Glitch, please: datamoshing as a medium-specific application of digital material

Abstract

Digital material, the computation and information that makes digital devices function, can be ethereal and difficult to conceptualize in terms of its material properties. In terms of experience design, this can make it difficult to tap into the expressive capabilities of this unique medium. We investigate the properties of computational material by looking at glitches, errors in functioning, through the lens of medium-specificity. As a specific type of glitch art, we look at datamoshing - a technique where the compression of digital video is altered for creative purposes. By examining the ways that the digital material is revealed by datamoshing, we seek insight into the unique expressive capabilities of digital devices.