The assessment declaration. [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]

WEEK 9:

PHOTO: http://www.mediafactory.org.au/sarah-demaio/wp-admin/post.php?post=39&action=edit

VIDEO: http://www.mediafactory.org.au/sarah-demaio/wp-admin/post.php?post=42&action=edit

WEEK 10:

PHOTO: http://www.mediafactory.org.au/sarah-demaio/wp-admin/post.php?post=44&action=edit

VIDEO: http://www.mediafactory.org.au/sarah-demaio/wp-admin/post.php?post=46&action=edit

WEEK 11:

PHOTO: http://www.mediafactory.org.au/sarah-demaio/wp-admin/post.php?post=48&action=edit

VIDEO: http://www.mediafactory.org.au/sarah-demaio/wp-admin/post.php?post=50&action=edit

REPORT:

Throughout the past few weeks whilst frequently uploading to Instagram and writing related blog posts, it took me back to when Instagram started and no one was ‘Instafamous’ or ‘better’ than anyone else at it. It was simply just a place where you had the opportunity to upload whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted. If I could recover my old Instagram account you would see a lot of grainy mirror selfies and weird captions with extremely long and unnecessary hashtags. When Instagram started up, there wasn’t as much online hate being spread around. It was a place filled with support and it was actually kind of fun. There’s a meme that I’ve seen floating around and I find it so hilariously relatable.

This one aspect of Instagram was the only thing anyone ever had to worry about. No one cared what crappy and overly obvious filter you chose to edit your photo with or what your caption was. Everyone only ever cared about hitting over 11 likes, which was easily done within minutes and that was it. There was also little to no system when it came to who was following you. I know that with the girls I was friends  with and myself included, we didn’t use any privacy settings. We just let whoever follow us and view our posts.

So looking back to Instagram now, quite a lot has changed. When we think of what the present day Instagram is like, we know that there are many people out there that are paid quite a lot of money to post. Who would have ever thought that you could be paid for posting on social media. If I knew this was what the future held, I would’ve put a lot more effort into making my posts look pretty.
Companies have found Instagram to be a site for great advertising, not only through their own company account but through other people too. If a company finds someone on Instagram with a substantial amount of followers and exposure, they’re likely to real out and offer a deal. This deal most likely consists of the Instagram user posting an image of them with the companies product to then encourage followers to go out and buy the product.

When starting up an Instagram account there are a few things that need to be considered.

What should my username be? Should I have a bio? What do I want to gain from this? Do I want to eventually be paid for uploading? Do I want to be known for something? What will my focus be? Do I want to pull a Banksy on everyone and never have my face shown? Do I want to average a certain amount of likes? Who should my target audience be? Will I have multiple accounts? Should I have a colour scheme? Should I have an upload day?

Some of these questions may feel minor, however with everything combined you could either result in a ridiculously successful Instagram page or a mediocre one.

Once you have started up your account, decided upon what your focus will be and who you want to cater towards, it’s time to start taking some photos.
This is where questions relating to how you’re going to take your photos arise.

Do I want to use a phone camera? Do I want to buy an expensive professional camera? Do I want someone to take the photos for me? Do I want to edit my photos? Should I take selfies?
These questions are ways in which you are able to establish how you want your overall Instagram feed to look.

By using a professional and expensive camera you are able to take clearer photos which result in looking a lot more pleasing when scrolling through. Relating back to my blog post from week 11, I talked about using my laptop camera instead of my phone. By using a more powerful device I had a much more defined end product. Using a higher quality camera resulting in less editing to be done later on and required less work to capture the right image.

Editing in Instagram doesn’t feel all that professional, its fair to say that its an amateur level of editing. So companies such as photoshop are often used when it comes to people with a large following trying to result in the perfect picture. Even things like face tuning have become really popular as like I started in the beginning, there are a lot more people spreading online hate so we feel more inclined to make ourselves appear perfect.

Things such as captions, hashtags and location updates are all things that have a way of slightly improving the overall look of an Instagram post. These are ways in which we have the opportunity to really use Instagram as a form of documentation and remember where those photos have come from and why you’ve chosen to upload them. As I stated in my week 10 photo post, hashtags have a lot of power to expose your posts to a larger audience. Simple things like #dog have a lot more photos linked to them compared to #wowmydogisbetterthanyourdogforsure.

Instagram has become a space where people have the opportunity to start up and share their own companies. Ways in which Instagram has become beneficial foe the users has been the opportunity to share and expose their own work. Not only professional businesses, however small achievements like award winning artwork or finishing a marathon are support worthy Instagram posts.

Tagging other people within your posts has made Instagram a successful social media platform. It gives users the opportunity to share who they are with and hat they are doing with their fellow followers and allows others to comment and share on experiences together.

Sharing your Instagram among other social media platforms also gives you the opportunity to share your account with other friends and allows everyone within your social media sites to have the opportunity to view your work. This action of multi social media posting also gives people that are running a business the opportunity to really engage with all of their audiences and ensure that they have enough exposure.

WORD COUNT: 1031 words

INSTA POST: https://www.instagram.com/p/BpLm19mnWp58PhN_9hzNjJTNn8exT-xql_1cs00/?taken-by=s3661886

AUTHORING: For this video I had no option but to use my laptop rear camera as like in the previous post, my phone has died. R.I.P

This was also a high door so short Sarah could not reach well enough to video and open the door at the same time so she got her housemate to help.

I decided to try out flash but I quickly realised I it didn’t look too great so I decided against it yet again.

Due to the door being so high I was on a bit of a weird angle but the point of the video was less of what the door looks like front on and more how it functions, just like all of my posts. I looked around my apartment and found 8 different functioning/looking doors… wow those two bedroom apartments in South Yarra really don’t disappoint.

For this video I had to crop out the ending as I hadn’t stopped filming before I moved the camera away…what an amateur. I also muted the sound as I felt as though it was unnecessary and I had a lot of background noise going on while capturing the image.

PUBLISHING: This video was taken with two shots, one with flash and one without. I decided to add a location as I always call this cupboard the Milo cupboard because that’s where the massive tin of Milo sits, it’s so big that it cant fit anywhere else. I always configured this video to play automatically as I wanted to keep a running theme of it through my feed.

DISTRIBUTION:  Just like all of my other posts on Instagram, I shared them within my personal Facebook on a muted setting. Another reason as to why I don’t really want other seeing me post images of doors to social media…it’s a little random.

INSTA POST: https://www.instagram.com/p/BpLmncSnrowrPL5VO8ogg10UnC0sH-4iU2FqK40/?taken-by=s3661886

AUTHORING: For this image I had to use my laptops rear camera (Windows Surface Pro) as unfortunately I dropped my phone, on the carpet might I add, and now the camera app has completely stopped working. From transferring to my laptop camera; which has a lot more power behind it, I’ve noticed how much more clear and advanced the camera is.

To capture the image I had to adjust my positioning a little more than the previous posts. Both the light source and location of the door were things that made it a little more difficult to capture the right image. Similarly to the previous posts, adjusting the photo to fit correctly within the square framing supplied in Instagram was something that needed to be fiddled with.

As this image was taken during the day, so no flash was necessary. I only did some minor editing, a lot like the photo produced last week; small things like the brightness and sharpness of the image are all that were altered.

Due to me having to use my laptop camera, the actual process of uploading a post was a lot more work compared to usual. As I couldn’t find a way to upload to the Instagram website through my laptop there were extra steps that needed to be made to get a post up. I had to capture the image and then send it to myself to then have that image appear on my phone.

PUBLISHING: For this particular post I had a few images to chose from as I spent time trying to find the correct lighting and positioning for the end product. Many of my images looked similar, however the major difference between  them all was trying not to bet myself in the reflection. A lot like what will be mentioned soon, I don’t take selfies and I’m not one to jump in front of camera so having myself in the background of a photo that I’m taking for an assignment  is not particularly ideal to me.

A caption and one hashtag were added to the post

DISTRIBUTION: This image, as stated before was a little difficult to avoid having me seen in the background; which gave me even more of a reason to keep my Facebook post settings private.

INSTA POST: https://www.instagram.com/p/BpLmgIjHsxte6pd8erJ_1iuxdLqYTyI-EGzecs0/?taken-by=s3661886

AUTHORING: To capture this image I used my iPhone 6 plus rear camera as I felt that it was the best way to end with the right visuals. As this cupboard door is pretty high up I needed the help of my housemate. Luckily this is a small door so I could fit everything that I wanted to easily into the square frame provided within the Instagram app.

This particular door is in a quite dimly lit area in my apartment to trying to allow the camera to pick up a light source was challenging however, while looking at the end result I think that’s pretty obvious.

This particular video was taken as one shot, I felt as though I was not coordinated enough to successfully break up a shot whilst being in an uncomfortable position. I also muted the video as I thought it was a lot more cleaner and seemed more like a final product that way.

PUBLISHING: To get the correct shot I had to move around quite a lot, however I only actually recorded one video so I had little to choose from. I decided to add a caption as like my previous posts I felt as though the image needed some context behind it. I also configured the video to play automatically as It seems to be a lot more easier for the viewer and looks a lot better when clicking onto the post.

DISTRIBUTION: Just like the previous posts, I uploaded the video to my personal Facebook however I decided to share  it among some of my close friends so I didn’t have to feel as though I was cheating as much with this criteria.

INSTA POST: https://www.instagram.com/p/BpLmbfxnEnyjyCGhS2riPX21vD5xTa99g9B6bw0/?taken-by=s3661886

AUTHORING: The photo was taken once again, by using the rear camera of my iPhone 6 plus. A lot like the still photo post from last week, using the square formatting in the Instagram app just took a little manoeuvring. At times, fitting in a large rectangular shaped door into a small square frame can become tedious.

For this post I decided to see how the final product would look both with and without flash, however I decided upon no flash as the result was a little more precise.

For the editing stage of this post I decided to scroll through and have a look at various ways in which I had the option to enhance my image. As a result my final photo looks a lot more sharp and any blurred lines have been removed.

This particular image was a little more difficult to capture compared to last weeks image of the same door at night time. The reasoning behind this is the light source I was dealing with. In my small two bedroom apartment, there is one major source of light. The entire North-face of the apartment is a floor to ceiling glass window that looks over the city. Because my apartment is only two bedrooms, it was almost inevitable that one bedroom missed out on having a window; and that was mine (I’ve had a long run of bad luck when it comes to winning or losing at flipping a coin).

PUBLISHING: Due to trying out the flash setting and trying to find the correct light source, yes there were quite a few images to choose from when it came to actually posting an image. I hate searching for flaws in each photo to try and find one to use. I’m not great at remembering what was wrong with each image; after a while they all look exactly the same.

Just as last weeks still post, I added in a geo-tag to make the overall look of the post look a lot more legitimate. Also like last week and what I’m assuming will happen next week, I added in a caption to give the image some context.

DISTRIBUTION: Unlike last week, I decided to add in 2 hashtags to the end of my caption as using hashtags

Give your image more exposure over the Instagram app. According to what your hashtag is; for example, #dog would have a lot more images linked to it compared to #omgireallyreallywantadog, you have the opportunity to control how many people have the opportunity  see your image linked to the hashtag.

Again, like last week I have my Facebook settings muted so that others cant see what I’m uploading. I really thought about the reasoning behind this and I’ve realised that the last time I actually uploaded something onto social media has been years; back when young and careless Sarah existed and Instagram was just starting up.

INSTA POST: https://www.instagram.com/p/BpLmLKcHjl2FqvEEhQcZsyUieVTWkqldDV-L-80/?taken-by=s3661886

AUTHORING: This video was shot using my iPhone 6 plus rear ended camera. It was a little difficult to get the correct angling of my body to take the video as the door is tall and I wanted to get as much of it in the camera frame as possible. When it came time to adjusting the video to fit into Instagram’s infamous white square frame, a lot like what I’m predicting for the next few posts was just manoeuvring and finding the right point to which all of what I wanted viewed could fit into the frame.

For this video, I tried both with and without flash as I wanted to see if the flash could help out how dark the apartment was at the time, however I decided to choose without flash as it looked too harsh.

For this video I decided to go with one smooth run of filming, I didn’t think that using the start-stop touch feature was necessary as I just wanted to show the doors pulling function.

As I tried out using both with and without flash, I resulting in having a few videos to choose from however it was easy for me to come to the conclusion of which that I wanted to upload.

When flicking through which video to use, I realised that the one I had chosen had an unnecessarily long pause at the end so I decided to crop it out.

PUBLISHING: For this week’s post I added in a caption as even though you can clearly see that there is food inside of the cupboard, I wanted to make it easily understandable where the door belonged. I added a location status saying “my pantry” as I thought it’d make something within the post a little humorous.

I configured the video to play automatically as I thought it’d be easier for the viewer when scrolling and looked a little more cleaner within the feed.

DISTRIBUTION: The video was obviously distributed to Instagram, however it was also shared within my personal Facebook account.  While uploading to Instagram, I decided to use hashtags as I thought to myself that it would make my caption look a little more complete and allow my post to have more exposure within the Instagram app.

INSTA POST: https://www.instagram.com/p/BpLlHkTncRDf3Xd1Lpgy0UrO3udcfl6ivotu-g0/?taken-by=s3661886

AUTHORING: This photo was taken using my iPhone 6 plus rear sided camera within the Instagram app, although sadly it took me longer that intended to take a photo due to my phones storage being so full that the camera setting couldn’t even load up. Waaaa poor me… maybe I should stop ignoring the warning signs telling me I haven’t backed up my phone in 58 weeks… whoops.

Once the camera was finally working again, it only took me a few shots to capture what I was aiming for. This photo was taken whilst I was sitting on a completely overfilled beanbag I have shoved in the corner of my bedroom; approximately 2 meters from the door.

Due to the square formatting within the Instagram app, I had to maneuver the image and zoom in and out to find the right positioning to fit all of what I wanted into the frame.

For this particular feature I made sure that the flash setting was turned off as the aim for this photo was to show the unusual way in which my bedroom door was manufactured.

No editing was applied to the photo as I really just wanted to portray how my door functions at night with living room lights turned on; and, I suck at that kind of stuff.

PUBLISHING: Before publishing this image to Instagram, I only had a few images to choose from so in a way, this particular step in uploading was simple. I chose the clearest image and then moved onto thinking of a caption. The reasoning behind adding a caption with the image was that I thought this particular image needed some context behind it. I also thought it’d be nice to add a geotag to the image as these make the overall post look and feel like more of a legitimate Instagram post rather than a uni assignment.

DISTRIBUTION: In terms of my own personal social media sites, I’m very quiet. I don’t upload things or post Facebook statuses, I usually just observe and like things; so when it came to the distribution of my posts onto other media sites I decided to mute my activity to anyone I’m friends with. By doing so I’d be completing the criteria without having to expose myself online.

WEEKLY BLOGS
WEEK 5- http://www.mediafactory.org.au/sarah-demaio/2018/09/16/week-5-legacy-photography/
WEEK 6- http://www.mediafactory.org.au/sarah-demaio/2018/09/16/week-6-legacy-video/
WEEK 7-http://www.mediafactory.org.au/sarah-demaio/2018/09/16/week-7-online-photography/
WEEK 8-http://www.mediafactory.org.au/sarah-demaio/2018/09/16/week-8-legacy-video/

Weeks 5-8 of the Networked Media class have been entirely dedicated to the world of imagery and methods of distribution. Whether that may be through a simple horizon photo taken on an iPhone 4 and uploaded to Instagram or a fully developed and profession video filled with graphics and lively audio worth $2 million.

Provide your own definition (in your own words) on ‘photography’.
Word count: 221

Weeks 5 and 7 were based around photography; a single moment in time captured as a still image. Throughout these weeks we focused on the ideas of ‘then’ compared to ‘now’ and the ways in which things have become easier as time has gone on and technology has continued to develop.
‘Photography’ as a term on its own is something that can quite easily change depending on who’s hands the photo taking device is in. Photography can be a creative hobby and a stable career, depending on the person and their ways of viewing things and their skills.

There are all kinds of variations of photography. Photography is sometimes viewed of as fine art; this may depend on what the focus of the image is, its meanings and its context. Photography may also be used purely for informative circumstances; medical books, recipe books and maps. These vastly different variations of photography are what give each and everyone the opportunity to use it in their own way. Photography is something that can be viewed and/or produced by both amateurs and professionals, it can become a career where people share great passion and also depend off it to make a living; however there are also other people that just use it purely to have a snapshot from certain memories with no skills required.

What differences and similarities did you discover between the way legacy and online photos are authored, published and distributed?
Word count: 330

When looking back to the blog posts written from weeks 5 and 7 and then comparing both artists mentioned there are some clear similarities and differences. Obviously both Diane Arbus and Simone Bramante have excelled in their shared profession of photography, however the reasons for that are both very different.

Arbus was respected for the focus of all her photos. What can be referred to as the ‘outsiders’ in society. Her photography of people was easily identifiable and her distribution of her photos into galleries are what has helped her name to still be known and talked about today; many years later.

Bramante however, had beautiful images of all sorts of breathtaking locations around the world as well as images that were taken purely for promotional purposes when collaborating with well renown brands and companies. Bramante has a much more different and easier approach of distributing his work. Bramante’s main distribution is online to Instagram where he can reach the eyes of millions of people with just the lift of a finger. Instead of sourcing out galleries and persisting to be acknowledged as an artist, Bramante is able to upload what he wants, when he wants without having to console with anyone beforehand.

Though both artists have their individual ways of distributing their photographs, there is one underlying similarity between any artists that have made a name for themselves. Each and every one of them have shared their photos with others  without having a specific audience in mind. By Arbus allowing her work to be shown in galleries, she is granted no control over who does and doesn’t see her photos. Whether the audience like it or hates it is completely out of her hands. The same idea flows with Bramante’s work. Although he has created an account and has a following, he is still not granted full control over who does and doesn’t see his work. Both artists distributed their work out and could only hope for positive feedback.

Provide your own definition (in your own words) on ‘videography’ or ‘video practice’.
Word count: 262

Videography is moving images, sometimes paired with audio. It’s the ability to capture multiple moments in time through a device. A lot like photography, videography is open for use by both amateurs and professionals and can be used for many different things. Promotional videos, informative/instructional videos, and creative/entertainment videos.

Every family is most likely to have a video from a birthday or a big day out at the park or the first time a baby walked or talked. By having videos of these things, we are able to store those memories away and always have an accurate representation to look back on. Videos can be directed such as movies or they can be completely organic like a child falling off a bike whilst riding it for the first time.
Videos are different to photos, by being a moving image with audio there is no need for documentation. For example, with a photo there is no way to tell who is in that photo and where they are without having a caption to explain it form people a few years later. However, while watching a video and having someone say in the video where they are and what they’re doing, there is no need for a written explanation so no matter where that video is seen, everyone will know what’s going on.

Weeks 6 and 8 were dedicated to videography and the ways in which it has changed over a time period with a main focus on two vastly different videos. Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ video clip and Zoe Sugg’s casual talk on anxiety.

What differences and similarities did you discover between the way legacy and online videos are authored, published and distributed?
Word count: 148

Both videos are still available to watch to this day and will be for many years to come, however when they were released there was a difference in distribution. Jackson’s video clip was displayed on MTV after lots of hard work of proving himself to the world. However, Sugg’s video was simply uploaded to YouTube for anyone to watch. The ability to reach large amounts of people has definitely changed throughout the years.

The ability to just upload anything to an online site and have people watch it for free and repeat to watch it whenever and for however many times they like is a big difference in the ways videos were previewed on television and then not shown again straight away. Even by having the ability to pause videos on online sites is much more of an advantage than to having your video shown on television once.

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?)

Zoe Sugg (otherwise known online by the name Zoella). Sugg began her YouTube career in 2009 and has since gained over 12 million subscribers. Sugg’s success on YouTube and social media stems from her regular uploading schedule, online friends, and product based videos. The focus video from Sugg’s YouTube channel is titled “Dealing with Panic Attacks & Anxiety”. Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-iNOFD27G4

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

How was the photo or video authored?

Although this particular video has not gained the most amount of views or likes, it was a great turning point for Sugg’s channel. The video was posted online in November of 2012. Instead of talking about her favourite bubble bath brands, Sugg opened up and spoke about a personal issue that many other adolescents may also had been dealing with. This was when Sugg transformed from being the pretty girl that knew all the newest products to being the virtual big sister that gives great advice.

A camera mentioned in Sugg’s latest videos is the Canon EOS 70D.

How was the photo or video published?

All of Sugg’s videos are posted to YouTube through her channel ‘Zoella’.

How was the photo or video distributed?

Sugg may have over 12 million subscribers to her YouTube channel, although since starting a career online Sugg has also built up a following on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram- which has over 1 million followers.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWRV5AVOlKJR1Flvgt310Cw

https://www.instagram.com/zoella/?hl=en

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.

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?)

Simone Bramante, a creative director and photographer based in Italy. Bramante has been in the photography industry for almost 20 years and currently has over 900k followers on Instagram. Bramante is recognised for collaborating with many high exclusive brands; such as, Christian Dior, Omega, Jacob’s Creek, Maserati, Apple, Cartier and many more. The photograph I have chosen is involved in a three part series titled, ‘Chance To Be’. Link to image: https://www.instagram.com/p/BOM-6x9hyOs/?hl=en&taken-by=brahmino

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

The chosen photographs caption says, “Letting my spirit soar and diving into the ocean. I feel limitless.” This image among with the first 2 images of the series were taken in collaboration with the exclusive designer jewellery brand, Cartier. These images were captured in December 2016.

How was the photo or video published?

The image was shown on multiple online medium, Instagram, Facebook.

How was the photo or video distributed?

The photos were distributed through social media, both on Bramante’s Instagram page and Cartier’s online socials. By distributing on both Cartier and Bramante’s sites, a total of approximately 8.2 million people have been reached.

https://www.brahmino.com/info/

https://www.instagram.com/brahmino/?hl=en

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