How did you author the video you recorded for upload to Instagram?
As mentioned in my previous blog, I wanted to author this video entirely through Instagrams software. Using the rear-facing camera on my iPhone XR, I found the video option worked quite well for the video I wanted to produce. Unlike my phones recording ability, Instagram afforded me the option to stop and start the recording creating a jump-cut affect with no editing required.
“One of the early defining visual aspects of the app was the square dimensions for posted images: limiting users to that shape, forcing cropping of rectangular images and encouraging either taking photos within the app or using the ‘square’ option on the smartphone camera.” (Leaver, 2020. p.45)
The square format constrained me in regards to how much of the doorway I could fit into the frame, but by moving the camera around, I was still able to create the desired content. My biggest issue with using Instagram to author this video was that it required the user to hold down the button as opposed to pressing once to start and to stop.
This meant that getting any shots right on the first take was a little difficult as depending on the angle I was filming from, the hand placement required on the phone proved a bit tricky. I would film each shot and then re-watch it back to make sure it worked and if it didn’t, I deleted it and re-shot it. The filming process was about 10 minutes in total which surprised me considering the video is only about 20 seconds long.
I kept the flash off as there was enough natural light and decided to keep the ‘normal’ filter on as I wasn’t looking to add any extra effects. I did try the black and white filter on but found that it was hard to differentiate between the different sides of the door. I also didn’t add any adjustments to brightness or contrast.
I kept the audio on as I thought it added to the video however after I posted it, the audio for the middle clip seemed to be muted – I’m unsure if this has been a mistake on my part or a software issue.
How did you publish the video you recorded for upload to Instagram?
I’ve always hated this door. As Donald Norman contends, a bad design “screams out its inadequacies” and I often find myself internally screaming at this door. I recorded the video the same day that I uploaded it and chose to caption it ‘Doors that don’t close 🤦🏼♀️🙅🏽’ in reference to the required topic of good and bad design. I configured the video to play automatically and added the following tags: #baddesign, #doorsofinstagram, #handles, #pushpullgrind.
3.How did you distribute the video you published on Instagram to other social media services?
As mentioned above, I used tagging to distribute the video further across the network and I also ge0-tagged Melbourne. Victoria, Australia. I used the sharing option while in the uploading process and shared it to my Twitter and Tumblr accounts.
Doors that don’t close 🤦🏼♀️🙅🏽 #baddesign #doorsofinstagram #handles #pushpullgrind @ Melbourne, Victoria, Australia https://t.co/vOcRiJXGLV
— Lydia Cartledge (@lydiacartledge) May 12, 2020
References:
Norman, D 1998, The design of everyday things, Basic Book, New York, pp. Vii-xv; 1-13; 81-87; 177-186.
Leaver, T., Highfield, T., Abidin, C., 2020. Instagram: Visual Social Media Cultures. Digital Media and Society, United Kingdom. p. 39-74,