Assignment 2- Review
Name: Sofia Peeke S3717940
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
Word count: 1105
1. Provide a definition for ‘analogue photography’.
Analogue photography was the first form of photography before technology progressed. Analogue photography is when “light interacts with chemicals in the film and an image is recorded” (Lomography, 2019, p.1). The images are all collated onto a roll of film and can only be viewed when the film is developed. You cannot view the images while taking them to check the positioning of certain images – you instead have to wait for them to be developed in a dark room. “The development process involves dipping the film in several chemicals. Special chemicals called “developer” help the image become visible” ((Lomography, 2019, p.1). When developed, the colours of the image will be inversed, such that “dark objects will look light and light objects will look dark.” ((Lomography, 2019, p.1). Early analogue photography was also seen as something that was exclusive. Only higher class people would use analogue photography as it was new and expensive. It was mainly to get their portrait taken in a very staged manner, with the photos being taken in black and white. As photography became more popular and cost effective, it became more common and accessible to the ordinary person, as opposed to something that so “few of us could regularly access” ((Zylinkska 2016, p.7).
2. Provide a definition for ‘analogue video’.
Analogue video transfers information in the form of electrical pulses, whereby the detail and therefore information displayed by the analogue system is determined by the frequency of said pulses. Analogue video was also considered exclusive – it was something that people were only able to use if they had the extensive amount of equipment to record. Editing analogue video was also a process in itself. If something needed to be adjusted it “would involve having to ‘strike’ new prints from the negative in which the chemical relationship between the film stock and the developing fluid was changed” (Lister, M, 2009, p.19). This meant that they would have to remake the entire print.
3. Provide a definition for ‘networked photography’.
Networked photography is associated with the rise of smartphones. Before smartphones, photography was left to the ‘professionals’ – being someone who was able to produce the necessary equipment to take a photo. It was not something that an ordinary person would do. However, now “we can safely say that, in the age of the camera phone and wireless communication, we are all photographers now” (Zylinkska 2016, p.7). Photography became so much more accessible to people and cheaper that it was no longer considered exclusive. People are now able to take a photo with the click on their finger, and they can edit it straight away. Smartphones come pre-built with cameras, which, due to the exponential development of technology, are sufficiently advanced so that even photographers don’t need to purchase a ‘professional’ camera in order to capture a good photo. You are also able to share a photo with the click of a button. The time in which it takes for someone to take a photo, edit it, publish it and distribute it can be done in a matter of minutes as opposed to the days it would take with analogue photography.
4. Provide a definition for ‘networked video’.
Networked video is capturing a moving image that may include sound in the background. Like networked photography, networked video has also massively evolved. It has also become more accessible to people. Smartphones also allow for video recording that can be of a high quality standard. With the rise of platforms like YouTube and Instagram it also allows for people to publish their content online. This has seen the rise of ‘vloggers’ and ‘YouTuber’s’. They have created a job out of making and sharing videos to an audience. Audiences now expect a certain standard from influencers and using ‘professional’ cameras is seen as normal. It now allows for video making to be done by amateurs and professionals due to the wide accessibility it has.
5. Provide definitions for the terms ‘authoring’, ‘publishing’ and ‘distributing’.
Authoring refers to what device was used to take the photo or video. It also refers to the technology that was used to develop, edit and broadcast the image or video.
Publishing refers to what medium the photo or video was published on. This includes newspapers, art galleries, online, social media sites and other platforms. With the rise of social media, photos and videos became more frequently published on social media sites or online websites as opposed to the more traditional methods like newspapers.
Distributing refers to the way a photo or video is shared amongst its audience.
6. What differences and similarities did you discover between the way analogue and networked photos are authored, published and distributed?
The authoring process is described by the large amount of time to set up the image, as it was costly and you were not able to take endless amount of photos. As well as that, capturing something as it was happening was not something that could be done quickly. Yet, with networked photography people are able to take a photo within a matter of seconds. The click of a button on their smartphone allows you to take as many photos as you want and even allows for bursts. Analogue photography was limited to where it was able to be published and meant that newspapers and exhibitions were greatly utilised. Now with networked photography people have a wide variety of places where they can publish their photos, with social media being the most prominent. When distributing analogue photos, they did not have the global reach that networked photos have today.
7. What differences and similarities did you discover between the way analogue and networked videos are authored, published and distributed?
The authoring process for analogue video was harder to create due to people needing an idea of what they were doing in order to operate the camera and all the equipment that goes with it. However, now with networked video people can easily create a video with their smartphones. However, videos are not as easy to edit on a smartphone like how a photo is. Analogue videos were published on broadcast TV or in exhibitions however, networked videos are published online and on social media, allowing for them to be published instantly. Whereas, the analogue video would take longer before it was ready to publish. The distribution of networked video also did not have a global reach, and if they were in exhibitions it would have to be in multiple countries to build attention to the videos. However, with networked videos they can be distributed instantaneously online.
Lister, M, Dovey, J, Giddings, S, Grant, I & Kelly, K 2009, New Media: A Critical Introduction, 2nd edn, Routledge, New York.
Lomography, 2019, blog, viewed 8 June <https://www.lomography.com/>
Zylinska, J 2016, ‘Photomediations: An Introduction by Joanna Zylinska’, Photomediations: A Reader, Open Humanities Press, viewed 8 May 2019, <http://www.openhumanitiespress.org/books/titles/photomediations/>.