It's visual narrative, not film

An evening at Manchester’s Cornerhouse recently brought to mind a post-modern question. What constitutes a film?
The obvious answer, of course, is filmed footage in either digital or celluloid form. Yet for many people the definition would probably be more focused on narrative. That is, after all, the most prominent type of ‘film’, and for most people the idea of watching anything else- for example the experimental work of Jeff Keen- would be rather obscure (and, in the case of said practitioner, at times quite terrifying).
Using this narrative definition then, could a film exist in theory? The artist Jamie Shovlin seems to believe so, and after spending an hour or so perusing his latest exhibition, Hiker Meat, we would be partial to agree. The concept is deceptively simple- a collection of memorabilia and background notes from a 1970s exploitation movie, Hiker Meat. Yet the flick itself never existed in the first place, which complicates the premise to say the least.
So the rather obnoxious and crude tale is entirely the imagining of a creative who clearly carries a torch for the heyday of B-movie making. Posters from Italian screenings sit on walls overlooking delightfully kitsch props, placards explain the background of the film's fabricated director, and the top floor of the Cornerhouse currently hosts a series of blackboards, on which the musings, plans and ideas of those fantasised producers can be seen, and followed from the initial idea to final scene-by-scene timeline.
Needless to say, it’s the kind of thing that real buffs can get excited very about, and as real buffs we therefore found it rather exciting. The level of invention and innovation required to put something like this together is staggering. Leaving the exhibition and there was no doubt in our minds as to the story of Hiker Meat, and the yarn behind the actual ‘production’, despite the fact we had only been given snippets of either. All of which reminded us of a very different, but similarly fantasised account we had the pleasure of reading towards the end of last year.
S is the work of Doug Dorst and Hollywood director J.J. Abrams (responsible for both the Star Trek reboot and the forthcoming Star Wars film). A beautifully crafted book, designed to look like it belongs in a library that needs updating (complete with stamps alleging when the publication was taken out on loan), the idea is startlingly original to say the least. Packed with additional paraphernalia- from ‘hand drawn’ maps on napkins to faded photographs- a dual story is weaved. In the first instance, it’s Ship of Theseus, a tale by cult author, V. M. Straka. In the second, it’s two university students discovering and discussing the many myths surrounding this scribe.
 All of which may leave you wondering what this has to do with Hiker Meat. Fear not, though, because far from a useless digression, again in S both the story of how Ship of Theseus was written, and the actual story Ship of Theseus, are the product of imaginations. V. M. Straka never existed, and the hand written notes that annotate his prose, along with the two scholars who supposedly wrote them, are inventions too. Similarly, the old pictures and other artefacts placed between the covers are props. Yet nevertheless we find ourselves painting exquisitely detailed pictures of both stories, creating one entire overview of the various times, places, and characters involved. It’s certainly not a film, but the impact and effect of these devices is comparable because the result plays out in the mind like a movie told in two time periods. Extraordinary stuff, it's examples like this that prove film, and theatre, are not the only formats available for compelling and vivid visual narratives, and theorising aside are immersive experiences we'd recommend to anyone who enjoys a good story, conveyed in a very different way. 

 
Hiker Meat runs at Manchester's Cornerhouse until Monday 21st April 2014. 
http://www.cornerhouse.org/art/art-exhibitions/jamie-shovlin-hiker-meat
S, written by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst, is available to buy now, courtest of Canongate Books. 
http://www.canongate.tv/watch/tag/jj-abrams-and-doug-dorst/