Who is the practitioner (what is their name?) and when were they practicing? What is the title of the photo or video you have chosen to analyse (can you provide a link?)
The Instagram account i have chosen is https://www.instagram.com/rounddrop/. The person behind it is a good friend and a cinematographer Abdul Yusuf who is based in Melbourne.
With the photo or video you are examining when was it produced (date)?
The photo was published on the 28th May 2018 and can be found here.
How was the photo or video authored? For instance, with a photo, this would involve understanding the device used to record it and the technology used to prepare the image for publication. Included in this observation may be how the image was recorded (like in a mise-en-scene analysis).
Instagram’s standard formatting in a square crop however for this creator it is not suitable to showcase his work as a cinematographer. Therefore to accomodate for this, the creator has taken this wide shot and edited it to when he publishes it on Instagram so that he wont have to crop any of the original photo to fit the Instagram template. The photo was edited in great detail to achieve the aesthetic the creator desired. When looking at his Instagram page in full, this photo fits in seamlessly as a part of the portfolio as there is a consist style seen throughout each photo which makes his work unique and distinctive.
I interviewed the photographer to understand the process of authoring his photos on Instagram and below is a quick overview of the process.
“Instagram is a great tool for me to share my photos and share with the world. Before I post my photos I usually correct and grade my photos to fit a moody aesthetic.
Once I select the photo, I then would take it into a program called Davinchi Resolve. This is a software I use to color correct and color grade all my photos. After I upload the photo into Adobe Photoshop to crop the size to a 16×9, I then create a white background behind the photo so that it blends into the Instagram white. This will allow me to use the 16×9 instead of the default size. This will give it a consistent look throughout my Instagram feed.” – Abdul Yusuf 2018
How was the photo or video published? For example, with a photo, this would involve understanding the medium the photo was published in, like for instance – was it print media or the World Wide Web? Was the photo printed? If so how does this printing process affect the photographer’s practice?
The photo was published online to the webpage Instagram. Although there is a process to posting photos on the site through a phone app. Most users can just take a picture with their phone, the app automatically crops it to a square format and then prompts you to edit the photo by adding filters and making adjustments like brightness, contrast, saturation etc. Followed by adding a caption and publishing it to your followers. Interestingly the creator goes against some of these elements of the typical publishing process on Instagram. As mentioned earlier, the photos are taken with a DSLR camera to ensure high quality that a phone camera cannot capture. All the editing happens outside the website/phone application and majority of his photos do not contain captions.
How was the photo or video distributed? For instance, with a photo, this would involve understanding how the photo is distributed to multiple viewers. Like for instance, if the photo was printed in a periodical magazine – how is that magazine marketed and distributed to viewers?
The photo was published to Instagram for distribution to the creators followers. Currently the page has just under 4,000 followers however the photo has 1,464 likes. In terms of the reach it is one of the most liked photos on the page and Instagram is the only platform the photo was distributed through and it wasn’t shot for a client or brand. The Instagram page is of professional standard that allows for the creator to showcase his work in hopes of admiration or job opportunities. All the photos posted on this account are same in formatting therefore keeping it succinct and a clean cut look for a portfolio of work.