W3 Form

On March 8, 1972, Phil Morton conducted a morning class over the telephone. He instructed students that he would answer the phone with “video” and the caller had to reply “W3 Form”—students who responded incorrectly were prompted to dial again. This procedure would then be followed by Phil asking students where they are (street name, city, and zip code) and finally asking “what is your information?” Responses contained research topics, projects, and daily lives around students.

The video is composed of superimposed images from two cameras. A static camera focused on the real-time reaction of each student listening to the telephone conversation through a pair of earphones; another one panned across the classroom to capture the overall setting.

Showing critical awareness of the use of mass media, the first student respondent brought up “how television works as an information system rather than a form of entertainment, which is its basic use now.” She urged the democratization of media communication. Instead of being at the passive receiving end, she drew media user’s attention to their agency and their responsibility of communicating.

Another respondent recounted an experimental jam section that showcased around forty people with many instruments. One of the prompts was to play an instrument that they had never played before. This completely unstructured music-making inspired the student to dive deeper into the definition of music, where she brought up the reference to John Cage, and the idea of “noise can be music.”

–Gordon Dic-Lun Fung

For more information, visit the Phil Morton Memorial Research Archive page. 

The date for this title is approximate.