Name: Phoebe Drake s3708088
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
SESSION 5 – Analogue Photography
SESSION 6 – Analogue Video
SESSION 7 – Networked Photography
SESSION 8 – Networked Video
Review
The prompt: How do the affordances of Instagram affect the way photos and videos are authored, published and distributed in the network?
1. Provide a definition for ‘analogue photography’.
Analogue photography (AP) is the process of capturing light on a physical roll of film in order to record an image. The process of AP involves processing the film, and printing the image before it can be physically viewed, distributed and published to the viewer.
2. Provide a definition for ‘analogue video’.
Analogue video (AV) is an assembly to carry information by light and translate this to a screen radiating a moving electronic signal (Spielman, 2007, p.1). This assembly is interpreted and broadcasted through TV screens; visually and audibly, concurrently. AV is reliant on technology such as antennas, aerials, cables and monitors.
3. Provide a definition for ‘networked photography’.
Networked photography (NP) is a form of photography in which images are taken on and uploaded onto a digital device, which then can be shared between social media platforms, networks, users; creating meta data. For instance, in my session 7 blog post, I mention how Kelly Maker uploads photos of her works to instagram. This pictorial portfolio gives Maker an indication of how her work is received, and acts as a business for potential opportunities.
4. Provide a definition for ‘networked photography’.
Networked video (NV) is a video which has been taken on and uploaded onto a digital device, which then can be shared between social media platforms, networks, users; creating meta data. Moreover, a NV’s success can be determined by the number of shares, comments and likes.
5. Provide definitions for the terms ‘authoring’, ‘publishing’ and ‘distributing’.
Authoring is the process in which media is created. In a media context, authoring media can include taking, editing and merging photographs, videos, audio or text to create works. The ways in which media can be authored is dependant on the devices used to physically create the media, paired with the technology used to prepare it.
Publishing is the process of making content available for an intended audience.
Distributing is the process of spreading media content across different channels. Moreover, distribution enhances potential reach, as the content is spread to a larger audience. Distribution can be completed through platforms such as the web, social networking and messaging services, websites or books.
6. What differences and similarities did you discover between the way analogue and networked photos are authored, published and distributed?
- Authored
A similarity between AP and NP is that these images can be edited. For instance, in my Henri Bresson practice analysis, I found that the image ‘Place de l’Europe Gare Saint Lazare (1932)’ was cropped to remove a fence that was overbearing the original shot. Similarly, NP affords editing tools, but provides greater selection than that of AP. For example, Instagram users can filter, crop, enhance and adjust images.
Daniel Palmer argues that mobile media and the apps associated with them are changing the way that photographs are produced, and challenge the definition of photography itself (Palmer, 2014, p.45). A difference of photographic authorship is that NP is not limited by material process. For example, an iPhone allows for an image to be taken, processed and distributed concurrently within one device; creating an emphasis on the visual experience. Moreover, users can now see their images instantly through the photo app, and afford the ability to move and delete photos. However, traditional AP merely affords the viewing of film after it has been physically treated in a dark room, which requires hours of labour.
- Published
A similarity between AP and NP is that the publication of both is intended to be shown to an audience. Although AP is primarily displayed on gallery walls, one could argue that those walls are similar to those of an Instagram feed, in which the tiled format affords a ‘virtual exhibition’.
One difference between AP and NP is the role of the author. Todays Instagram users are not just photographers, but publishers too. For example, there is no bias in Instagram, as it does not afford a singular use. Instagram benefits a wide variety of posters; professionals or amateurs, and has created a highly successful and diverse model for receiving content. One could argue that the authoring, publishing and distributing process used to be quite linear, but now you can do all three at once; or even backwards.
- Distributed
One similarity between AP and NP is that the distribution of AP relied on the growth of print media (Wells, 2015, p.22), in the same way that NP is affected by the expanding world of online SNS.
However, photographs are now digital data; predictive and deterministic. If you send or store them, they are now able to be reproduced across devices and therefore ‘cheaper’ across contexts of time and space. Therefore, the ways in which we consume and access content, shaped by the archives we search with is constantly changing. Followers, liking, subscribing, social and community have become the tools for advertisers to seek meta data; creating a new media that has been customised to new preferences. For example, in my session 7 blog post, I mentioned how Kelly Maker used specific hashtags on her post to alert a supermodels attention, which resulted in a brand collaboration.
6. What differences and similarities did you discover between the way analogue and networked videos are authored, published and distributed?
- Authored
The introduction of smartphone technology has increased the ease of video authoring. As mentioned previously, AV is reliant on many physical components such as antennas, aerials, cables and monitors (Lister et al, 2009, p.19). For example, I found in my 6th blog post that Nam June Paik used 336 televisions and 3,750 feet of cable to complete ‘Electronic Superhighway’ (1995), which some would argue is potentially wasteful. On the other hand, NV is reliant on the internet or channel in which it is presented. Therefore, NV exists by an unbound flow, whereas AV tends to be fixed to physical objects to function.
- Published
A central difference of video publishing is how content is recorded in its original form. For AV, it can be understood as a medium that carries analogue information by light and translates this to a screen radiating electronic signal (Spielmann, 2007, p.1). Whereas an NV recording system publishes pictorial information by uploading videos onto online social networking channels. This data is then placed into this ‘global generation’, connected by common social media platforms, programming languages and visual aesthetics (Manovich, 2016, p.1). NV therefore feeds into the notion to a spread of ideas, which contributes to the ever-evolving process of globalisation (Lister et al, 2009, p.221). It can be argued that the medium of video content has remained the same, but the ways in which it is delivered to you is different across the rise of social media platforms such as Instagram.
- Distributed
In my 8th practice analysis, we see that Zach Lower is able to distribute his work over multiple social networking sites, such as Instagram, YouTube and Facebook. In comparison to Nam June Paik’s, we can see that Lower’s is vastly distributed, networked, shared and downloaded; thus his audience reach is arguably larger. This present media cultural popularity is a consequence of heightened user-generated content (Berry, 2018, p.11). These changes of systemic technology have ultimately created a highly successful model for receiving video content.
References:
Berry, T. B 2018, ‘Situating Videoblogging’, Institute of Network Cultures, viewed 14 March 2018, pp.11, viewed 16th February 2020 <http://networkcultures.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Videoblogging-Before-YouTube-web.pdf>
Lister, M, Dovey, J, Giddings, S, Grant, I & Kelly, K 2009, New Media: A Critical Introduction, Section: ‘User-generated content, we are all users now’, pp.221-232, Routledge, New York.
Manovich, L. 2016, Instagram and the Contemporary Image. University of San Diego, USA, summary, pp.1, viewed 16th February 2020 <http://manovich.net/index.php/projects/instagram-and-contemporary-image >
Palmer, D 2014 ‘Mobile Media Photography’, in The Routledge Companion to Mobile Media, (eds) Goggin G., Hjorth L., Routledge, New York pp.249-55
Spielmann, Y 2007, Video: The Reflexive Medium, MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, pp. 1.
Wells L 2015, Photography: A Critical Introduction, 5th ed., Routledge, New York, pp. 22.
Word Count not including references, questions or subheadings: 1,093