I think we have lost the capacity to view these process neutrally, independently of the medium used to record them. I remember watching a hungarian film called On body and soul, which takes place in a meat processing facility. The footage of the meat processing is beautiful, eerily so, and it is really jaunting when you realize the only images of slaughterhouses you have seen is grainy handycam footage filmed for ideological purposes. The medium is always important, but always subservient to the gaze. I found the video eons ago, it still has so few views and I am so happy to have brought it to light to such a receptive crowd.
formerly_proven 3y ago
Industry and in some sense "machinery" itself is largely seen as inherently negative, destructive, "unnatural", "against" by many today.
- MichaelZuo 3y ago
  Which is ironic as the vast majority of the human population, including the very same people with such views, are only alive because of substantial amounts of machinery. Such as those used in the Haber-Bosch process.
  - giraffe_lady 3y ago
    lol this is literally that "and yet you participate in society. curious!" joke comic?
    - cscurmudgeon 3y ago
      No, not really though. Phones are not necessary for survival but food made more available and cheap is necessary.
      - giraffe_lady 3y ago
        Why yes, I do participate in society. Curious!
        cscurmudgeon 3y ago
        Why, yes, I do moralize every time I get the chance without offering true alternatives! Who cares if poor people suffer? https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2022/7/15/23218969/sri-lanka-organic-fertilizer-pesticide-agriculture-farming https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2022/7/15/23218969/sri-la...
    - korroziya 3y ago
      [dead]
rjbwork 3y ago
Strong Koyaanisqatsi vibes. Very interesting.
stef25 3y ago
> the video captures the otherworldliness of oil production and large scale infrastructure in a hypnotic way If you're in to that kind of stuff check out Koyaanisqatsi & Powaqqatsi
- spiralganglion 3y ago
  Or Baraka and Samsara if you'd prefer films of the same tradition, minus the somewhat over-the-top Philip Glass scores (which I enjoy more on their own than as part of the films).
  - shever73 3y ago
    Samsara is excellent. I watched in an indie cinema, and it really generated a mood without any form of judgement in what was being portrayed.
- genewitch 3y ago
  Not a decade goes by, not a decade, without someone mentioning Koyaanisqatsi. It's in my top 5 "must watch" movies.
- unixhero 3y ago
  There is also LUCKY PEOPLE CENTER INTERNATIONAL [0] 0, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8BZd7IBr2Y&t=3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8BZd7IBr2Y&t=3
onlyrealcuzzo 3y ago
I've always strangely found Oil Derricks to be aesthetically pleasing for some reason. Maybe it's just because of There Will Be Blood.
justusthane 3y ago
Wow! Hard to believe that’s produced by Shell. A outside of any environmental or idealogical perspective, I found it deeply unsettling just on a visual and auditory level.
dtagames 3y ago
Previous comment beat me to it... This is Koyaanisqatsi for petroleum.

by weast 3y ago

LargoLasskhyfv 3y ago

There is a documentary about a concert at the bottom of the sea, really way down in the 'basement' of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_A_platform https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_A_platform which is 303 meters under the water surface: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YtCHHpZNxo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YtCHHpZNxo It's about an hour long, mostly showing the preparation of the singer, and the crew, like security/emergency training, to be even allowed to get on, and then down there. Thereby showing how it is out there. Interesting. One can omit the last half hour, or so, if uninterested in the music, or skip around that.

dsfyu404ed 3y ago

>with visuals that would feel much more at home in a climate shock video nowadays That's likely because there's huge overlap between "climate shock video" and "video from decades past when big industry was visibly polluting things in the west" and "video filtered to look like it is from decades past". Basically you're pattern matching on the second order visual cues. A video of a pit mine full of modern equipment taken with a modern camera in 1080p or better wouldn't look the same so you wouldn't mentally bucket it the same way.

weast 3y ago
I think what I like so much about the aesthetic is that it its age allows me to quickly forget the second order effects of industrialization and quickly, quietly appreciate the sheer magnificence of these extraction cathedrals, the total celebration of our ability to harness nature, to defy the balance of the world in our favour. If my suspention of disbelief is paused for a minute, i recollect the opening scenes of Dr. Strangelove, where the refuelling of the bomber planes looks more like a avian pairing ritual than a technocratic feat of usurping the laws of nature. A few scenes in the shell video definitely have a phallic quality to it (like the drill bit penetrating the water, the pipes laid across the forest floor), and I even felt a moment of self referential criticism as the camera panned across the bleak oilfield in the middle of the ocean expanse. I think I disagree on the point about the "medium is the message" framing. I dont think the camera quality has much to do with it, instead the visual qualities arise from the lack of a need to show that critical view, as the blank optimism overshadowed the less savory views by a mile. I think we have lost the capacity to view these process neutrally, independently of the medium used to record them. I remember watching a hungarian film called On body and soul, which takes place in a meat processing facility. The footage of the meat processing is beautiful, eerily so, and it is really jaunting when you realize the only images of slaughterhouses you have seen is grainy handycam footage filmed for ideological purposes. The medium is always important, but always subservient to the gaze. I found the video eons ago, it still has so few views and I am so happy to have brought it to light to such a receptive crowd.

formerly_proven 3y ago

Industry and in some sense "machinery" itself is largely seen as inherently negative, destructive, "unnatural", "against" by many today.

MichaelZuo 3y ago
Which is ironic as the vast majority of the human population, including the very same people with such views, are only alive because of substantial amounts of machinery. Such as those used in the Haber-Bosch process.
- giraffe_lady 3y ago
  lol this is literally that "and yet you participate in society. curious!" joke comic?
  - cscurmudgeon 3y ago
    No, not really though. Phones are not necessary for survival but food made more available and cheap is necessary.
    - giraffe_lady 3y ago
      Why yes, I do participate in society. Curious!
      - cscurmudgeon 3y ago
        Why, yes, I do moralize every time I get the chance without offering true alternatives! Who cares if poor people suffer? https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2022/7/15/23218969/sri-lanka-organic-fertilizer-pesticide-agriculture-farming https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2022/7/15/23218969/sri-la...
  - korroziya 3y ago
    [dead]

rjbwork 3y ago

Strong Koyaanisqatsi vibes. Very interesting.

stef25 3y ago

> the video captures the otherworldliness of oil production and large scale infrastructure in a hypnotic way If you're in to that kind of stuff check out Koyaanisqatsi & Powaqqatsi

spiralganglion 3y ago
Or Baraka and Samsara if you'd prefer films of the same tradition, minus the somewhat over-the-top Philip Glass scores (which I enjoy more on their own than as part of the films).
- shever73 3y ago
  Samsara is excellent. I watched in an indie cinema, and it really generated a mood without any form of judgement in what was being portrayed.
genewitch 3y ago
Not a decade goes by, not a decade, without someone mentioning Koyaanisqatsi. It's in my top 5 "must watch" movies.
unixhero 3y ago
There is also LUCKY PEOPLE CENTER INTERNATIONAL [0] 0, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8BZd7IBr2Y&t=3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8BZd7IBr2Y&t=3

onlyrealcuzzo 3y ago

I've always strangely found Oil Derricks to be aesthetically pleasing for some reason. Maybe it's just because of There Will Be Blood.

justusthane 3y ago

Wow! Hard to believe that’s produced by Shell. A outside of any environmental or idealogical perspective, I found it deeply unsettling just on a visual and auditory level.

dtagames 3y ago

Previous comment beat me to it... This is Koyaanisqatsi for petroleum.