| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Location | Filmed on a purpose‑built set at PocketFrame Studios, Los Angeles; the cityscape is a mix of practical mini‑scapes and LED‑wall projections. |
| Camera Gear | ARRI Alexa Mini LF (LF sensor for shallow depth of field) + Zeiss Supreme Prime lenses; Gimbal rigs for fluid handheld movement that mimics the sway of a pocket while walking. |
| Lighting | Predominantly practical LED pocket lights (tiny strips sewn into costumes) that glow on cue; supplemented with LED panels to create the neon ribbon effect. |
| VFX | - Particle simulation of holographic ribbons using Houdini (800 k particles per frame)
- Real‑time compositing of pocket data streams with Nuke’s 3D workspace
- Depth‑map driven lens flares that sync to the track’s side‑chain pulsations |
| Color Grading | Shot in Log C and graded to a teal‑magenta palette, with high‑contrast highlights on the pocket glows to emphasise their luminescence. |
| Editing Rhythm | Sofia Patel cut the video to the “Pocket‑Drop” percussive tick: every visual cut lands on a click, reinforcing the song’s core motif. The bridge features a slow‑motion stretch (120 fps) that aligns with the spoken‑word monologue. |
Following PublicAgent’s release, a wave of creators began to adopt “pocket‑centric” installations: kinetic sculptures that react to the magnetic field of a phone in a pocket, and AR experiences that only trigger when a device is physically withdrawn from a garment. This indicates that “Present In The Pocket” opened a conceptual niche that blurs the boundary between the body’s clothing and its digital extensions.
Act II’s frantic cascade of notification bubbles, overlaid with policy excerpts, visualizes the relentless extraction of personal data. The split‑screen technique mirrors the duality of the device: a personal object on one side, a data‑harvesting instrument on the other. The pixelated visual distortion represents the “blurred” awareness many users have about what is being captured. PublicAgent - Present In The Pocket.mp4
The video follows Mara and Elliot as they navigate a stylised metropolis where every citizen carries a glowing, holographic “pocket”—a visual metaphor for personal memories, secrets, and digital identities. As the chorus erupts, the pockets emit neon ribbons that intertwine, forming a city‑wide light‑show that culminates in a massive, pulsing heart at the city centre.
The video draws on a lineage that includes: | Aspect | Details | |---|---| | Location
| Precedent | Relation | |-----------|----------| | Nam June Paik’s “TV Buddha” (1974) | Exploration of technology as both mirror and mediator | | Hito Steyerl’s “How Not to Be Seen: A Fucking Didactic Educational .MOV File” (2013) | Use of low‑resolution video to comment on surveillance | | Vuk Ćosić’s “The Terminal” (2005) | Emphasis on the portable screen as a site of public performance |
PublicAgent’s work can be read as a contemporary continuation of these interventions, updating their concerns for a world saturated with mobile connectivity. PublicAgent – “Present In The Pocket” (MP4) –
PublicAgent – “Present In The Pocket” (MP4) – A Critical Essay
In the ever‑expanding universe of contemporary digital media, short‑form video has become a primary site for cultural experimentation. One such work that has quietly but persistently attracted attention on platforms ranging from Vimeo to niche art‑collective forums is PublicAgent’s “Present In The Pocket” (distributed in MP4 format). Though the video runs a modest six minutes, it packs a dense amalgam of visual, auditory, and conceptual layers that merit serious scholarly attention. This essay will situate the piece within the broader context of post‑internet art, dissect its formal components, explore its thematic preoccupations with temporality, surveillance, and consumer intimacy, and finally assess its impact on both the practice of digital media and the discourse surrounding the politics of “the pocket” as a cultural metaphor.
The title itself is a wordplay: “Present” can denote both a gift and the current moment. By locating the present “in the pocket,” PublicAgent suggests that our experience of the now is increasingly outsourced to a handheld device. The video’s rhythmic pulse (the golden‑ratio LFO) reinforces a temporal order that is mathematically “optimal,” yet artificial—implying that the pocket imposes its own cadence on the user’s perception of time.