The convergence of still and video went mainstream in the early days of multimedia. If I were to point to one moment in history it might be the introduction of the interactive CD-ROM, which quickly became a vessel for mixing still and video images. Prior to the interactive CD-ROM, multimedia was more of a theatrical production, viewed at shows or kiosks, with a cutting edge appeal that now seems quaint (imagine the sound of 12 carousel projectors tripping through slides for a 6 screen show, sequenced and triggered by an elaborate control system). Artists have long pioneered mixed media, from ancient tribal dance, to Dada, to Broadway. But for photographers and videographers, convergence has entered an era of viability being brought about, paradoxically, as much by tools, as by the need for the tools.

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Looking back, my first experience with “convergence” happened sitting in a movie house in Boston circa 1965. I was a teenager, aspiring photographer, and serious fan of French new wave cinema. I was watching a film by Jean-Luc Godard when the moving images suddenly became interspersed with captivating still images: a face distressed, a look back over the shoulder, a moment of joy. The still photographs were profoundly powerful and, more importantly, fell seamlessly in step with the moving images. The final scene in Truffaut’s “The 400 Blows” comes to mind as well, when the lead character is frozen in a still image that sums up the realization of his existential dilemma. The still image flowing from the moving image, and vice versa.

For the past many decades the moving image and the still image have prospered independently. When a young person was interested in images, usually they would make the choice to pursue film school or photography school, and then to pursue either a career in film or video, or go in the direction of still photography. Each of those avenues had myriad career paths, and each career path could take years to master.

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