https://www.instagram.com/deadenddoor/

Instagram Photo 3

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

As with my other photos and videos, I used an iPhone 6s to take this photo. Whilst the apparatus to record images and videos has been the same, I find this to be the case for most people who post to Instagram. For phones, it makes sense to use the phone you carry on a daily basis. For a professional camera, the lens may be changed but the camera remains the same. The equipment adds to the aesthetic of the Instagram. Whilst my Instagram is focused on media produced by a phone, I see many Instagrams with other focuses. For example, many people have Instagram accounts dedicated to film photography (@matt.took.this) or polaroids (@sandy.skene). It all depends on the preference of the author and who they want their content to appeal to.

When taking this photo, I had ample room in the laneway to stand at a distance from the garage door that would allow me to capture the top of nearby buildings. Because it was an overcast day, I think that the photo came out well balanced. Because of this, I didn’t edit the photo. I simply ran it through the Square Fit app so that I could obtain the white bars above and below the image.

Prior to Instagram allowing photos and videos to be dimensions other than a square, I used this app. I have continued to use it as now my decision is based purely on aesthetics. The ‘white bar’ aesthetic is widely seen on Instagram. It is used by both photographers (@dayzedandconfused) and celebrities/people who are simply sharing their life (@w_n_r00). This shows that particular styles seen on Instagram aren’t reserved for particular content. In order for someone to challenge the affordances of Instagram, people are taking inspiration from existing capabilities and adding their own perspective in order to set themselves apart from the rest.

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

Publishing was quite simple this week. I walked around some laneways, saw what caught my eye and then proceeded to take a few photos. I really took my time observing the space prior to pulling out my phone because I wanted to have the image in my head first. Then, I took my time setting up the shot to ensure it matched what I saw in my head. After that, I took a few photos to ensure that I had the photo. As for publishing within Instagram, there are a few options that allow for the image to be visible in many places within Instagram. Before deciding that, I thought about the caption. I think that captions are often very important as they make the post more personal. Sometimes however, an image or video can speak for itself. In this case, I kept my caption short. The caption reads ‘Stop sign. Some doors are made only for some people to access.’ The ‘stop sign’ refers to the title of the photograph. Due to the red brick and the dead end nature of my work, I find ‘stop sign’ to be a suitable title. Furthermore, the caption adds a bit of explanation to what I see in the photo. I prefer keeping my captions quite open-ended as I want the viewer to form their own opinion. Then, I had the option of adding a location, hashtags, tags in the caption and tags on the photo. I chose only to add hashtags as over the past few weeks, I have found them to be most useful. It would be interesting to test out the effects tagging accounts would have with engagement but I am unsure of which accounts receive most engagement within the realm of door instagrams.

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

As with the previous weeks, I distributed my photo on Twitter and Tumblr. I’ve yet to see any real engagement with my posts as so far the only engagement has come from bots. Whilst it is simple to tick an option that distributes an Instagram post to other social media, it is difficult for it to be successful if I am not actively engaging with the app that it is on. What this means is that if I were to engage with the hashtags as much as I were on Instagram, then maybe I’d direct more traffic to my Twitter and Tumblr accounts. Furthermore, the only content on my Twitter and Tumblr accounts are foreign Instagram posts. Therefore, it may be wise to also create content specifically for the other social media accounts to demonstrate my interest in them too.

View this post on Instagram

Vacancy. Sometimes we’re left to wonder what our purpose is. We’re surrounded by people who seem to have it all together. They’re ready for new opportunities whilst we feel that all we can do is watch. We shut ourselves away. We must realise that we have to live our own lives. We’re on individual journeys. We must be proud of how far we’ve come. #door #doorsofinstagram #building #melbourne #melbournearchitecture #architecture #city #cityliving #melbournecity #subway #underground #degravesstreet #flindersstreet #flindersstation #light #inspiration #mentalhealth #positivevibes #hope #urban #urbanphotography

A post shared by @ deadenddoor on May 17, 2019 at 12:02am PDT

Instagram Video 2

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

I shot this video using an iPhone 6. Going into this week, I knew I didn’t want just a single take. Instead, I wanted to incorporate some more elements into it. Hence, why the final product is two clips edited together. In order to edit the video, I downloaded the app InShot. Through this app I was able to combine the two videos. Whilst Instagram allows for the selection of multiple photos/videos, I didn’t want someone to have to scroll to the next video. I thought that this would make the video disjointed as the two video would be seen as unrelated. Therefore, I resorted to using an app in order to complete the editing. Furthermore, I continued with the ‘white bar aesthetic’ by running the video through the Square Fit app. Along with this, I also took into account the cover I desired for the post. I wanted the door and its surroundings to be visible in the cover in order to give context to the functioning or lack thereof of the door.

In regards to the raw footage, I didn’t feel the need to edit any of the colours, shadows, etc. I instead chose to play around with different camera angles when I was shooting the video. This entailed a range of pans and static shots at varying distances. Ultimately, I decided to focus on two particular shots.

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

This week I decided to add a location to my post. I did this to test out if the engagement with my post would differ. Whilst I can’t confirm if it were due to the location, I did notice that more accounts related to Flinders street/ the Melbourne CBD liked my video and/or followed me. Due to this, I will test out adding locations to my following posts and see if there is more evidence to support the notion that by adding a location, a post becomes more relevant to those within the vicinity of the location and so, are more likely to engage with the account. This post included my longest caption thus far. I felt quite inspired from the video to share some of my thoughts. In turn, through showing my honest feelings, I decided to include hashtags not only related to the video but also to the caption. This included hashtags such as #mentalhealth, #inspiration and #hope.

In regards to the caption, I have come to think a lot about the reasons why people use Instagram as opposed to other photo and video sharing platforms. The caption I included reflects the kind of writing that would be seen in a diary or a blog. Therefore, I find that this post in particular is more suited to a Tumblr account as opposed to an Instagram account. I find that Tumblr offers a more personal experience due to the ability for users to post just text, photos, videos or a combination. Furthermore, followers are able to send in questions through the ‘ask’ feature which sees questions being replied to through a post to the Tumblr account in which the question was directed. In comparison to Instagram, Instagram allows for a question feature through the story and live video functions. These however, are only available for 24 hours. In saying all of this, I wonder if it is possible for Instagram to achieve the level of connection between followers and creators that Tumblr has. Whilst it is possible to simultaneously have a highly curated feed as well as be genuine and connected to the people who engage with the posts, I can’t help but question if many people have commercial interests when creating an Instagram account.

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

In order to distribute the video, I shared the video to the Tumblr and Twitter account that I linked to my Instagram account. The sharing can be done either when publishing the video or at a later date. I chose to distribute it after my post went up as I wanted to ensure I was happy with the post before distributing it any further within the social media realm.

https://www.instagram.com/deadenddoor/

Instagram Photo 2

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

I took this photo using an iPhone 6s. As the main focus of this photo is the door, the phone didn’t have much of an influence on how I could capture the photo. I was able to stand relatively close on the footpath and capture the door as well as part of the facade of the building. It would however, be interesting to compare the scope I could capture with an iPhone to a DSLR. In this case though, the main constraint was the row of cars parked along the road. Therefore, if I were to stand at a greater distance from the door, the cars would have obstructed the view. Once I decided on the photo I wanted to upload, I went on to slightly edit the photo using Instagram by adjusting the level of shadows. Furthermore, I wanted to consider not only how the photo would be viewed in someone’s feed, but also how it would appear on my profile as well as in any explore pages. Whilst Instagram no longer limits photos to be uploaded in a square format, when viewed in a grid, all the images are zoomed to fit into a square. Due to this, I didn’t like how my photo looked zoomed in to fit a square. Therefore, I added the white bars to the image using the app Square Fit. As seen in the photo, now the full image can be seen on my profile without needing to open it. This may sound like a poor choice as it suggests. people won’t open my photo. But by seeing the full photo immediately, if someone likes what they see then they can choose to like it or ignore it.

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

At first I wasn’t too sure which photo I wanted to upload. As I mentioned above, I decided on an image that I wanted to be viewed in its entirety at anytime. Deciding to take this route meant that I was now introducing the ‘white bar aesthetic’ to my Instagram profile. What I mean by this is that all the images with white bars will be seen as part of a set whilst my previous posts will now stand out as being inconsistent to the rest. From personal experience, I feel the need to continue the white bar aesthetic for a little while in order for my profile to be consistent. Therefore, for this account, I’m not sure if I’ve trapped myself in wanting to fit a particular aesthetic. This has the potential to affect the kind of content I produce.

Furthermore, I continued this week to include a range of hashtags in order to target different Instagram communities such as the door community and the Melbourne community. I also included a small caption in order to ensure my posts remain genuine and personal in the hopes that those reading it will feel more connected to the account.

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

In the same manner as last week, I shared my photo to Tumblr and Twitter. This week I considered putting my hashtags in the comments rather than the caption in order to not clutter the space. I chose not to though because when I share the post to Tumblr, because the hashtags are included in the caption, they translate to Tumblr hashtags. Therefore, to save me the trouble of having to make new hashtags on Tumblr, I kept the Instagram ones from my caption.

View this post on Instagram

#door #shotoniphone #melbourne #urban #video #street #city #melbournecity #doorsofinstagram #sign #building

A post shared by @ deadenddoor on May 11, 2019 at 9:14pm PDT

Instagram Video 1

How did I author the video I recorded for upload to Instagram?

In order to author this video, I used an iPhone 6s. I decided to mute the video because I didn’t find the diegetic sound to be of any use in this particular video. The reason for this is that the location that I shot this video in was in a back street in the city and so, there was only a slight mumble of noise which didn’t contribute much to the video. I also chose to shoot it as a short continuous video with no editing because of the door I chose as my subject. The signs on the door indicate danger and so, isn’t somewhere you would want to linger around. Therefore, it made sense that the video would reflect this by being a quick passing by of the door. When filming I also took into account the fact that I’d need to chose a cover for the Instagram post. Therefore, I tried to setup my shot to include a view of the door that could be used as a photo.

How did I publish the video I recorded for upload to Instagram?

Unlike my first post which included a written caption, this post only had an emoji and hashtags in the caption. I used the ‘’ emoji to reflect the signage in the video. I felt that the signage was the most important part of the video as it connects to my account name deadenddoor. Therefore, I felt that the emoji would explain the intention of my post the easiest. Furthermore, I also used less hashtags than in my previous post. I wanted to include hashtags that were directly related to the post as the post would then be discoverable in the relevant communities of Instagram. In saying that, I used hashtags related to Melbourne and so, whilst I didn’t include a location, viewers can still assume that the location is Melbourne.

How did I distribute the video I published on Instagram to other social media services?

I again decided to distribute my video through Twitter and Tumblr. I find Tumblr to be a useful method of distribution as the video can be viewed in the same way the video is viewed on Instagram. Furthermore, the hashtags in the caption become linked to the hashtags on Tumblr which assists in easy circulation of the post within Tumblr. On the other hand, Twitter doesn’t embed the video within the tweet. Instead, there is only the caption and a link to the Instagram post. I find this to be less immersive as anyone viewing it must leave Twitter and go to Instagram rather than having the full experience on Twitter. Therefore, I find it to be quite redundant as a channel of distribution for increasing exposure. Instead, I find that distributing on Twitter assists more with acting as a method of informing your already existing Twitter followers that you’ve uploaded to Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/deadenddoor/

Instagram Photo 1

How did I author the photo I recorded for upload to Instagram?

To take this photo I had the phone orientated vertically. This allowed me to capture the building in its full height at a close distance. I needed to be close to the building to take the photo due to it facing quite a busy road. Furthermore, the phone influenced where I stood to take the photo due to the position of the sun. I had to be careful to not blow out the image. Once I took the photo I proceeded to edit it using Instagram. I decided to crop the photo, adjust the contrast as well as the shadows. Whilst, the editing is only subtle, I found it necessary to deepen the colours in the photo.

How did I publish the photo I recorded for upload to Instagram?

I wanted a photo to be the first post on the account as I wanted an image to be an accompaniment to a caption that would hint at my intentions for the account. In turn, I was most drawn to this photo. As this was my first post, I needed to consider that this would be the only thing on my account that would act as an incentive to follow the account. For this reason, I thought about the number of hashtags I should include. I knew that I needed some so that people could find their way to my account, but I felt that if I were to include too many hashtags, then my photo wouldn’t be seen as genuine. The reason being that people would assume I am only posting in order to gain followers. Ultimately, I did include quite a lot of hashtags but I felt that my caption made up for it. The caption reads as follows ‘Closed for business. I came across this facade and it made me wonder what’s behind the door now that the business no longer operates. A physical dead end but a new opening for my imagination.’ Furthermore, I chose not to add a location or any tags as I want each post to be more about the story and message of the post, rather than a documentation of physical places. Instead, it documents places the mind travels and so, that cannot be tagged. In turn, publishing this photo marked the beginnings to my Instagram deadenddoor.

How did I distribute the photo I published on Instagram to other social media services?

Either when publishing the photo or after the photo has been published, Instagram allows users to share their posts to other social media platforms. I decided to distribute the photos to other apps a few days after having published the photo on Instagram as I wanted to first build my presence on Instagram as that account is my main focus. Then, when distributing the post further, I decided to use Tumblr and Twitter. I chose these two apps as they both have large communities of people who enjoy posting about their thoughts. Therefore, since I am using my Instagram to voice my thoughts, these two apps seemed most suitable. In turn, I setup a Tumblr and Twitter account with the same name to keep all of the accounts consistent.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Joey Kidney (@joeykidney) on Apr 18, 2019 at 12:51pm PDT

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

Joey Kidney is a 23 year old Canadian YouTuber. He has amassed 731,000 subscribers on YouTube and has a following of 115,000 on Instagram. His content across the various platforms put a spotlight on well-being, mental health, love and more. He has been active on YouTube since 2012 and currently posts new videos weekly.

What is the title of the photo or video you have chosen to analyse (can you provide a link?) 

I have chosen to focus on a recent post on Joey’s Instagram. The video is a visual accompaniment to a snippet from his podcast The Happy Times. (https://www.instagram.com/p/BwaMQw9h1ZO/)

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

Whilst the video was published on the 18th of April 2019, it would have been produced much earlier. The reason for this is that the video includes shots that were already filmed of or by Joey but were deemed suitable to use at this time to be part of an edited sequence to accompany audio from his podcast.

How was the photo or video authored?

As this video is a compilation of clips filmed over a series of time, it is unclear what camera was used for shooting. For example, there are shots that appear to have been filmed using a camera, a phone and a drone. The accompanying audio from his podcast would most likely have been recorded using a microphone. Then, it would have all been brought together using editing software such as Premiere pro (as I have seen it on his computer screen on his Instagram stories) to put the clips, sound and text all together.

How was the photo or video published?

The video would have been exported from his computer and transferred to his phone in order for it to be published on his Instagram account.

How was the photo or video distributed?

The main focus of this post is to spread distribution of his podcast. In saying that, the original distribution of the audio is through iTunes and Spotify. This Instagram post however, increases the reach of the podcast as Joey’s followers learn through reading the caption that  the full version can be found by listening to The Happy Times. Within Instagram itself, the distribution occurs through the use of hashtags. As the content in the video centres around mental health, the hashtags correlate with the topic. For example, the popular hashtags #mentalhealth (10.7 million posts) and #inspiration (139 million posts) are used to help circulate the post within communities of people who are interested in those topics. In saying that, this highlights that Instagram is saturated with posts and so, even if a hashtag is used, it can be easily lost within the realm of posts as new posts are constantly being added. It then becomes a matter of what is necessary to separate one account from the next in order for distribution to be effective.