Default filename TV (2019);

Default Filename TV was a YouTube aggregator that served only videos that were uploaded directly from the camera, without edits to the filename. With titles like 1453.MOV and DSC_9056, these moments pointed back to an era of YouTube that was intimate, personal, and mundane. The majority were short, under a minute, and had view-counts in the dozens (if that). Videos shown were not downloaded, in order to maintain an authorship relationship to the original uploaders.

Although initially approved by Google, Default Filename TV’s API key was revoked during a routine audit in 2023, and the review team eventually stopped returning my emails requesting further explanation or review.

Default Filename TV at We-Link Sideways at Chronus Art Center, photo credit to ZHONG Han.