Movieoke
Encyclopedia
Movieoke is a form of entertainment
in which an amateur actor or actors perform along with a muted DVD in order to give voice to the character in the film. The film is projected onto a screen behind the actor and onto an alternate monitor which provides subtitles and action cues. Movieoke is a popular form of performative and interactive entertainment created by Anastasia Fite in New York City in 2003, and has since spread to other parts of the world.
", which itself stems from the word kara (空), meaning "empty", and the English word "orchestra". This term used to be slang for media where pre-recorded acting is substituted by a live performance. The term movieoke can be interpreted as "virtual movie" because one can act along without the presence of a camera or crew. In English, the word is pronounced muːviˈoʊki, and in Japanese ムービーオケ mɯːbiːoke.
has been a common form of musical entertainment at a dinner or a party in Japan, as in the rest of the world, for several decades.
Its newest cousin, Movieoke, was created and launched by Anastasia Fite in a screening room/bar in The East Village
of New York City
in 2003. A projector is connected to a DVD
player so that the image is cast onto a screen behind the participant(s), an alternate monitor is placed in front of the participant in order to provide them with line and action cues from the film. Anastasia would mute the voice of the actor(s) in the film so that the participant could give voice to the character in the film, much to the audience's participation and delight.
The first cultural reference for Movieoke came from the 1993 film "Arizona Dream
" starring Johnny Depp
, Jerry Lewis
and Vincent Gallo
. During a talent show scene one of the characters performs a version of Movieoke (though does not mention the word movieoke). Vincent Gallo's character Paul Leger performs a step by step remake of the famous crop dusting scene from Alfred Hitchcock
's "North by Northwest
" as the film
is projected over him on stage. Slightly different from East Village Movieoke in that the sound of the film is still present, Gallo syncs with the actor's dialog on stage.
Since these early Movieoke events, other businesses have cropped up which make technological advances allowing for people to enact Movieoke on their home computer, one such company is KaraMovie Inc., who introduced the MoXie Player in 2006 which provides the means to receive movieoke content via the internet.
Released in November 2008, the Xbox 360
Game "You're in The Movies" could be considered the latest incarnation of the movieoke theme. While players do not reenact scenes from famous movies, but rather direct and act in the their own films--much of the actions and verisimilitude
is the same as Movieoke.
Live Movieoke events for the public still take place periodically around the world.
Entertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...
in which an amateur actor or actors perform along with a muted DVD in order to give voice to the character in the film. The film is projected onto a screen behind the actor and onto an alternate monitor which provides subtitles and action cues. Movieoke is a popular form of performative and interactive entertainment created by Anastasia Fite in New York City in 2003, and has since spread to other parts of the world.
Word origin
The word stems from the English word "movie" and the Japanese word "karaokeKaraoke
is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...
", which itself stems from the word kara (空), meaning "empty", and the English word "orchestra". This term used to be slang for media where pre-recorded acting is substituted by a live performance. The term movieoke can be interpreted as "virtual movie" because one can act along without the presence of a camera or crew. In English, the word is pronounced muːviˈoʊki, and in Japanese ムービーオケ mɯːbiːoke.
History
KaraokeKaraoke
is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...
has been a common form of musical entertainment at a dinner or a party in Japan, as in the rest of the world, for several decades.
Its newest cousin, Movieoke, was created and launched by Anastasia Fite in a screening room/bar in The East Village
East Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 2003. A projector is connected to a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
player so that the image is cast onto a screen behind the participant(s), an alternate monitor is placed in front of the participant in order to provide them with line and action cues from the film. Anastasia would mute the voice of the actor(s) in the film so that the participant could give voice to the character in the film, much to the audience's participation and delight.
The first cultural reference for Movieoke came from the 1993 film "Arizona Dream
Arizona Dream
Arizona Dream is a 1993 film directed by Emir Kusturica and starring Johnny Depp, Jerry Lewis and Faye Dunaway.-Plot:Axel has a dream about an Eskimo who catches a rare halibut and brings it back to his family in an igloo...
" starring Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
, Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
and Vincent Gallo
Vincent Gallo
Vincent Gallo is an Italian-American film director and actor. Though he has had minor roles in mainstream films such as Goodfellas, he is most associated with independent movies, including Buffalo '66, which he wrote, directed, did the music for and starred in; The Brown Bunny, which he also...
. During a talent show scene one of the characters performs a version of Movieoke (though does not mention the word movieoke). Vincent Gallo's character Paul Leger performs a step by step remake of the famous crop dusting scene from Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's "North by Northwest
North by Northwest
North by Northwest is a 1959 American thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason, and featuring Leo G. Carroll and Martin Landau...
" as the film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
is projected over him on stage. Slightly different from East Village Movieoke in that the sound of the film is still present, Gallo syncs with the actor's dialog on stage.
Since these early Movieoke events, other businesses have cropped up which make technological advances allowing for people to enact Movieoke on their home computer, one such company is KaraMovie Inc., who introduced the MoXie Player in 2006 which provides the means to receive movieoke content via the internet.
Released in November 2008, the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
Game "You're in The Movies" could be considered the latest incarnation of the movieoke theme. While players do not reenact scenes from famous movies, but rather direct and act in the their own films--much of the actions and verisimilitude
Verisimilitude
Verisimilitude is the quality of realism in something .-Competing ideas:The problem of verisimilitude is the problem of articulating what it takes for one false theory to be closer to the truth than another false theory...
is the same as Movieoke.
Live Movieoke events for the public still take place periodically around the world.