*Control Club*
Immersive Audio Visual Film
「控制俱樂部」
“An experimental audiovisual that uses game engines and sensors to explore the theme of control in modern society through a surreal and non-linear visual narrative.“
"Control Club" constructs an alienated world governed by digital landscapes, generated and operated by a game engine. Within this virtual space, one speeds down the information superhighway, toils mechanically in algorithmic factories—where control and desire collide. Beneath the glow of technology, life is perpetually reshaped and estranged, as bodies and consciousness dissolve into data streams, quietly transformed into mere computational units of the machine, ultimately becoming casualties of this invisible war.
In the post-pandemic era, the "computational regime" has become increasingly prominent, as computational processes are integrated into nearly every aspect of life. Computation, now an essential component of contemporary technology, has led to the gradual datafication of human behavior. With advanced computational power and precise algorithms, human actions can be predicted, turning what once seemed random into something more deterministic. This mirrors a form of complex social magic, where data analysis and utilization allow for the prediction and simulation of individual behaviors.
”Loading...Access 3“ Exhibition in UFO Terminal Shanghai
Here, the engine is more than a tool for rendering images—it serves as a metaphor for the algorithmic manipulation of perception and behavior in contemporary society. No longer merely facilitating observation, it operates as a managerial structure, assimilating users' movement patterns, feedback mechanisms, and even awakened desires into a calculable, predictable programmatic logic.
Murphy Nile employs "engagement" as a trap, crafting a closed yet fluidly immersive experience through rhythmic pacing, visual bombardment, and addictive gratification. Bodies, gaze, and attention are tightly locked onto predetermined paths, while the engine’s signature capabilities—modeling and simulation—are repurposed to mirror the pervasive soft discipline of a technocratic society: hollow yet dazzling spectacle-images, quantifiable goal systems, and meticulously paced reward structures. Within this airtight logic, everything is orderly, precise—yet conspicuously absent is any exit toward autonomy.
Visuals & System by Murphy Nile
Music Engineering by Ewan Peng
Special Thanks:
Patrick Hartono
Olivier Pasquet
Nathan Adams
UFO Media Lab
Wang Zhiang
Chen Xin
Wu Juehui
Sen Send