The aim with this group exercise is to produce a close reading (case study) on a specific example of online video practice. Choose an online video example and analyse the work and the service used for publication.
In relation to thinking ahead – following this case study as an extended way to understand the online video practice you are analysing, you will be asked to make some video works. For instance, if you chose to analyse for your case study an Instagram video, then the expectation is that this research will lead to making videos in the Instagram service.
Case Study framework (cut and paste this framework into your group blog entry):
What is the link to your case study example of online video practice?
Affordance (reading)
What field of study is the affordance reading situated in?
Who originally conceived of the term ‘affordance’, in which field of study?
Describe what ‘affordance’ refers to conceptually in this context?
What is a ‘constraint’ within the context of the affordance reading?
Online video (context)
Why have you chosen this online video work? What influenced your decision?
What is the subject?
What type of material is used? (i.e. archive, found footage, live action, interview…)
What do you think the video was recorded with? (DSLR, smartphone, webcam…etc)
What is the point–of–view? (i.e. the position of the camera, framing, focus, sharpness, light, exposure, colour, motion…) How are these techniques used to communicate a particular perspective or point–of–view?
What type of sound is used? (i.e. music, atmospheric, voice-over, narration…). How is the sound used in regards to the effect created for the viewer?
How important is post-production in the realisation of the work?
In relation to the narrative of the online video – what is the approach stylistically? For instance, is it abstract? Is the work held together with a voice-over/narration track? Does it consist of one shot that is unedited? Is the work nonfiction or fiction? Does the work use a repetitive cut-up technique?
Service (context)
Provide an overview of this service in relation to what it affords authors to do with online video?
Are the videos shared natively on this service or hosted elsewhere? Or is it capable of offering both options?
Describe the playback of videos on the service.
Is there a restriction on duration?
What are the constraints imposed by the service on the publication of video?
Describe the functionality of the service in regards to authoring and distribution? For instance, do the videos have to be authored in another application beforehand? With distribution – is there an option to share internally and externally? Can the users add comments? Can the producers add tags?