Within Bruce Sterling’s 1995 presentation ‘The life and death of media. at the 1995 International Symposium on Electronic Art, Montreal – Sterling outlined Multimedia as providing a platform for reimagining all ‘Dead’ and current media. It can be observed within the emerging digital age a frequent renegotiation and re-imagination of old forms. From tracking the evolution of the camera through to sound, past dominant forms are proving to re-emerge with a renewed relevancy.
Drawing on this ideology of Multimedia providing a platform for “dead” media I explored the emerging digital form of YouTube tutorial.
Video tutorials are one example of online media that utilises the digital development of media as a means to provide education while being easily found and accessible for free online (Garrett, N, 2015, p.2.). Through my exploration of this idea of Multimedia providing a platform for reimagining all “dead” and current media, I set to brainstorming how I could combine past passions for creating and apply them within a new form – leading me to film a YouTube Tutorial Vlog on How to Knit Your Kitten a Beanie.
Fralinger and Owens (2009), outline that this “evolution” of educational media is in direct correlation with the way in which its users utilise it to facilitate video based technology as a learning tool. Prior to filming and planning of my Tutorial Vlog, I utilised various different YouTube channels tutorials in order to apply some of their cohesive editing techniques and shot styles within my own final product. Some YouTube channels I drew upon where; Cooking with Dog, Epic Meal Time, Miss Bee Town, and Tipsy Bartender all of which contributed to my understanding of how to utilise tone and technique within my Vlog. My research on this drew to the conclusion of less aesthetically is more and that the viewing experience will be dictated by three major points, Narration style, Animation style, and Engagement. These channels especially I found stood out comparatively to others within the vast sea of tutorials readily available at the tip of any internet user’s fingers (Garrett, N, 2015, p.2.).
My choice of knitting as the subject of my tutorial came through it being a passion of mine for an exceptionally long time, learning how when I was three from my Grandmas – and especially within this current social time Knitting as a craft continues to reemerge as an exceptionally means of socialization (between likeminded crafters), Self-Expression, and finally can be seen as a means of negotiating oneself through utilising a craft and “integrating it into local contexts” (Fields, C, 2014, p.163). As for knitting my Kitten a beanie I mostly came to due to not knowing a single person (that I trust) that doesn’t smile at A) Cat Videos and B) Animals in people clothes.
References:
-Fields, Corey D. (2014). “Not Your Grandma’s Knitting,” Social Psychology Quarterly, 77(2), 150-165.
-Fralinger, B. & Owens, R. 2009, “YouTube As A Learning Tool,” Journal of College Teaching and Learning, vol. 6, no. 8, pp. 15-28.
-Garrett, Nathan. (2016). “Mapping Self-Guided Learners’ Searches for Video Tutorials on YouTube”, Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 44(3), 319-331.
-Sterling, Bruce. (1995). “The life and death of media,” Presentation at the 1995 International Symposium on Electronic Art, Montreal.