Palette Reduction (2009)

A pixel is the smallest element in digital graphics. Viewing the screen as a grid, it makes up a 1x1 cell containing color information for one dot among many. The Palette Reduction Series transforms film to the purity of the single pixel level by reducing each cinematic frame to one color, resulting in a simultaneously impressionistic and analytical transformation. The source material is sampled at 24 frames per second and each frame is reduced to its average color. For this distillation process, the source material was chosen for its already heavily distilled nature-- the film trailer. One might think that the normalization of color would blend all trailers into faceless, skin-toned blurs, however, the process paradoxically underscores the cuts, tone, and pacing to a heightened, more vibrant level.