Report: Instagram’s adaptation to inclusivity.

Assignment 3 – Report

Name: Natalie James

Student #: s3491061

I declare that in submitting all work for this assessment I have read, understood and agree to the content and expectations of the assessment declaration – https://www.rmit.edu.au/students/support-and-facilities/student-support/equitable-learning-services

Making Media blog links

Week 9 – Instagram photo

Week 9 – Instagram video

Week 10 – Instagram photo

Week 10 – Instagram video

Week 11 – Instagram photo

Week 11 – Instagram video

This report responds directly to the course prompt:

How do the affordances of Instagram affect the way photos and videos are authored, published and distributed in the network?

Introduction

This report identifies the affordances and constraints of Instagram in relation to the way in which photos and videos are authored, published and distributed in the network. My research has found that despite limited affordances in terms of authoring within Instagram itself, the adaptation of Instagram to encourage and allow for publishing via external tools and equipment and distribution via third party apps and platforms has seen Instagram evolve in the network as an extremely successful and popular platform — one that promotes inclusivity and in which combines many activities together in a single structure. Through theoretical, legacy and new age media analysis and the making media process, It was uncovered just how much Instagram listens to it’s users and remains as arguably the most popular social media platform despite constraints within the app itself. The real success is how Instagram collaborates within the network and thus extends its affordances, resulting in a formidable platform still after eight years of its existence.

Background

During the course of Networked Media we have investigated theoretical texts, compared legacy and new age photography and film and produced media content via the Instagram app — all in effort to gain a comprehensive understanding of the birth and evolution of Instagram into what it is today. The research conducted assists in the understanding of the affordances, constraints and natural mapping that exist within the app. Affordances can be defined as “the possibility of an action on an object or environment” (Norman, 1998), constraints are signals that prevent action and can be physical, semantic, cultural or logical. Mapping is what we perceive in our minds as possible when encountering physical objects. Regarding the prompt, there are many affordances, constraints and mappings present when authoring, publishing and distributing in the network however Instagram is a fast-changing and socially aware organisation that acknowledges its capabilities and has evolved from a “single culture of use into one that supports many of them” (Manovich, 2016). This is the success of Instagram — an app that promotes and facilities inclusivity of it’s users, variety of content  and authoring and supports third party collaboration — which overall sees a wide range of affordances and a limited amount of constraints of the app.

Evidence/What?

To investigate the prompt, we started by looking at theory in relation to blogs, the terms of design (affordances, constraints, mapping), the network itself and social media. This painted an in-depth picture of the environment and the evolving nature of the online world, whilst assisting in understanding the context of Instagram and how and why it operates the way it does. The analysis found that media is integrating, with social media blurring lines of professional and pleasure and blogging redefining the relationship between community and education. We then compared the authoring, publishing and distribution of legacy and new age media in the forms of photography and video. This allowed insight into the differences of past and present and how traditional concepts and usage of photography and film still exist in an evolved form today. The analysis found that intent and meaning were significantly the same when authoring in both forms, though there is major difference in the publishing and distribution due to the evolution of technology.

The media making process (all blog posts linked at top of page) put these concepts into action, allowing application of knowledge to understand the affordances and constraints that became present when physically using Instagram itself. At first it was a challenge to adapt to the constraints of shooting images and filming with the Instagram camera — the square format, the lesser quality and stabilisation of the camera, the inability to record boomerangs or slow motion,  having to keep a finger on the record button the entire time and the fact that film content couldn’t be edited apart from applying a filter compared to photos which afforded a lot more editing tools. As the weeks progressed I became more confident in my capabilities and adapted to the affordances of the app and was pleased by the mapping of functionality and ease of use. The theoretical research of previous weeks greatly assisted in the curation process, layout and aesthetic identity of my page, understanding the difference of designed and professional photos whilst helping me also to understand the exposure and reach possible in distribution to other platforms.

Evaluation

The affordances of Instagram limit the way photos and videos are authored within the app itself, however the affordances in the publishing and distribution is where Instagram thrives in it’s success. As co-founder of Instagram stated in 2013, what once started as a platform for “producing photos on the go, in the real world, in real time” has in a few years become the opposite — a platform where everything from a photo or videos’ quality, colour, composition, posting time and position in a users gallery are rationalised and engineered (Manovich, 2016). Whilst Instagram still affords its users to author within the app, the Instagrams adaptation to allow collaboration with third party apps such as VSCO, Afterlight and Face Tune and for users to upload content shot by other sources (such as professional cameras) other than the provided Instagram camera itself has enabled a culture of inclusivity of media type, expression and use. As Lev Manovich puts it in Instagram and the Contemporary Image (2016), Instagram allows you to “capture, edit and publish photos, view photos of your friends, discover other photos through search, interact with them (like, comment, repost, post to other networks), enter into conversations with photo authors and others who left comments, create photo collections, change their order etc — all from a single device. The affordances far out weigh the constraints when thinking of Instagram and its connection and acceptance in the network, especially as it continues to understand and listen to its users needs and desires. Our engagement as users is both fostered and constrained through the affordances which that piece of software provides (Khoo, 2017) thus whilst authoring affordances are limited within Instagram itself, mapping and awareness of how to integrate multiple platforms and the allowance by Instagram to do so sees a multitude of affordances for users in the publishing and distribution of content Instagram. This adaptation is Instagram’s evolution  and success into a multi-faceted and all-inclusive platform.

Conclusion

The investigation into the affordances of Instagram in relation to authoring, publishing and distributing into the network has been an eye opening endeavour. All facets of research across the course have been integral to my perspectives and knowledge in forming my view that Instagram is an adaptive and evolving platform that affords its users with an abundance of freedom when deciding how they want to author, publish and distribute. However, limitations arose when determining the full capacity of Instagram’s affordances in the media making process. I believe having more freedom in variance in content to post across the six blog posts would have allowed me to think in a more multi-faceted way in relation to what Instagram can and cannot afford me to do. More historical evidence of the evolution of media could have been added in the report also to help the reader have more understanding of an issue that can be quite complex if new to the topic. Overall, I learnt a significant amount from all modes of research and have come out of the process feeling well-informed and aware of affordances and constraints apparent not only of Instagram, but of the network itself.

References:

Khoo, Elaine, et al. (2017), Software Literacy: Education and Beyond. Springer Briefs in Education. Springer

Manovich, Lev (2016), ‘Instagram and the Contemporary Image: Introduction: Instagram as a platform medium’, University of San Diego, http://manovich.net/index.php/projects/instagram-and-contemporary-image, pp. 9 – 18

Manovich, Lev (2016) ‘Instagram and the Contemporary Image: Part Two; Professional and Designed Photos’, University of San Diego, http://manovich.net/index.php/projects/instagram-and-contemporary-image, pp. 48 – 64

Norman, Donald (1998), The design of everyday things, Basic Book, New York, pp. 1-13; 81-87

https://www.instagram.com/p/BolQCIUDuOaUArccSxsi8HGDjW3H_NAQX37Duk0/?taken-by=shoppingcentredoors

https://www.instagram.com/p/BolQCIUDuOaUArccSxsi8HGDjW3H_NAQX37Duk0/?taken-by=shoppingcentredoors

1. How did you author the video you recorded for upload to Instagram?

I used my iPhone 7 Plus to shoot the footage for this video, shot and uploaded all by the affordances of the Instagram app. I decided to keep the phone very still and just hold to record, deciding to have the subjects in the footage move instead of using camera  techniques utilised in previous works to film content. Holding the camera still to film presented little constraints in shooting apart from the size/wideness of view due to the square format of shooting afforded by the Instagram app, and also the lesser quality and stabilisation of shooting in via the app. Whilst shooting and uploading content all within the Instagram app was once the main idea, Instagram has addressed the movement of technology and needs of its users by affording users to upload images and footage saved in the phones library. This is practically the life blood how of Instagram users upload content in the present day. As I discussed in the previous blog post, you can become accustomed to shooting, editing and uploading all within the Instagram app itself, however if there are external apps and methods for doing so in a BETTER way, why would you not do so? Instagram has allowed these changes to take place, and can be seen in the implementation of stories (to mimic competitor SnapChat), links to distribute to other social media platforms and other editing apps allowing linkages to jump back to Instagram. I believe this is why Instagram continues to dominate the game: It is listening to it’s user, adapting when necessary and keeping it simple. I didn’t use the flash feature or change my body movement in order to capture this footage, though I did apply the Gingham filter once again to be in line with previous works in the series. Constraints in editing were apparent with elements that are afforded for images but not for video footage, with the only affordances for video being adding / eliminating audio, adding a filter and changing the cover.

2. How did you publish the video you recorded for upload to
Instagram?

I knew what I wanted to shoot for this video, however Instagram didn’t exactly afford this to me so I had to improvise. I originally wanted to uploaded a boomerang of a person opening the hinged doors of the cabinet, however Instagram video only lets you hold down and record – literally. In order to shoot and upload a boomerang I would have to download the ‘Boomerang’ app to my iPhone, shoot the footage using this app and then upload it to Instagram for publishing. A big part of this research was to test the affordances and constraints of utilising only the Instagram app, so I decided to work around it and simply shoot the footage with out the boomerang effect. This gave me great insight into just how constrained shooting video is on Instagram – combined with the lack of editing tools and shooting types for the affordance. I once again added the location Highpoint Shopping Centre tag easily and seamlessly post upload, and it occurred to me that the constraints I’m finding in the ‘authoring’ of content using the Instagram app are balanced out with the ‘publishing’ aspects of the app. It seems Instagram is all about uploading of good content and they accept that there are better platforms out their to author content, as long as that content is published (and afforded in the easiest and simplest ways possible for users) on their app itself. External apps, cameras etc are the ingredients in the recipe, however Instagram is the final, appealing dish. To be in line with the previous works, I uploaded the text caption DOUBLE DOOR 002 and combined it with the simply hashtag #door in the comments field. The video once again plays automatically when clicked on or scrolled past in the feed.

3. How did you distribute the video you published on Instagram to
other social media services?

Once more I distributed the footage via the afforded redistribution platforms via Instagram itself – Twitter and Tumblr. Whilst the clear constraints with distribution to Twitter have been discussed each week, I decided to play around once more with the site to further understand their affordances with images. You can tweet an image, which shows positive afford for users of the app, however no clear messages for distribution of images are apparent. It occurred to me that the identity of Twitter is largely word based and if Twitter allowed more visuals, well…it probably wouldn’t be Twitter but instead a hybrid of all social media sites, and probably looking a little more like Facebook. Identity is key here – Instagram is an imaging sharing site, same with Tumblr. This is why distribution to to these sites makes sense, but for Twitter it has less of an impact. Touching on the discussion in the last blog post, it goes to show just how integral understanding the demographics of the platforms you are distributing to. If you have a large following on Instagram, it makes sense to probably share and distribute your content amongst many sites with different identities to gain more exposure – however for the everyday user, distributing to sites that don’t match your brand identity can show little difference to the outcome of distribution.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BolP4bIjmhdl8G_UI_-Qp_Hq0OTqdskD7kz9Ck0/?taken-by=shoppingcentredoors

https://www.instagram.com/p/BolP4bIjmhdl8G_UI_-Qp_Hq0OTqdskD7kz9Ck0/?taken-by=shoppingcentredoors

1. How did you author the photo you recorded for upload to Instagram?

I used my iPhone 7 Plus to shoot this photograph to upload to Instagram, just as I did the previous weeks, as it is important to keep the methodology consistent to gain true insight into the affordances, constraints and mapping of the Instagram application. By this stage of authoring, I gained more confident with the abilities of the Instagram camera and found myself more capable of shooting with it. Whilst the Instagram square shooting format and it’s lesser quality is still a constraint in producing high quality images for Instagram, I was able to adapt to this format after more use and practice with it. I once again used the rear camera for this shot. I understood how to angle the shot in order to utilise the capacity of the square frame as best as possible and moved my body appropriately in order to capture the shot at with right depth. I also applied the Instagram supplied filter of Gingham (like all previous works) to continue the aesthetic theme of the content thus far. The affordances when  uploading images to Instagram far out weigh the affordances when uploading video footage (as touched upon in my previous blog post). When uploading an image, you can alter many components such as clarity, sharpness, saturation, warmth and so forth. Applying these changes can really open up the opportunities for posting images on Instagram. I once again upped the brightness, contrast and sharpness of this image to make the subject stand out.

2. How did you publish the photo you recorded for upload to
Instagram?

By now, I had established a consistent theme and idea for the curation of my page and was confident in the subject I wanted to shoot and post for this week, thus I only had to shoot this subject once. The choice to showcase yet another type of door present in a shopping centre was always on the cards in the curation process. I believe diversity is important when considering your Instagram layout, though overarching themes should always be present – such as a minimalistic theme, which I employed in all my posts. I once again added the location tag Highpoint Shopping Centre after upload, an affordance that was very easy to locate and apply. The text caption I placed with this image was once again in line with the previous works and said DOUBLE DOOR 001, complemented with a witty yet appropriate hashtag uploaded into the comment section of #hinged. It’s important to keep your content alive, fresh and relevant. Sometimes you have to change it up slightly to spark interest once more.

3. How did you distribute the photo you published on Instagram to
other social media services?

This image was distributed once again via Tumblr and Twitter, simply as Instagram affords users easily and seamlessly to do so. This is a very important affordance to consider for users who distribute to other social media platforms. As discussed in the previous blog post, Facebook is also an affordance for distribution, and probably the most popular platform to be seen by people you know. Distribution really depends on where you want your image to be shared, and who you want your image or footage to be viewed by. If your page has a particular theme/identity such as DOORS like my page does, it is important to find the relevant hashtags, blog-sites and users who also share the same interests and post similar content. This will help with exposure of your content and community in the online space. Distribution constraints discussed in previous blog posts still apply in regards to Instagram content being distributed to Twitter, though as mentioned it really depends on your audience — perhaps a link would gain traction in that space if there is more awareness cultivated there than on Tumblr.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BolPYbcDyHlnayf4WdawCgilm7dUX3d7ys8UNA0/?taken-by=shoppingcentredoors

https://www.instagram.com/p/BolPYbcDyHlnayf4WdawCgilm7dUX3d7ys8UNA0/?taken-by=shoppingcentredoors

1. How did you author the video you recorded for upload to Instagram?

I used my iPhone 7 Plus to record this video, shot through the affordance of the Instagram video option. There were restraints in the filming process as video length of 3 seconds applies as a minimum length for footage (this was okay when I was filming, however can still be considered as a constraint of the video tool of Instagram). I was also unable to zoom in once filming and had to keep my finger on the ‘film’ circle (acting and appearing as a button) when shooting which was a constraint in terms of my reach and smoothness of motion when filming. The camera of the iPhone allows you to simply click and records on it’s own with no holding down of any ‘button’ needed and is much more user friendly. I used the rear facing camera to pan across the doors, with imagery retails stores of Gorman and Rodeo Show present on either side. I kept my body still and used both hands to keep the phone steady as I filmed, the Instagram camera is a basic camera and had no image stability, which is also a constraint in the affordance. Once again, to keep in line with the theme of previous works I applied the Gingham filter to the video, however there is no option to change other aspects of the footage in terms of hue, brightness, clarity etc in which the photo option affords you to do, which was another constraint for me in achieving an end result I was totally happy with. I shot the clip all in one go with no ‘start-stop’ and decided to include the audio of the hustle and bustle of the busy shopping centre to add to it’s authenticity. The affordance in being able to change the cover image of the footage was also applied, as I scrolled along to pick an image of the doors that held the best quality and aesthetic ideal for the layout of my Instagram page.

2. How did you publish the video you recorded for upload to
Instagram?

I recorded this video a few times in order to achieve the most stable and smooth rolling of footage I could with what the Instagram video function afforded me. To be in line with my overall theme and the complimenting photography work for this week I already knew I wanted to create footage of this door so It was once again the only subject I shot. As you will see now, another theme in my page is to take a photo of the door and then video that same door. This will be repeated for all three weeks of posting, which gives the page an identity and structure which viewers can begin to see and acknowledge and expect within my page. I added the Highpoint Shopping Centre location tag post uploading and also decided to further complete my page, I needed to upload a display photo and change the pages’ name to ‘shoppingcentredoors’ — which you can witness in the screenshot above. This really made a difference to the page and added to it’s identity and credibility. The text caption was once again in line with previous works and was entitled BEHIND THE SCENES 002, with a complimentary hashtag applied in the comments of #industrialdoors. The video has also been configured to play automatically when clicked upon or scrolled past, with the option to tap the footage to listen to it’s audio.

3. How did you distribute the video you published on Instagram to
other social media services?

Once again I utilised Tumblr and Twitter which are options to link via the Instagram app. Having the same concerns with Twitter being unable to view the image in a visual form, I attempted to see if there was an affordance to change this but editing the tweet. This could not be done, which was disappointing. Tumblr still remains as the most appropriate sharing tool out of the two, as the image and link appear when redistributed to the platform. You also have room to edit and add hashtags which is important for post exposure and traction. Facebook is another social media platform that is ideal for distribution though on a less viral scale as only your friends on your profile can see the redistribution. Distribution to Facebook links the image in a visual way and allows you to alter the caption, location and hashtags. An important part of distribution to other platforms is understanding what hashtags work best according to their demographics and audiences. Understanding popular phrases and words to use as hashtags can make all the difference in exposure in the distribution of content.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BolPG8RjaXQ_ontjioKFpszcEMw6ZLlSwCnCvQ0/?hl=en&taken-by=nmedias391061

https://www.instagram.com/p/BolPG8RjaXQ_ontjioKFpszcEMw6ZLlSwCnCvQ0/?hl=en&taken-by=nmedias391061

1. How did you author the photo you recorded for upload to Instagram?

I used my iPhone 7 Plus to shoot this image, with the rear facing camera. There presented to be no real constraints when shooting this image — there was a lot of natural light filling the space which made it easy for me to point and shoot. The quality of the image in terms of brightness could have been touch-edited via the camera of the iPhone however, as we know from last week that the Instagram camera often lacks the clarity and exposure of the camera itself. I did move my body slightly to get closer to the doors because of the lack of clarity of the Instagram camera and ended up taking the image around seven times due to shift in focus due to the constraint of a slight lag when Instagram shooting and also due to people in the centre constantly walking past the doors — instead of being able to quickly shoot multiple photos, the process of attaining the right image was drawn out due to the fact I had to click to delete each image after taking a shoot. The square frame of the Instagram camera didn’t really alter the way I shot this image, unlike last week where the frame did effect the image a lot. This could be due to the fact I was able to move my body a lot further away due to the space available for me in this area. The flash was turned off and like the previous week I utilised Instagram filter ‘Gingham’ to edit the picture. No other brightening tools were incorporated this week due to the natural light already present however the sharpness was increased to make it the image clearer. This photograph differed from my usual authoring process of taking photos as I had think think a lot more around the angles I wanted to shoot in order to limit the amount of times I had to delete and then reshoot the image. This process was an annoying constraint so I put more thought into the framing to ensure I got the right shot quickly. I normally prefer to take photos in the longer frame that the camera has as it’s preset size and then if I want to crop it to a square later I can — Instagram’s square camera format meant that I could only keep the square and not alter it’s size.

2. How did you publish the photo you recorded for upload to
Instagram?

As discussed briefly I shot around seven images before getting this final shoot. This was due to people walking past the area when shooting and also due to trying to figure out the best angle to shoot – I often changed my mind and then had to delete the image and start over. Overall I knew the image I wanted to shoot for this week though so It was the only subject I shot despite it’s multiple attempts. My curation process for this week was looking back at the week prior and then trying to make a link somehow — and this how ‘Shopping Centre Doors’ as a theme arose. I also wanted to shoot different types of doors, not all the same, so I spent about 30 minutes wandering around the centre before deciding on this door for my second photo entry. I decided to add the Highpoint Shopping Centre location tag after posting, which is smart affordance that allows Instagram users to connect with locations, businesses and pages. I also tagged Gorman and Rodeo Show, the two brands whose window’s you can briefly see on the outskirts of the frame. My text caption for this image was BEHIND THE SCENES 001 to be line with the theme of captions from the week prior and also is a fun, quirky name to add to a minimalistic image. The hashtag #backdoor was also added into the comments after publishing.

3. How did you distribute the photo you published on Instagram to
other social media services?

Like the week prior, I distributed this photo via Tumblr and Twitter and will continue to do so for the following week. This is so all my content is evenly distributed across Instagram, Tumblr and Twitter. The affordance of in built toggles to seamlessly link your post to these two external social media platforms also made it an easy choice for distribution. The same constraints arose however in the viewing on the image on Twitter as you have to click the link to actually view the image. Tumblr was once again most user-friendly for the content as the image cant be seen when scrolling down the blog page or viewed on my Tumblr layout page itself. This week I tried editing the post on Tumblr after distribution, and was easily afforded with ways to add hashtags and could view which hashtags were most popular when typing one in. This agreed with me and added value for distribution via the use of Tumblr. When attempting the same thing on Twitter, I was met with a much less visual and user-friendly way to alter my distributed link and found no successful way of changing the viewing of the Twitter post to contain the visual image itself.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BolOw3bDIOylV9_ou_7CJxjY8JZLvi7CoAyj2Q0/?hl=en&taken-by=nmedias391061

https://www.instagram.com/p/BolOw3bDIOylV9_ou_7CJxjY8JZLvi7CoAyj2Q0/?hl=en&taken-by=nmedias391061

 

1. How did you author the video you recorded for upload to Instagram?

To shoot this video I used an iPhone 7 Plus. I used the rear camera of the iPhone to shoot, panning from the bottom up to the top to capture the full size of the door. Due to the constraints of the Instagram “square” shooting mode, I had to significantly  alter and adjust my body (pushing it backward and holding the phone close to my chest) in order to capture the door in it’s entirety. I had to significantly angled the iPhone upwards, to the point where I could not even see the video I was shooting due to the iPhone being too close to my body. The flash feature was turned off. Like the rest of the photos and videos in my series of shooting Shopping Centre Doors, I applied the Instagram filter ‘Gingham’ — adjusting the brightness slightly to eliminate overbearing shadows. I chose not administer filters from exterior editing tools in order to fully gain insight into the affordances and constraints of the Instagram app to shoot, publish and distribute content. Major differences were apparent in terms of the authoring process I personally use to upload video. Firstly, I only really ever upload video content in the affordance of an Instagram Story as I feel it is more catered for in the Stories tool, with the Instagram page aesthetically being for mostly images. The Instagram app didn’t allow for added features for shooting that the Camera does on iPhone such as slow motion and time lapse and also produces what feels a lesser quality / clarity of content compared to using the camera itself. Another constraint I found quite interesting was the fact that Instagram doesn’t allow you to shoot with filters, GIFs and the boomerang function if you want to upload a video to your page — It only affords these functions when using Instagram stories. Though mapping between the two occurs when people save the story and then upload it to their page via the ‘add photo / video’ icon.

2. How did you publish the video you recorded for upload to
Instagram?

I only shot this video once surprisingly, however I had planned what I wanted to recorded prior to shooting it (wanting to keep the theme in-line with the photographic works). A minimalistic theme and one that gives prominent to ‘shape’ was also considered in the publishing aspect. When selecting the content for this video I wanted to focus on depth, colour and angles — hence why choosing to shoot from low to high panning angles. Overall the idea was to keep it very minimalistic and have focus on the door itself. No location was selected for this image before or after upload. I wanted to see the difference of  exposure of the image compared to the photographic works earlier this week when deciding not to include a location tag. After this consideration, it is apparent that the location tag offers great exposure for photos / videos to be seen on a global scale.  The caption I placed with this video was BATHROOM 002 to keep in line with the minimalistic theme and previous works in the series (as well as works to come). The hashtag #woodendoor was placed in the comments section, two aspects of the Instagram app that afford user interaction in a multifaceted way. The video is configured to play automatically when selected and can be replayed at the users discretion. There is no sound for this video.

3. How did you distribute video you published on Instagram to
other social media services?

I chose to distribute this video on social media sites Tumblr and Twitter as they are easily afforded as secondary apps to share to within the Instagram app itself. Constraints became prevalent however in terms of sharing and viewing of the content on these apps — just like the photographic work from this week. Whilst user-friendly links are afforded, lack of visual representation across platforms inhibits users from willingly sharing their content onto these external apps — though the mapping between the two is easy to use if desired. In the following weeks it will be important to play with the ‘settings tools’ within these external apps as perhaps there are ways around these constraints. The use of hashtags will also be interesting to look into more as hashtags afford Instagram content exposure and for individuals to easily navigate and locate your content if properly administered. Tumblr (a photo sharing and very visual platform) was by far the most user friendly and afforded a lot more aesthetic ideal for distribution when compared to Twitter, which is a lot more analytical and type-faced.

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BolOrbdDXuJ3qNNH9MtFeVxLOKIh-iofekdO9A0/?taken-by=nmedias391061

 

1. How did you author photo you recorded for upload to Instagram?

To author this photo for Instagram I used an iPhone 7s, which has a 12-megapixel camera on the rear of the device. In terms of the camera’s constraints in the shooting of this image, the small lens restricted me from being able to get a shot of the door in it’s entirety — I needed to manouver around in order to get a substantial amount of the door in the shot. The square image in the Instagram camera was also a constraint for the inability to shoot a full picture of the door, and made me shoot the door on a tilted angle in order to get most of it in. I didn’t use the flash, however I pressed the middle of the screen to ensure the brightness of the image was even and not casting too much exposure or shadows. I decided to use the Instagram filter “Gingham” as I believe it gives images a softer and warmer look. I have decided to use this filter on further images in this series to achieve an aesthetic look to my page. I increased the brightness and the sharpness of the image in Instagram’s added editing tools.

This authoring process was completely different to my normal authoring process of shooting, editing and uploading images to Instagram. Using Instagram alone posed quite restrictive in terms of image size, quality (especially photo crispness) and editing options. The camera on iPhone allows for much bigger and clearer photos, shoot’s a lot faster and offers modes as such Portrait and Panorama. The filters, whilst varied and relatively good, don’t always suit every photo you take and are common presets that everyone has access too. Other editing applications such as VSCO and RNI film allow for a more stylised and individual edit of images. The iPhone camera is a lot more efficient in quickly taking and saving photos, where on Instagram you have to take one photo, then delete it in order to take another one if you didn’t like the first one.

 

2. How did you publish photo you recorded for upload to Instagram?

I recorded this image 3 times before posting it to Instagram. This was because I wanted to ensure the photo had a good aesthetic look and I could instantly tell I wasn’t happy with the first couple I took and wouldn’t want to publish it on my feed. My curation process initially consisted of scouring an environment I believed could have a theme to it. I had to use my brain to think of an interesting environment where doors are displayed. After deciding to shoot at a shopping centre, and scouring Highpoint Shopping Centre for doors to shoot, I decided to shoot doors that are all around but not commonly seen as pieces of design, just more of a function. This is why I chose to start the series off with a photo and video of the public restroom. I wanted to ensure the photo of the door showed it’s length and sturdiness, and provoke thought in viewer of how these types of doors are not commonly seen. I added the location “Highpoint Shopping Centre” after posting, which was easily able to be done with a few simple clicks. I posted the picture with a caption “BATHROOM 001” as it is a two part series, with a video to follow. After posting, I went into “edit” and added a relevant hashtag #doorsofinstagram , which has 363,000 hits on the social media site.

3. How did you distribute photo you published on Instagram to other social media services?

I distributed the photo on Twitter and Tumblr, which was easily able to done as Instagram offers links to both of these apps to be posted (as well as Facebook) immediately and simultaneously when posting. I had to enable the linkage to both apps, which was easily directed by Instagram simply asking for my usernames and passwords for the external apps, which were then automatically linked. This being said, Tumblr was a lot more visually pleasing when viewing the sharing of the images on both Twitter and Tumblr. On Tumblr, the shared image pops up just as it appears on Instagram, but with a link to view on Instagram itself. On Twitter however, the image is shared only as the image’s caption, in this case, ‘BATHROOM 001’ and the link to view on Instagram, which defeats the purpose of sharing anything visual on Twitter. The limited character limit on Twitter also prevents excessive sharing of hashtags to create exposure for your post, unlike tumblr where you can reach target groups and audiences and receive large exposure due to hash-tagging.

 

Assignment 2- Review

Name: Natalie James

Student #: s3491061

I declare that in submitting all work for this assessment I have read, understood and agree to the content and expectations of the assessment declaration – https://www.rmit.edu.au/students/support-and-facilities/student-support/equitable-learning-services

Blog Reflections

Week 5 – Week 5: Legacy Photography

Week 6 – Week 6: Legacy Video

Week 7 – Week 7: Instagram Photography

Week 8 – WEEK 8: Video-Blogging

Review

The ‘Assignment 2 Review’ has focused on the contextualising the terms ‘photo’ and ‘video’ in the course prompt, through the set readings and analysing examples of practice.

The prompt: How do the affordances of Instagram affect the way photos and videos are authored, published and distributed in the network?

1. Provide your own definition (in your own words) on ‘photography’ in relation to legacy and online media, by referring to the readings, additional research and the practice analyses completed in your blog.

Photography today is a layered concept, one with much historical foundation and technical attributes, but one that has also grown into a modern, ever-flowing source of expression to represent our lives. Photographer Henri Cartier Bresson was one pioneer of legacy photography, where for him “life is once, forever”. Henri carefully and meticulously captured moments of real life in his photographs and appreciated his work as a ‘practice’. This passion and love for the artistic and human element of photography as a form of expression differs today, promptly put by Photomediation: An Open Book which explains the shift, that “photographs function less as individual objects…to be looked at and more as data flows to be dipped or cut into occasionally” (Kuc and Zaylinska, 2016). Gab Scanu, a photographer known for his work on Instagram (see here) can be seen as the epitome of what photographers looks like today. Photos are designed in advance,  thousands of shots are taken, with the use of multiple high-tech cameras and accessories such as drones and stabilisers and then altered using editing tools of the likes of Adobe Photoshop. Despite changes and its evolution, photography is still, as Daniel Palmer suggests in Mobile Media Photography, a “quintessential practice of life…where we make sense of the world around us through seeing it imaged” (Palmer, 2014).

2. Provide your own definition (in your own words) on ‘video practice’ in relation to legacy and online media, by referring to the readings, additional research and the practice analyses completed in your blog.

Video practice is a medium for deep expression and an artistic culmination of a multitude of elements such as sound, cinematic technique and narrative. Video practice as a form of art originated as expression of freedom against mass media, who controlled much of the ideas in media that was consumed by society (Horsfield, 2006). Kate Horsfield in Busting The Tube: A Brief History of Video Art, saw video as “a window to the perception of time, space and sound or a mirror to the self, consciousness or cultural patterns of subjectivity.” Whilst video art paved the way for artistic expressionism in the medium of film, video practice today is also largely artistic, but has also evolved to be a lot more social. We can often take for granted the ease of streaming seamless content across the web today, with the rise of video-blogging transforming video practice into a networking practice with the recording of mundane everyday activities distributed to devoted audiences. Sites such as Vimeo and Youtube now dominate the video practice space — with almost anyone having access to technology to record and consume video content on the online space. Video practice has also become a scene for advertising and work for skilled ‘videographers’ who are hired to shoot video content for Instagram Influencers and brands, such as production company Good Grief (see here). The evolution of video practice has mostly always been society based and whilst it has transformed from a more political agenda, video practice today still remains a creative medium for amateurs to express and understand their lives.

3. What differences and similarities did you discover between the way legacy and online photos are authored, published and distributed?

The similarities I discovered between the way legacy and online photos are authored is that photographers then and now both capture images to represent and portray a certain meaning or sentiment. Heinrich Hoffman, Adolf Hitler’s personal photographer (see here) authored images showing positions of power and adoration of the people. Today, individuals, especially on Instagram, author their images to portray a certain image and only upload content they want their audiences to see. As for the publishing and distribution of photography, there are major differences between legacy and online photos. Legacy photography  was published in physical forms on canvas or paper, acting as ‘one off’ forms of artwork almost like paintings. Hitler’s photographs were published on stamps also! Today, online photos are published mostly always on Instagram through posts, stories and can be linked to online blogs and websites. Daniel Palmer suggests in Mobile Media Photography that ‘photo-mediation’ today is now the formation of all forms of media (cinema, tv, mobile phones etc) and all these mediums alter the way in which online photography is published. As for distribution, photography was once distributed in galleries, photo-books, in magazines and newspapers. Today, the distribution happens mostly all online on apps such as Instagram, and are reposted frequently by an artists followers. Constraints arise in online photography today however, as there is constant content uploaded in the online space, it can be difficult to appreciate the photography and also locate images you are searching for. Legacy photography underpins much of photography today, though thanks to Instagram, online photos “don’t show us things, they do things” (Palmer, 2014) and make up much of how we live and document our lives.

4. What differences and similarities did you discover between the way legacy and online videos are authored, published and distributed?

Like photography practice, the similarities I discovered between the way legacy and online video were authored were how both forms focus on meaning in what is being portrayed. Individuals, no matter the form of media, have an intent behind what they create and post for others to see. For legacy video this was mostly political, with a “goal to create a new type of cultural production” (Horsfield, 2006), whilst for online video the focus is mostly on sharing aspects of our lives that others can relate to and also for advertising and brand awareness and exposure. The intent behind the  authoring of both types is quite evident. A major difference however is the way legacy and online video have been published, with forms of technology and equipment being vastly different. Before the development of technology video was shot with analog and film cameras with poor quality of sound and no exposure to editing tools. It was only wealthy individuals with training whom knew how to use video cameras and create content for audiences. Compare this to today, where almost anyone at any age can grab ahold of an iPhone, camera or laptop and aimlessly record video with no real experience needed. Instagram, for example, affords everyday individuals to shoot and upload content to the online space with the function of stories and the ability to post video footage to ones feed. This increased availability of tools to produce video has seen the progression of legacy video — from artists such as Joan Jonas, a feminist who produced video art in studios with bulky hard to use equipment (see here) — to videography duo ‘Good Grief’ who market their skills by posting footage to Instagram to gain exposure with ease across the globe (see here). The distribution is also a major difference, with legacy video showcased in exhibitions and galleries in a much more physical display, where online video is distributed on websites, blogs and social media apps with the ability to be constantly re-shared and found for time to come.

References

Berry, Trine Bjorkmann. ‘Situating Videoblogging’. Videoblogging before YouTube, Institute of Network Cultures, 2018, pp. 9–22, http://networkcultures.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Videoblogging-Before-YouTube-web.pdf. [Accessed 13 Sep. 2018]

Horsfield, Kate. Busting the Tube: A Brief History of Video Art. Video Data Bank, School of Art Institute of Chicago, 2006, pp. 1–9, http://www.vdb.org/content/busting-tube-brief-history-video-art. [Accessed 13 Sep. 2018]

Kuc, Kamila, and Joanna Zylinska, editors. Photomediations: A Reader. Open Humanities Press, 2016, http://www.openhumanitiespress.org/books/ titles/photomediations/ (pp.7-16 Photomediations: An Introduction by Joanna Zylinkska – download direct from the website) [Accessed 13 Sep. 2018]

Palmer, Daniel. ‘Mobile Media Photography’. The Routledge Companion to Mobile Media, edited by Gerard Goggin and Larissa Hjorth, Routledge, 2014, pp. 249–55. [Accessed 13 Sep. 2018]

This week we looked at the reading Video Blogging Before Youtube: Situating Video-Blogging. It looked at the pre-Youtube, pre-Social media era of the internet, where amateur video-makers were expressing their creativity and individuality online for the pleasure of content creation. Nowadays, we take for granted the ability to seamlessly stream different media forms across the web, and store unlimited amounts of photos and videos. It was once expensive to distribute media online, whereas now media can be shared, downloaded and re-sued with ease. The ‘early adopters’ of video-blogging often had blog rolls where their content could be found. Sites such as Dailymotion, Vimeo, Blogger and Flickr were all utilised much more frequently. Today, Youtube dominates the market for Vlogging, the evolution of Video-blogging. Video is now generating serious income for many Vloggers — people who were self-taught expressionists are now being offered thousands of dollars by companies to endorse their products or services. This shift of video-blogging in a corporate direction blurs the lines between authenticity and business. Today, there is also increased availability of digital media technologies, recording and editing software, networking platforms and distribution tools igniting a flourishing of creativity amongst amateur and semi-professional media-creators. Being a Youtuber is now a popular and highly successful occupation for many self-taught individuals, and have the  popularity of celebrities.

Online video has also transformed into videography often promoted through Instagram. An example of this is videography and production company  ‘Good Grief’, who tell stories on a local and global scale with a focus on cinematography and smooth imagery.

I’ve chosen this video from their Instagram for analysis of online video

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ba-rSGZh-GD/?hl=en&taken-by=goodgrief

 

Who is the practitioner (what is their name?) and when were they practicing?

Good Grief Productions. Videographer’s Cam and Henry have been practicing from 2016, shooting brand campaigns, nature and landscape videography and story-telling lives of individuals in a raw cinematic way.

With the photo or video you are examining when was it produced (date)?

November 2nd, 2017.

How was the photo or video authored?

This video was produced with a Cannon  XF400 camera, a gimbal and steady-cam for stabilisation. A RODE camera microphone was utilised for clear audio sound of the man being interviewed and also a ring light for clear and vibrant visualisation.

Editing was completed via the use of Adobe, Premiere, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom.

How was the photo or video published?

The video was published as a digital source on the Internet. It was published in the medium of video and distributed on multiple channels on the world wide web.

How was the photo or video distributed?

This video was distributed on Instagram as a form of promotion for the company’s website. The video was also published on their Vimeo account. The use of hashtags on their Instagram account such as #videographer #cinematography #documentary #cannon also bring in individuals interested in the topic of videography and  cinema.

 

 

This example of online video compares drastically to the pre-social media era of video-blogging, where content produced was a lot more organic and unedited. With the evolution of media and the competitive online space of Youtube, individuals who are now known as ‘Vloggers’ perfect their vlogs with professional cameras, extra equipment for stabilisation and microphones for clear audio — however they give the illusion that they are simply whipping out their iPhone or compact camera and filming themselves on the spot… when in fact a lot more thought and planning goes into production. For example, old school video-blogger LONELYGIRL15 simply sat in front of her camera and spoke for minutes on end with content that was visibly unedited and shot in a setting that was not set up specifically for filming.

 

Online video today, specifically on Instagram, demonstrates how the affordances of Instagram allow individuals to author, publish and distribute content in a much more professional way. You can upload onto your feed videos of 3 minutes in length, upload and save ‘stories’ in the form of video to your page and can even link other links to your videos on other platforms such as Vimeo or Youtube. There are also now limited constraints as Instagram lets you upload content that you can filmed on other devices, allowing users to upload extremely high quality content on the app, whilst giving the illusion that the individual had simply shot the content on Instagram itself. Though this fact is now regularly known by audiences, it adds to the sentiment of Instagram being a space for high quality and unrestricted content.

This week we looked at an article by Robert Palmer titled ‘Mobile Media Photography.’ This article explains the progression of the camera phone and the evolution of social media app Instagram, which has allowed everyday individuals access to a platform for self expression through photo imagery. The article goes on to explain how the birth of Instagram has enabled ‘data mining’ and tracking of trends that users interact with on an online space and how the platform is now used for marketing and business opportunities. What was once a more artistic concept, photography has now become novel and independent due to camera phones such as iPhones, which today have excelled in technology for their cameras. Individuals can now download editing app and presets that can enhance photos to be published on Instagram for aesthetic ideal and exposure to the masses. Instagram’s affordances are growing, with the limitation on its constraints diminishing year by year. For example, what was once an app simply to upload photos now you have a fully integrated app which allows you to post videos, zoom in on pictures, apply GIFS and presets, upload links, track data analytics and which allows you to explore content globally and combine it with editing apps and link it to other platforms.

 

Below is a photograph taken by Artistic Insagtram influencer Gab Scanu, which shows the evolution of Instagram and it’s images today.

 

 

Who is the practitioner (what is their name?) and when were they practicing?

This photo was taken by Gab Scanu, a well known Instagram photographer with 350k followers. Gab Scanu is known for his photography and videography of landscapes and travel destinations (using a lot of drone footage also). He also has developed ‘presets’ which he has for sale for his followers, who want to attain similar quality photographs to his.

With the photo or video you are examining when was it produced (date)?

This photo was published on January 2nd, 2017. As fore the production of the image it is unknown — Gab Scanu could have taken it earlier and distributed it when it was the right fit for the marketing of his Instagram page (to receive the most exposure and comments and likes).

How was the photo or video authored?

This photograph was taken with use of a drone (SJI Phantom Pro 3) and edited with the use of Adobe Lightroom.

 

How was the photo or video published?

Gab Scanu published this photograph on his Instagram and on his personal website, after applying presets from Adobe Lightroom to the image.

 

How was the photo or video distributed?

As mentioned above, this photograph was distributed via the Instagram app and on Gab’s personal website, to his 350k followers for the promotion of his photography and videography. Such distribution of photos have seen Gab work with luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Lexus and Alfa Romeo.