Other Ends of Cinema: Powers of Ten, Exponential Data, and the Archive of Scientific Images

From 1957 to 1977, the Office of Charles and Ray Eames worked with IBM on a series of films and exhibitions to promote the social benefits of the computer. Across these projects, the office developed strategies of programming spectator journeys through spaces of information. It is in this context that one should understand the Eameses' most iconic film, Powers of Ten (1968, 1977). Recognizing film as an information medium, the Eames Office produced Powers of Ten as a form of visual software capable of preprocessing a vast archive of scientific images for the viewer, just as a computer executes its most fundamental processes behind the interface. Their efforts, alongside developments in microfilm storage and retrieval, point to film's role as the first universal medium to process image, sound, text, and data.