WORKING WITH THE GROUP
Group assignments. As a university student, you either learn to dread these or become lucky enough to be placed in a group made up of motivated and talented people. In my case, it was the latter. Jamie, Jonah and Ziggy were an absolute pleasure to work with. From the beginning, we all listened to each others thoughts and bounced off each others ideas and concepts. No one brought the team down in any way and I am really pleased with how well we will worked together. Although Ziggy didn’t become an official member of our group, it was generous of him to still give up his time to help us film and then later, colour grade. The group was basically broken up into the content producers being Jonah, Ziggy and I and then the editor becoming Jamie. From the get go, Jamie took a majority of control over this assignment with the idea of a live session being his to begin with. Basically, the other members and I were there to film Jamie and his band and then Jamie wanted to have creative control over what was shown to the audience. This would also be because he plans to post the live-session as a form of advertisement in the future.
I was completely happy to let Jamie take the reigns on the editing as I knew he had a vision that he wanted to achieve, however, I wish I could have maybe helped contribute a little more. Although I’m no expert editor, I felt a bit bad at times because I didn’t want Jamie to be overloaded with work and feel like no one was helping him out. This, h
owever, was only a minor personal issue and I kept in contact with Jamie throughout the post-production process to ensure he knew I could help out if needed.
To be a good collaborator is to ultimately ensure you are communicating effectively and efficiently with your fellow members. Everyone needs to be on the same stage and be aware of the duties they have towards contributing to the group. You need to be reliable and motivated to perform to the best of your abilities. I was lucky enough to be in a group where all members did their best to create a piece of work that we could all be proud of.
FIRST EDIT SEQUENCE // SPLIT SCREENS
When we originally pitched our idea for this assignment, we had the intention to include split screens within our editing. Inspired by other music videos such as Vampire Weekend’s ‘Sunflower,’ our initial aim whilst filming was to generate many shots from different angles in order to develop content for a split screen. This particular sequence begins establishing the space and the characters. From the first shot we are introduced to Laneway Studios and the character it exhibits. The first shot is particularly striking, one of our members Ziggy capturing perfect details at the right moment such as the car lights flashing and a bat flying by. We are introduced to sounds of the crew and band setting up and visuals of the studio space. I believe these first establishing shots to be a real strength of this sequence. No matter what you create, whether that be non-fiction or fiction content, establishing shots are crucial. They help the viewer develop an understanding of where the characters/subjects are and what story is about to unfold. I feel this has been achieved in this sequence. Another strength of this sequence is the use of ‘titles.’ Because this non-fiction piece is a live session, it is easier to get away with using title cards in order to introduce the subjects. Jamie did an excellent job creating these in Photoshop. They ultimately fit the quirky and ‘out-there’ nature of the band. However, the major weakness of this sequence is the use of split-screens. Once again, it was our original aim to use split-screens, but once we got to the editing stage we realised how they didn’t come out as nicely as we anticipated. They begin at 25 seconds in and last for a majority of this sequence. Firstly, the actual appearance of these split screens is not visually pleasing. Both shots are from different cameras and therefore look completely different; they don’t compliment each other at all. Sure, a colour grade may help slightly but there is a difference in quality here that I don’t think could be fixed. Secondly, the split-screens carry on for far too long. There are only two or three shots in this sequence that introduce other members of the band. Although we aimed to stick on the lead singer while he was performing, we could have experimented with different shots in the split-screen to change things up. Hence, we decided to get rid of this idea and remove the split-screens in our final edit.
SECOND EDIT SEQUENCE // NO SPLIT SCREENS
Like the first sequence, we included the same edit of the establishing shots and title cards. The main difference in this sequence is the removal of the split-screens and the inclusion of normal, well framed shots. The aim in this edit was to try and introduce more members of the band and experiment with different shots so the viewer wouldn’t become bored staring at one single member for too long. What I believe to be a major strength of this sequence is achieving that exact aim: showcasing the other members in a better way. In our first sequence we stuck on the lead singer for a majority of the time, only drifting over to the other members a few times. This time, we show that there are two singers in the main shot of the lead singer, allowing viewers to distinguish who is who and that there are in fact two as opposed to one. In the middle of this sequence it cuts to another part where we try to achieve the same thing. We included a variety of different shots from wider or lower angles which we hoped would keep the viewer engaged. I am really satisfied with the amount of experimentation we as a group were able to conduct with our camera work. This allowed for the editing stage to become easier as there was more to work with. A downfall of this sequence, however, would still be the fact we are stuck on the lead singer for perhaps a beat too long. Our aim is to ultimately keep the viewer engaged but this might not be achieved if we keep the camera on one member for too long. The music and band itself is energetic and upbeat. It encourages us to be able to play with rapid shots and having the edit even become a little frazzled as it cuts to different members; the viewer is then encouraged to keep up with what is being shown to them and not become bored. There is also a shot in this sequence where you can see a light behind the bassist. This could be fixed in a colour grade but it is best to avoid these types of shots in general as it looks messy to the viewer.
DOOR QUOTES // POST SIX
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How did you author (the photo or video) you recorded for upload to Instagram?
Keeping with the theme of elevators this week, I wanted my ‘final’ post (I will continue to post more next week to fuel my report) to truly utilise all that the Instagram app has to offer. That meant not using any third party app’s to edit or tweak my photo, relying strictly on the app’s affordances. However, I didn’t take the photo with the in-built camera as I knew I wanted to take multiple shots at once before pressing “post.” Standing in my apartment building’s lobby, I realised that this was a good opportunity to take a snap of the elevator doors while waiting for them to open. With pretty foliage to compliment the dark building, I took six shots on my iPhone 8 rear-facing camera with no flash. The flash would have been convenient in this situation as the space is quite dark, however, I didn’t want the light to reflect off the doors and ruin the image. While taking these photo’s I stood in the same position as there was no other placement I could have tried which would have included both door and greenery in the frame. Knowing I was going to have to crop this image into the Instagram square, I allowed for headroom and extra space (stepping backwards) to allow for the image to be cropped without losing the main elements. Of course with editing this week, I had to refrain from using my favourite editing app VSCO and instead use Instagram’s own editing tools. To be honest, Instagram has improved significantly since the beginning of its creation. Like VSCO, you can alter the exposure, contrast and saturation all while cropping, reshaping and straightening the image. For someone who enjoys simple and quick editing, this was all I could ask for and more. Amongst doing all I said above, I also sharpened this image a little.
Instagram, however, doesn’t have my favourite C1 filter (VSCO) so I instead picked their inbuilt filter “Crema.” What is important to note is that Instagram allows you to choose, like VSCO, the intensity of your filter. Shown to the right is a photo of the slide bar that allows for this. I ended up not going with 100% intensity in the end as it was too yellow for my liking. Ultimately, using the Instagram filters isn’t my cup of tea. Although it can be used beautifully in some instances, in low light spaces they can cause the image to appear darker, dull and not really add much to the final post. For example, the film filter on my video from this week added a bit of life to my original dull recording. That is why many people lean towards using third-party applications to edit as there are more filter options that can work better across more images.
Original photo ^
How did you publish (the photo or video) you recorded for upload to Instagram?
I wasn’t actually intending on using this photo as this week’s image. I planned to go out and try and take more photo’s as the week went by. However, I didn’t get much opportunity to find new doors to capture so I settled with my backup choice in the end. The caption for this week is quite big compared to the rest, stating: ““You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don’t try to forget the mistakes, but you don’t dwell on it. You don’t let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.” – Johnny Cash.” This quote, unlike my last post, doesn’t fit the image in any way. However, whenever I see a quote written by someone famous whom I know of, I instantly want to use it. Plus, this quote is extremely inspiring and motivational. By once again placing my hashtags in the comment section, I ended up thinking of 17 tags to add to my post. I wanted to think of as many as possible due to the fact my last post of an image didn’t do so well. I am actually surprised my videos have done just as well, if not better, than my photos. The extra tags for this post worked in the end, generating the most likes I’ve received for a post thus far. While observing the traffic once publishing, I found it interesting how my post was slow to receive any attention. Most of my likes came from users hours after posting! I also posted this image late at night which I thought was risky considering many people were either asleep or out being social.
How did you distribute (the photo or video) you published on Instagram to other social media services?
For the last time during this experiment I distributed my photo to Twitter and Tumblr. Unlike with my last post, I didn’t go the extra mile to add anything to the shared posts (with the links to my Instagram) such as tags or captions. However, that didn’t change the amount of attention I received on Twitter. I ended up getting 50 impressions on my tweet which was incredibly shocking considering I put no effort into having the post be seen. I wonder if this is because I had more words in my Instagram caption, resulting in more tag-able words Twitter could use in order to spread my tweet. My Tumblr post, on the other hand, didn’t generate much attention. If anything, Tumblr has become quite a dead platform in regard to posting links. To be successful on this platform you would have to put in the effort to create an account with more substance that just links to Instagram posts. “Collingwood” was also added as my location for this post, adding that little bit extra distribution.
DOORS QUOTES // POST FIVE
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How did you author (the photo or video) you recorded for upload to Instagram?
Upon knowing my task for this assignment was to post door related content, I knew I would eventually struggle with what ‘types’ of doors to post. Doors are everywhere, yet not many stand out. You seem to forget that door’s can be seen differently and found in the most mundane circumstances. Hence, this led to this week’s video of elevator doors. Elevator’s can be/are utilised in film in extraordinary ways. The doors themselves opening and shutting can lead to lots of experimental shot construction. I was inspired in the moment as I caught this elevator opening out onto level six on my iPhone 8 rear facing camera. As I knew I didn’t have much time to focus the shot, I centred myself as best as I could and pressed record. This video was actually captured the week before this one as I went up to class, once again generating most of my material in and around RMIT. Being in an elevator, especially with people, you are heavily constrained to how you can record a video. For instance if I was in front of the girl shown in the frame, it would have made the situation, for me personally, very awkward. Luckily I was behind her and had two classmates with me who understood what I was trying to achieve. The actual frame of this video was a lot longer than what it appears now on Instagram. I believe that during editing, the video must have got cut in size somehow. Speaking of editing, for this week’s video I followed the same technique I used last week: the film aesthetic. I achieved this through the same application titled “Chromic.” I knew that the Instagram app filter’s were going to look incredibly mundane on this dark grey elevator and I absolutely loved how the ‘FMO’ filter looked on last week’s video. This filter also created a red glow on the doors which I found to look a lot more appealing. Other than that, I didn’t edit this video in any other way. This video was strictly one shot, basically due to the timing of the elevator doors not being in my favour, and level six was my stop to get off. I wasn’t given a better opportunity to film other elevator doors without strangers overcrowding the shot or making me feel too uncomfortable to whip my iPhone out and film. Once again, I really liked the automatically chosen cover photo for this video (surprise, surprise). I really liked how the girl is seen to the side of the frame, yet the doors still remain the subject of the shot. Lastly, I couldn’t mute the video even if I wanted to as the audio adds so much to the content itself. It just gives viewers something more than just “noise” which is reflective of what my other videos have been like.
How did you publish (the photo or video) you recorded for upload to Instagram?
For this week’s caption I wrote: “”A very little key will open a very heavy door.” – Charles Dickens.” When I found this quote by Dickens I was super excited, not only because I have studied his work, but because elevator doors are in fact heavy. There goes my idea of not relating the quotes directly to the imagery. Last week’s video did well in terms of likes and I believe that was due to the use of more hashtags. So, this week I decided to follow the same formula and add as many as I could think of in the moment of publishing. I ended up with fifteen in the end and the video received a bit of love. I also posted this video a lot later in the day when normally I post early afternoon. This would have meant users in my geographical area (Melbourne) would have been more active. In terms of picking this video to publish, I had to make changes to the length of the video itself. At the end of the original video, I laughed which obviously ruined it and caused a distraction. When publishing, I used the trim tool to cut away the laugh and have it end right after you hear “level six.” I have added the original video below to show the difference.
ORIGINAL VIDEO
(I apologise that you have to download the file, it wouldn’t embed).
How did you distribute (the photo or video) you published on Instagram to other social media services?
Last week I mentioned that I would aim to try and do more in regards to adding hashtags to my posts on Twitter and Tumblr. A limitation of the toggle sharing affordance on Instagram is how as a user you aren’t able to add tags or captions to those posts. Instead, you are forced to do so in the actual Twitter or Tumblr app AFTER publication. So, I went forth and added hashtags to my Twitter post, which ended up resulting in 34 impressions. The actual tweet with the tags included racked up 20 impressions. This is quite an increase in regard to how my other tweets were tracking. On Tumblr there were no interactions (from what I know of). As always I added the location on top of my post, this time geo-tagging RMIT University as my location.
DOOR QUOTES // POST FOUR
Click above to view!
How did you author (the photo or video) you recorded for upload to Instagram?
For my photograph this week, I knew I wanted to capture the front door of my family home in the countryside. My mum loves to garden and hence, I had to include her potted plants in the shot as it added so much more to the image. To be honest, this picture was captured in a very amateur way. I was dressed in my pyjamas and crouching down not just to get the perfect shot, but more hide myself from anyone driving or walking past the house! That being said, I love how this image turned out, with the light hitting the window. I took this once again on my trusty iPhone 8 with the rear camera and no flash. I definitely tampered with pressing down on the screen to adjust the exposure as I was taking photos as it was really sunny outside. I ended up taking 11 different photos of this door from different angles, but settled upon this one as the composition just seemed right. Once again I didn’t want my images to be set within the square frame. I will definitely try to do so with future posts, but I just couldn’t bare to crop out the plants or top of the door frame for the sake of a square post. This affordance in allowing user’s to chose the square or not is an affordance that I am grateful for. In terms of editing for this image, I decided to use VSCO again. Although Instagram
has adequate tools now which cater for image perfecting, VSCO has the trusty C1 filter which I knew I wanted to use in order to give more life to the photo. I changed and played with the exposure and contrast controls also as the original image (shown to the right) was quite dark. I also had to straighten the image a little due to my crouched positioning while taking the photo causing it to become slanted (a result of my nervous self hoping to not be caught out in her pyjamas by her neighbours). This style of editing is very similar to my own style in regard to my personal content posted on Instagram. I use the same editing app’s and filters. The only real difference here is that, with certain content there are different expectations. For instance, taking photo’s of doors and then editing them takes me less time than if it was an image of myself. On my personal Instagram, most of the content features myself in the photo. Hence, I take a lot more time and consideration picking out the perfect photo, editing it so its perfect and looking at it for hours before uploading just in case I’m not satisfied with it. With doors, I feel more invited to be careless and simply ‘ordinary.’
How did you publish (the photo or video) you recorded for upload to Instagram?
This was the only set image I took during the week featuring a door. I keep reminding myself of good opportunities to whip out my iPhone and snap something but I become forgetful. I believe I also have set an expectation upon myself to find the most interesting doors to post, which becomes annoying when doors in general are quite boring. Yet, this is clearly not the point of this experimentation. The caption for this post reads: “”Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn’t know you left open.” – John Barrymore.” With no hashtags to clutter the caption, it looks short and sweet. Once published, this image didn’t receive so well in comparison to my other photo from last week. I’m not sure if it was due to the hashtags, geo-tag or the timing of the post which affected this. Instagram only allows its users to understand why their content is or isn’t doing so well through it’s “business account” feature. Because my account is personal (although public), I do not have access to how many people may have seen it but not liked (such as Twitter impressions) or how many people found my post through tags. Maybe for my next posts I should go all out with the hashtags to see if that makes a difference to traffic. I did upload this image in the morning on a Sunday which is probably the absolute worst time to post (everyone is either hungover or asleep still).
How did you distribute (the photo or video) you published on Instagram to other social media services?
We hit 10 impressions on Twitter with this distribution! *(sarcasm)* I definitely vow to try and include tags next time as not much is happening on this social network in regard to my content. However, Twitter being more ‘word’ based as opposed to image, that is understandable. Didn’t forget about Tumblr, where I also uploaded a link to my photo. I just realised that I also have gotten a follower on my Tumblr page – a bot. Exciting. Furthermore, I added the location of where this photo was taken, Drouin, Victoria, to my post. Not many people know of my hometown. Quite frankly, if I click on the geo-tag itself, I am bound to see one of my friends posts in the “top posts.” Therefore, I knew distributing this photo with a location was bound to not result in any traffic but for a more organised approach I didn’t want to leave it out.
DOOR QUOTES // POST THREE
Click above to view!
How did you author (the photo or video) you recorded for upload to Instagram?
Venturing out into the city during class time, I found inspiration within this beautiful RMIT building. I knew immediately that this would fit perfectly on my Instagram page as it fits the vision of creating content in the moment; no planning required. The amateur Instagram user way. I took this video on my iPhone 8 once again, with the rear facing camera. I knew the beauty of this building would not be showcased as nicely within the square Instagram frame, especially because I pan down towards the door at the end. However, I hope with the rest of my content I experiment with the Instagram camera itself, to test how differently my videos could become or be received. I’ve noticed that my content has become intertwined with two of Manovich’s “themes” that he researched. One is clearly focused on the “ordinary” Instagram photos, content which is fixated on not being professional but rather personal to the user. The second I tried not to conform to as much, but have in the sense that I have focused on editing and the composition of my content more heavily than an amateur may. This is Manovich’s investigation of “professional” content where authors create “classic aesthetics.” (Manovich, 2016, pg. N/A). I knew I want
ed to experiment with video filters which were not on the Instagram app. The affordances in regard to correcting the video’s brightness or contrast on the software itself are constraining. There aren’t any. In fact, you only have the option to choose a filter or trim the video. Hence, I found the application “Chromic,” which although only lets me choose a filter out of seven options and change the brightness, it was enough to satisfy. I chose the filter ‘FMO’ which makes the video appear as if it has been shot on “film.” This was a choice I wanted to make to link back to previous weeks where we discussed in the lecture how we can create “analogue” looking content without it actually being analogue. Once again this video was a one-shot recording. I loved how the cover picture looked originally so I didn’t feel it was to be changed. I left the video unmuted.
How did you publish (the photo or video) you recorded for upload to Instagram?
I ended up recording this video two times. The first time I panned down in a wonky way which resulted in the door not being centred and somewhat symmetrical in the middle of the frame. Once again, I took more consideration into the composition of this video than an “ordinary” user probably would. The caption of this post goes as follows: ““The doors of wisdom are never shut.” – Benjamin Franklin.” Although I previously said that I don’t want to put pressure upon myself by finding quotes that match the visual of the post, this one was just too good not to share (the building being part of RMIT University). Benjamin Franklin being a famous name meant that my use of hashtags would cater for that. I ended up using 10 hashtags for this video. When selecting hashtags, I don’t have a process which helps me pick out the best ones in order to achieve more traffic. Instead I think of them on the spot, and make sure they fit what is being shown rather than using popular hashtags like “love” and “like.” The video plays automatically on the app, but for some reason doesn’t on the Instagram website. I posted this video around the same time I posted my first one (1-2pm) and for some reason, this video did much better than my first. It gained more attention, however, not as many views. This could be due to the first post obviously being published the week prior and having more time to be seen. Yet, this shows how people who search through tags on Instagram may be interested more in “liking” than viewing, with the hopes that other users will give them “attention” back (this stemming from the ‘like4like’ culture Instagram has.)
How did you distribute (the photo or video) you published on Instagram to other social media services?
As I will continue to do so with the rest of my posts, I added the geo-tag location at the top of my video. Labelled as “Carlton, Victoria, Australia,” this helped distribute this video to this locations hashtag. I then also shared this post through my Twitter and Tumblr accounts. On Twitter, this post only got 10 impressions. However, I never used any tags due to the fact that on this platform, the words themselves in the post can become tags. For example, if you were to search the key words of my caption such as “doors” or “wisdom,” my post may appear somewhere. On Tumblr I decided to add hashtags to the post itself, as well as add a description on the post. I could only do this because I didn’t use the toggle bar and rather shared the link itself.
DOORS QUOTES // POST TWO
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How did you author (the photo or video) you recorded for upload to Instagram?
I fell in love with this yellow door found in Carlton, nearby RMIT. I knew immediately that I had to include it on my page, the bright colour amidst the grey concrete and white building reminding me of finding happiness in unknown places. Thus, perfect for my page featuring uplifting quotes. I authored this photograph using my iPhone 8 rear facing camera, through the inbuilt camera application. I took roughly ten shots of this door from multiple angles but ultimately loved the way the door was framed in the chosen image. I used the well known photo editing app VSCO to edit this picture as this is the one I have had the most experience with. I enhanced the exposure, contrast, added a little saturation to make the yellow pop and cropped the image slightly. This time, unlike my video, I knew I didn’t want this image to be confined to the square Instagram shape. Hence, I made sure that when posting I clicked the icon that leaves the image in its expanded, true form. In terms of filters, I didn’t use the Instagram filter selection this time. This is because I always add the VSCO filter C1 to my photographs, including this one. I made sure I didn’t use the filter at it’s 100% capacity as sometimes it can appear to saturated and contrasty. There was no need for any flash as it was daytime and sunny outside. Again, this post is not intended to fit in with my previous post in order to create an aesthetic. In fact, the two posts together don’t work at all. But that is the beauty of Instagram; the freedom to create content that may not look great as a collective, but individually stand out.
How did you publish (the photo or video) you recorded for upload to Instagram?
I published this image with the caption as following: ““We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” – Walt Disney.” I had a feeling this post was going to be received well as Walt Disney is a famous man to quote, hence, putting him in the tags and in the caption was obviously going to generate a little attention. Like my video post, I chose to place my hashtags in the comments section, allowing for a neat and tidy format. I chose more hashtags for this photo also, including ones such as #disney and #yellow which I knew would spark more interest. I forgot how powerful hashtags can truely be on Instagram. I remember using them when I was younger and loving how much attention they brought, but I no longer use them for my personal content. I actually didn’t think they worked as well as they used to in the past. However, this image ended up gaining some likes and and my profile a few followers! I published this image around 2pm. Considering the photo did better than my video, I am surprised how the timing didn’t doom my post to not do so well as it did with my previous post. However, this could be due to video’s not ever doing as well as images on this social network.
How did you distribute (the photo or video) you published on Instagram to other social media services?
I, like with my video, distributed this image on Twitter and Tumblr. With the toggle options easily accessible before posting, this allowed for quick distributing. Although no engagements this time, the tweet did receive 18 impressions. This meant that no one would have clicked the link. On Tumblr, creating a link to an Instagram post means that clicking the image on the screen leads you straight to my Instagram page. I love this affordance as it can almost trick users to accessing your page when they may have just wanted a closer look. I also furthered the distribution once again by adding the location ‘geo-tag.’ This time the photo was taken in Carlton, hence leading to the photo tagged in the same place. It’s crazy how although I uploaded this photograph away from Carlton, Instagram still knew where I originally authored it. Carlton is a busy and popular suburb in the city, meaning this tag would have helped lead to traffic being conducted on my page.
DOOR QUOTES // POST ONE
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Upon realising that our content was to reflect the idea of “doors,” I was inspired to not follow a certain theme or aesthetic, but be more creative with my captions. Quote accounts are one of the biggest type of accounts created on Instagram as they can inspire, motivate or simply relate to someone’s situation. There are many quotes on doors, hence, I wanted to incorporate quotes about doors. In terms of authoring this particular video, it came to me on a gloomy day. The city was grey and wet, and I believed the sliding door was perfect to feature, as I could open it with ease mid filming. I filmed the video on my iPhone 8, with the inbuilt camera function (facing away). Because video-editing app’s are quite rare to find (in regard to filtering videos), I did limited editing besides popping on the Instagram filter ‘Gingham.” I believed this filter added to the grey and sad feeling behind the video. I also chose to restrict my video to the confinements of the Instagram square, leaving the audio and also not choosing a cover. I kept the audio as one of my pet peeves on Instagram is when people mute their content. Audio can add so much to a video, even if it just muffled wind. Not choosing a cover photo was an editing mistake, however, the cover chosen on my feed is something I am not disappointed with. Quite frankly, though, I’m not pleased with this video. It appears rushed and you can see my mop in the background. However, I am not aiming to adhere to an aesthetic like many Instagram users try to do (myself included on my personal Instagram account). I instead want to create this “amateur” type look to my content. It’s not perfect; the posts won’t come together to look like a grand masterpiece. Instead, I want to examine how this amateur look is received. Are people on Instagram more excited by HD quality content? Or can a lousy video of a sliding door opening out a city view be enticing in this modern age of social media?
How did you publish (the photo or video) you recorded for upload to Instagram?
Firstly, I published this video with the caption, ““I feel very adventurous. There are so many doors to be opened, and I’m not afraid to look behind them.” – Elizabeth Taylor.” I don’t want my quotes to match my content in any way, besides it clearly being about doors. I love the way the quotes look in my caption. I believe it entices viewers to not only view the content but read what’s below. I made the deliberate decision to put my hashtags in the comments rather than the caption, as I knew i wanted my caption to be all about the quote and not look messy. Hiding the hashtags in the comments created a cleaner look to the post. I only ended up choosing six hashtags for this post as in the moment, I couldn’t think of many. However, the video ended up generating attention regardless. I did record two versions of this video, however, the first one I was super shaky and unsteady. The second time around I paced myself so it wasn’t rushed and I could achieve a steady pan of my beautiful city view. I really like the auto-play function on Instagram as it aims at capturing users attention straight away, so I kept it on. It is important to mention that I posted this video at around 1pm. The video only received six likes, meaning this may not be a prime time to post.
How did you distribute (the photo or video) you published on Instagram to other social media services?
I distributed my content to two social media platforms: Tumblr and Twitter. I have experience using both networks but never in regard to sharing content from Instagram. With Twitter, I made it so when I posted my video, I turned on the toggle that automatically shared my post to Twitter too. Yet with Tumblr, I was slow to setting up a new account. Thus, I used the link sharing option on Tumblr to share the already posted video. I love how on Twitter, you can see who has seen your post or interacted with it. There has been 23 impressions and 2 engagements with this tweet, which is surprising considering I didn’t put any effort into this tweet besides posting it. I decided on using these platforms and not Facebook as I knew the idea of quotes is huge on Tumblr and Twitter is an easy network to navigate and use. To further my distribution, I added a ‘geo-tag’, or ‘Location’ to the top of my post: Collingwood, Victoria, Australia. This allows my video to not only be seen through the likes of hashtags, but whenever someone searches Collingwood as a location, therefore contributing to it’s ultimate distribution. I found it funny how somehow my Auntie found my account and has since followed it (she followed before my first post). I have not linked this account to my personal one in any way (besides following it and visa versa), or used personal information like my phone number to add onto the account. Hence, she must have seen somehow that I had followed my own account and wanted to show support. Bless.
DOYOUTRAVEL
Who is the practitioner (what is their name?) and when were they practicing?
@DoYouTravel, also known as Jack Morris, is an Instagram practitioner who posts travel related photos and videos onto his account. With 2.7 million followers, Morris began his career on Instagram in his early twenties and is still pursuing his dream at the age of 28. Like Sjana Elise, Morris travels the world and promotes the location, accommodation or certain products. He also sells presets for Lightroom which users can now purchase to use for their own photos. Since gaining much success, Morris is able to travel with his own money and showcase it for his followers to see. He has since started a YouTube channel which he uses to post video blogs of his adventures; using his Instagram account to regularly advertise this content.
What is the title of the photo or video you have chosen to analyse (can you provide a link?)
Again, Instagram doesn’t have a ‘title’ feature within the application, yet the caption provides for an alternative, his reading: “Taking some time to chill at the #AmexPlatinum House before heading to the festival! With plenty of snacks, drinks and even massages by #EQXBodyLab, its the perfect spot to start the day! #AmexAmbassador #AmexLife”
Link: https://www.instagram.com/p/BwP0BfoB2_v/
With the photo or video, you are examining when was it produced (date)?
This video was published onto Morris’ Instagram account on the 15th of April, 2019. However, due to the video featuring many effects which would have taken time to achieve, it is assumed to users that this video wasn’t produced on the same day. Morris is constantly on the move, traveling from country to country in a matter of days. He also commonly shares archives from past trips, so it can be hard to know when the content he takes is produced. Nevertheless, this video was taken in Palm Springs for Coachella weekend one, which began on April 12th and finished on the 14th. The video would have been taken during this time.
How was the photo or video authored?
Due to being shot at a birds-eye angle, a video-camera drone would have been used. Morris prefers to use the DJI Mavic Pro & Air when shooting with drones, the Air particularly when traveling as it is so compact. In terms of editing, the software used is unknown. However, due to Morris being an avid user of the program Lightroom, it is assumed that he would have colour graded his footage with his own presets. Like most Instagrammers, Morris sticks to a certain aesthetic on his profile, claiming: “I edit all my photos in the same kind of style with my own Lightroom presets so I guess they all look some what similar because of that. I also look at the grid and try to plan the next image to make sure it works well with the rest of my recent feed” (Morris, 2017.) Furthermore, Morris claims to sometimes use the Instagram editor if his content looks too dark or contrasty. In terms of what equipment the practitioner uses for shooting video content generally for his Instagram, Morris has taken a liking to the Canon 1DX MK2.
How was the photo or video published?
This video was published onto Morris’ Instagram account on April 15th. In response to a question asking about how he uploads high quality content onto an app for a mobile device, Morris replied: “All my images are exported in the highest quality possible. Once exported from Lightroom I airdrop to my phone then post” (Morris, 2017.) This makes sense as Instagram doesn’t have an option for posting content using your computer. As a user, you have to take the next step to using a third-party application to do so. In this day and age, air-dropping takes seconds, and this way Morris is able to save his content into his phone’s photo library.
How was the photo or video distributed?
As this post is a sponsored one, it is clear to viewers the intentions behind it’s distribution. In the geo-tag section of the post, Instagram now lets user’s be able to communicate that the post is linked to a paid-sponsorship. In this case with Morris, his video was created to promote the Amex (American Express) Platinum House which he stayed in during his time at Coachella. Morris has taken the extra step to geo-tag the location also, that being Palm Springs, California. Here, his content gets distributed within the location tag, so users can scroll through when searching ‘Palm Springs’ and find this video. Morris has also tagged @americanexpress in the video, as well as himself, meaning the video would come up in both account’s “tagged” section. Similar to Sjana once again, Morris takes advantage of the ‘highlights’ option and since being an ambassador for Amex, he has created a mini-story in order to create further promotion. This then links his video to the rest of his sponsored content, distributing it further for those interested in his collaboration with the company. This goes above and beyond how distributing content used to be in the past.
REFERENCES:
Morris, J 2017, Do You Travel, Doyoutravel.com, viewed on the 30 April 2019, https://www.doyoutravel.com/
SJANA ELISE
Who is the practitioner (what is their name?) and when were they practicing?
Sjana Earp, better known as her instagram label “Sjana Elise,” is a photojournalist, yoga instructor and blogger. Producing her largest platform on Instagram with 1.6 million followers, Sjana has been posting photographs onto the app since she was a teenager. However, her career in photojournalism and lifestyle blogging took off in her early twenties. Since then, Sjana has been active on Instagram, gaining further success which led to her creation of a YouTube channel. Having struggled with bullying and severe mental health issues as a teenager, Sjana now focuses on wanting to help others who are currently facing the same difficulties. With yoga becoming a salvation for the 24 year old, she hopes her love and passion for the art will motivate others to try it through the use of her Instagram.
What is the title of the photo or video you have chosen to analyse (can you provide a link?)
There is no title for this photograph as Instagram has no “title” feature, however the caption goes as follows: “Earth day should be all day, every day 💛🦋🌿💛🐢
@vitaminaswim @playaviva@regenerativeresorts #vitaminaswim#sustainabilityissexy
Pic: @eastonschirra”
Link: https://www.instagram.com/p/BwlDkXqHnO8/?hl=en
With the photo or video, you are examining when was it produced (date)?
This photo was published onto Instagram on the 23rd of April, 2019. It is unclear, however, when this photograph was taken as Sjana had posted similar photographs previous to this one with the same tags in the caption. Yet, digging deeper, this particular photo was taken during a trip to Mexico which only lasted a few days. Hence, the production of the photographs would have been conducted around the time of the trip which began on April 21st.
How was the photo or video authored?
Sjana is commonly found to use her iPhone camera when taking photographs. However, due to this photo being taken by someone else, we assume that not to be the case. Luckily the photographer was tagged: @eastonschirra. Being a professional photographer in this day and age, a majority of his work would be through the use of a digital camera. The photo is also seen to be edited due to the obvious colour grading to enhance the yellows.
How was the photo or video published?
This photo was published onto the social network Instagram, most likely off of Sjana’s iPhone device. Besides the editing, there would have been no hard work publishing this photograph, unlike in the cases of publishing film. Yet, there is a certain aesthetic which Sjana adheres to when publishing her content. Most of her photographs link together with a colour palette; recently they all resemble earthy tones. In the past, she was known for using highly saturated colours. This not only shows off her photographs in a satisfying manner, but produces the idea of creating a “collection” of photos, as an artist would for an exhibition.
How was the photo or video distributed?
The distribution of this photo can easily be detected through the use of Sjana’s tags. She has tagged the company/sponsor of the trip she is on (the swimwear brand), as well as the photographer and the resort she is staying at. Hence, if the companies were to re-upload her photograph, there would be a continuous cycle of links. For instance, in the ‘tagged’ option on her instagram account, you can find the photograph posted by other accounts.
In order for Sjana’s career to thrive, she has to rely on sponsored posts and trips.
Yet, she has come out in saying she only supports companies who support her ideals and values, such as caring for the earth. Sjana also makes use of the ‘highlights’ feature on Instagram, which is an affordance that lets users create mini Insta stories on their profile that don’t disappear. A collection of memories. In this we see a ‘behind the scenes‘ look on the photoshoot itself which produced this photograph. Seeing this Instagram story would have directed user traffic to her posts, as well as to the tagged accounts. What is important to address is that Sjana’s profile is quite clean-cut, meaning her first photographs posted have since been deleted, leaving a clean slate. However, her YouTube account was created after her rise in Insta fame. The traffic coming onto her account would simply be from the distribution of her work with brands and other famous Instagrammers. Sjana is constantly distributing content, posting nearly every single day. This a technique which adheres to the Instagram algorithm and allows her posts to constantly pop up on our feeds and explore page.
REFERENCES:
Earp, S 2019, Sjana , Sjana-Smyle, viewed on 28 april 2019, https://sjana.com.au/
owever, was only a minor personal issue and I kept in contact with Jamie throughout the post-production process to ensure he knew I could help out if needed.
