Databending (or data bending) is the process of manipulating a

media file This is a list of file formats used by computers, organized by type. Filename extension it is usually noted in parentheses if they differ from the file format name or abbreviation. Many operating systems do not limit filenames to one extension s ...

of a certain

format Format may refer to: Printing and visual media * Text formatting, the typesetting of text elements * Paper formats, or paper size standards * Newspaper format, the size of the paper page Computing * File format, particular way that informatio ...

, using

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...

designed to edit files of another format. Distortions in the medium typically occur as a result, and the process is frequently employed in

glitch art Glitch art is the practice of using digital or analog errors for aesthetic purposes by either corrupting digital data or physically manipulating electronic devices. Glitches appear in visual art such as the film ''A Colour Box'' (1935) by Len Lye, ...

Process and techniques

The term ''databending'' is derived from

circuit bending Circuit bending is the creative, chance-based customization of the circuits within electronic devices such as low-voltage, battery-powered guitar effects, children's toys and digital synthesizers to create new musical or visual instruments and ...

, in which objects such as children's toys,

effects pedal An effects unit or effects pedal is an electronic device that alters the sound of a musical instrument or other audio source through audio signal processing. Common effects include distortion/overdrive, often used with electric guitar in ele ...

s and electronic keyboards are deliberately

short circuit A short circuit (sometimes abbreviated to short or s/c) is an electrical circuit that allows a current to travel along an unintended path with no or very low electrical impedance. This results in an excessive current flowing through the circuit ...

ed by bending the

circuit board A printed circuit board (PCB; also printed wiring board or PWB) is a medium used in Electrical engineering, electrical and electronic engineering to connect electronic components to one another in a controlled manner. It takes the form of a L ...

to produce erratic and spontaneous sounds. Like circuit bending, databending involves the (often unpredictable) alteration of its target's behavior. Databending achieves this alteration by manipulating the information within a media file of a certain format, using software designed to edit files of a different format; distortions in the medium typically occur as a result. Many techniques exist, including the use of

hex editor A hex editor (or ''binary file editor'' or ''byte editor'') is a computer program that allows for manipulation of the fundamental binary data that constitutes a computer file. The name 'hex' comes from ' hexadecimal', a standard numerical format f ...

s to manipulate certain components of a

compression algorithm In information theory, data compression, source coding, or bit-rate reduction is the process of encoding information using fewer bits than the original representation. Any particular compression is either lossy or lossless. Lossless compression ...

, to comparatively simple methods.

Michael Betancourt Michael Betancourt (born 1971) is a critical theorist, film theorist, art & film historian, and animator. His principal published works focus on the critique of digital capitalism, motion graphics, visual music, new media art, theory, and for ...

has posed a short set of instructions, included in the ''Signal Culture Cookbook,'' that involves the direct manipulation of the digital file using a hexadecimal editing program. One such method involves the addition of audio effects through audio editing software to distort

raw data Raw data, also known as primary data, are ''data'' (e.g., numbers, instrument readings, figures, etc.) collected from a source. In the context of examinations, the raw data might be described as a raw score (after test scores). If a scientist ...

interpretations of image files. Some effects produce optical analogues: adding an

echo In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the list ...

filter duplicated elements of a photo, and inversion contributed to the flipping over of an image. The similarities result from the waveforms corresponding with the layers of pixels in a linear fashion, ordered from top to bottom. Another method, dubbed "the WordPad effect", uses the program

WordPad WordPad is the basic word processor that has been included with almost all versions of Microsoft Windows from Windows 95 onwards. It is more advanced than Windows Notepad, and simpler than Microsoft Word and Microsoft Works (last updated in 2007) ...

to manipulate images through converting the raw data to the

Rich Text Format ) As an example, the following RTF code would be rendered as follows: This is some bold text. Character encoding A standard RTF file can only consist of 7-bit ASCII characters, but can use escape sequences to encode other characters. Th ...

Categorization

According to the artist Benjamin Berg, different techniques of the process can be grouped into three categories: * Incorrect editing: Files of a certain format are manipulated using software designed to edit files of a different format. * Reinterpretation: Files are simply converted from one medium to another. * Forced errors: Known

software bug A software bug is an error, flaw or fault in the design, development, or operation of computer software that causes it to produce an incorrect or unexpected result, or to behave in unintended ways. The process of finding and correcting bugs i ...

s are exploited to force the program to terminate, usually while writing a file. The "WordPad effect" would fall under ''incorrect editing'', while ''reinterpretation'' contains a subcategory called ''sonification'', in which data other than audio is introduced simultaneously with musical audio data. The last technique is the hardest of the three to accomplish, often yielding highly unpredictable results.

Usage and reception

Databending is frequently employed in

, and is considered a sub-category of the genre. The ''sonification'' technique is commonly used by

glitch music Glitch is a genre of electronic music that emerged in the 1990s. It is distinguished by the deliberate use of glitch-based audio media and other sonic artifacts. The glitching sounds featured in glitch tracks usually come from audio recording de ...

ians such as

Alva Noto Carsten Nicolai (18 September 1965), also known as Alva Noto, is a German musician and visual artist. He is a member of the music groups Diamond Version with Olaf Bender (Byetone), Signal with Frank Bretschneider and Olaf Bender, Cyclo with Ryo ...

. Ahuja and Lu summarized the process through a quote by Adam Clark Estes of ''

Gizmodo ''Gizmodo'' ( ) is a design, technology, science and science fiction website. It was originally launched as part of the Gawker Media network run by Nick Denton, and runs on the Kinja platform. ''Gizmodo'' also includes the subsite ''io9'', whic ...

'' as "the internet's code-heavy version of graffiti." Various groups on

Flickr Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and professional ...

explore the effects of databending on imagery; an

Internet bot An Internet bot, web robot, robot or simply bot, is a software application that runs automated tasks (scripts) over the Internet, usually with the intent to imitate human activity on the Internet, such as messaging, on a large scale. An Internet ...

named "GlitchBot" was created to scrape

Creative Commons Creative Commons (CC) is an American non-profit organization and international network devoted to educational access and expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has release ...

-licensed imagery and apply the process and upload the results. Users on

Vimeo Vimeo, Inc. () is an American video hosting, sharing, and services platform provider headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices. Vimeo's business model is through software as ...

who deal explicitly with databending and glitch art in general exist, and a

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

-based digital art project named GLI.TC/H was funded using

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

in 2011.

References

External links

A Simple Protocol for Databending by

Glitch art application
by Georg Fischer * {{Flickr-inline2, photos/glitchbot/, GlitchBot
Official website
of GLI.TC/H
Databending using Audacity
by

Antonio Roberts Antonio Roberts (also known as ''hellocatfood''), is a new media artist and curator based in Birmingham UK, notable for his work in the areas of glitch art, installation art and live coding performance, including live visuals and/or music perform ...

Artistic techniques Computer errors Computer graphic techniques Digital electronics Film and video technology New media Software anomalies Software bugs

Process and techniques

Categorization

Usage and reception

See also

References

External links