WEEK ELEVEN: Video #3

How did you author the photo you recorded for upload to Instagram?
Shocker. Another video of my glamorous and over the top weekend for my birthday (I had to take my photos in bulk considering there were so many interesting doors throughout Crown). This was taken as a stock standard video through the Instagram app with a POV spin to it. There was really no bells and whistles with this post. I had to film it multiple times as I was too quick in moving the camera the first time around, as I was conscious of people in the hallway watching me walk in and out of the front door to film a video.

How did you publish the photo you recorded for upload to Instagram?
While editing, I noticed the ending of the video got blurry in the end so I decided to trim the video. A constraint I realised whilst doing so is that Instagram allows a minimum of 3 seconds per video, which means anything under that can’t be posted. This was tricky because once I cut out the part I didn’t like, the video was below 3 seconds. Once I noticed this particular constraint, it was too late for me to refill. The “affordances allow us to do particular things; to select, to view, to manipulate in specific ways” (Khoo, 2017) which is shown through my ability to easily think to cut out the end of the video but sometimes affordances are blocked by constraints to keep content and actions regulated; such as Instagram’s rule of having 3 second minimum videos.

How did you distribute the photo you published on Instagram to other social media services?
I shared the link to my friends on Messenger and Snapchat as it included footage of my friends.

References

Khoo, Elaine, et al. Software Literacy: Education and Beyond. Springer Briefs in Education. Springer, 2017.

 

WEEK ELEVEN: Photo #3

How did you author the photo you recorded for upload to Instagram?
This is a photo of the bathroom doors of Crown’s Tower Suite (very VERY extra door I know, also incredibly impractical having a glass door for a bathroom where people are at their most vulnerable but ok Crown). There was a physical constraint I encountered when taking this image as the wardrobe door was too close to the bathroom door, which made it impossible for me to get a clear shot of the door without angling it weirdly (hence why the image isn’t positioned straight). Following the footsteps of last blog posts, I’ve naturally adopted a running theme of taking photos of doors with circular handles. This was shot using my IPhone 7 with the rear facing camera.

How did you publish the photo you recorded for upload to Instagram?
Big shocker, once again I’ve used the ‘Moon’ black and white filter and included the stock standard caption which includes a location stamp, the week, number of attempts to take the photo and a accompanying caption. During the editing process, I stumbled across a cool feature which affords me to alter the vertical perspective of an image which is EXACTLY what I needed to straighten out the photo. A physical constraint was corrected by the affordances of Instagram which in turn allows me to “recognise that we co-create with cultural software, exploring and negotiating their potential to enable and constrain specific practices” (Khoo, 2017).

How did you distribute the photo you published on Instagram to other social media services?
I shared the link of this particular post on Messenger groups because I felt like it was going to cause the least amount of embarrassments because I didn’t want to be known as the weird girl who’s constantly sharing photos of doors.

 

References

Khoo, Elaine, et al. Software Literacy: Education and Beyond. Springer Briefs in Education. Springer, 2017.

 

WEEK TEN: Video #2

How did you author the photo you recorded for upload to Instagram?
This video was taken in my hotel room during my birthday weekend (hence the over-luxurious white robe). The video was shot as POV using the boomerang feature affiliated with the Instagram app. It allows for any video filmed to be played on a constant loop. The sliding door was a lot heavier than expected which made it nearly impossible for me to get a shot that wasn’t shaky since I was trying really hard to slide it with one hand whilst steadying the camera. The affordances of modern day technology and endless storage allows me to reshoot as many times as I like in order to get a shot I’m happy with. This is a stark difference from when photography was just being introduced as present day sees an era where “people having their phones with cameras always with them and at the same time not having to worry about how many shots are left in their camera film cartridge” (Manovich, 2016).

How did you publish the photo you recorded for upload to Instagram?
Similar to all my previous posts, I slapped the ‘Moon’ filter on the video and that was basically all the editing I placed on this particular post. Due to it being a video, I was afforded the ability to choose a cover photo for the post and ensured that it was a shot that was not blurry and easy to decipher that it is in fact a video of a door. I muted the video to keep with the current theme of simplicity; that being a black and white blog with no sounds on any of the videos.

How did you distribute the photo you published on Instagram to other social media services?
Similar to the photo I took for this week, a way in which I expanded my visibility through distribution would be the incorporation of hashtags. I used both #door and #Melbourne in the hopes that more people will find my blog. Additionally, I shared the post on my Tumblr account and utilised the same hashtags to categorise my post.

References

Manovich, Lev. Instagram and the Contemporary Image. University of San Diego, 2016. http://manovich.net/index.php/projects/instagram-and-contemporary-image

 

WEEK TEN: Photo #2

How did you author the photo you recorded for upload to Instagram?
I took this image in the lobby of Crown Towers right before I checked in to celebrate my birthday. I physically positioned myself in front of the entrance door and waited until no one was walking through to get an empty shot. I faced a similar issue I encountered last week where I wasn’t able to accurately align the image as the Instagram camera does not afford grid lines; making it a distinct constraint. In this weeks reading, it was stated that “the majority of Instagram publicly shared images show moments in the “ordinary” lives of hundreds of millions of people using the network globally”(Khoo, 2017). It fascinated me as the term ordinary was highlighted to insinuate that the documentation displayed on Instagram isn’t necessarily a natural portrayal of reality, but is a filtered version. I personally agree, as I am naturally showcasing parts of my life that is seen as exciting and out of the norm, because let us be real, I don’t spend everyday at Crown. 

How did you publish the photo you recorded for upload to Instagram?
To relate back to the theme I’ve decided to go with from the previous week, I utilised the ‘Moon’ filter provided by Instagram. As someone who doesn’t have much experience with editing an image, I tend to get overwhelmed by the manual editing options I’m provided on Instagram so I find that filters help a lot as it provides quick solutions to make my images appear more visually appealing. I’m sure other users can agree on this as “one of the main reasons behind Instagram app very quickly coming to dominate mobile photography was its filters” (Manovich, 2016). I manipulated the tilt of the image to ensure that everything was balanced and was on a straight angle. Again, I used the same format of captions I did in the previous week.

How did you distribute the photo you published on Instagram to other social media services?
To expand distribution possibilities this week, I have decided to incorporate hashtags such as #door and #Melbourne to widen the exposure of the photo to the general public. By categorising them into such hashtags, other blogs from around the world that has a particular interest in such themes might come across my blog and want to communicate. Additionally, I shared the post to Tumblr and utilised their hashtag system with similar tags to categorise my image and hopefully reach an audience who is searching for such posts.

References

Manovich, Lev. Instagram and the Contemporary Image. University of San Diego, 2016. http://manovich.net/index.php/projects/instagram-and-contemporary-image

 

WEEK NINE: Video #1

How did you author the photo you recorded for upload to Instagram?
This video was taken in a restroom within Crown Towers. Initially, I was just going to take a photo of the door but found that the physical space was way too small for me to grab a photo of the entire door, so I thought a video would be a better route to take to accurately depict the functionality of it. I recorded the video in one go (because it was a public restroom and people were trying to get out). I utilised the rear facing camera and stood stationary as I had my friend walk through the door. 

How did you publish the photo you recorded for upload to Instagram?
I trimmed the video as it had a shaky start, utilised the filter ‘Moon’ because a black and white filter never fails to make something look way better than what it actually is. The affordances of Instagram allows me to choose a cover for the video and I chose a cover that was not blurry and clearly depicted that my friend was walking through a door. Similar to the first post, I included a location stamp, week it was taken in, attempts it took to take the video successfully and a humorous comment (attempted). I muted the video as I plan to not have sound on any future posts. I published the video to a total of a whopping 2 followers (students undertaking the same course). The affordances of Instagram “allows you to capture, edit, and publish photos, view photos of your friends, discover other photos through search, interact with them (like comment, repost, post to other networks), enter into conversations with photo authors and others who left comments, create photo collections, change their order” (Manovich, 2016). This rings true as friends who are doing the same course as me are able to follow my profile, collaborate and comment etc. 

How did you distribute the photo you published on Instagram to other social media services?
Since I do not own a Twitter account, I decided to grab a web URL link to the video and share it across to my friends by manually sending the link through to group inboxes I am apart of on the Messenger app. 

References
Manovich, Lev. Instagram and the Contemporary Image. University of San Diego, 2016. http://manovich.net/index.php/projects/instagram-and-contemporary-image

 

WEEK NINE: Photo #1

How did you author the photo you recorded for upload to Instagram?
I took this photo using my IPhone 7. It was incredibly foreign to have taken this photo through the Instagram app itself, as I’m used to taking all photos/videos on my Iphone camera, putting it through a heavy editing process before plugging it through on my Instagram profile. To get the picture, I utilized the rear facing camera and physically angled myself to ensure that the door was the main focal point in the image. The natural daylight allowed for a really high resolution shot, so I did not adjust any of the brightness or saturation on the image itself. The only editing that took place would be slapping a ‘Gingham’ filter on and adjusting the tilt, because a definitive constraint that stuck out to me would be there are no inbuilt grid lines to allow users to position their shot to ensure it’s aligned and straight.

How did you publish the photo you recorded for upload to Instagram?
This was the third image I had to take in order to ensure that no one was in the shot. My overall theme for this assignment is to photograph and video doors that are in incredibly public spaces. I have displayed a sense of consistency through curating a text caption that will be similar across all posts. I will include a location stamp, week in which it was taken for, the amount of attempts I had to take in order to ensure the shot was clear and a comment.

How did you distribute the photo you published on Instagram to other social media services?
I shared the photo onto my Facebook profile. Due to the affordances of Instagram, the text caption and hashtags utilised automatically transferred onto Facebook when I shared the image on the platform. This assignment allows for us to solely focus on the affordances of Instagram and the editing options it provides. “Instead of being concerned with hundreds of different cameras and pieces of professional equipment and endless possible editing operations available in Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom, we only need to consider one native app that have limited number of controls and filters and one type of camera” (Manovich, 2016)

References
Manovich, Lev. Instagram and the Contemporary Image. University of San Diego, 2016. http://manovich.net/index.php/projects/instagram-and-contemporary-image

WEEK EIGHT: Online Video

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

The chosen practitioner for this week is Casey Neistat, an American based Youtuber, filmmaker, vlogger and entrepreneur. I’ve decided to focus on Neistat this week as he always goes against the grain and this is evidently shown through his videos. Neistat first gained widespread popularity in 2003 with this three minute film titled ‘Ipod’s Dirty Secret’; a video exposing Apple for not having a battery replacement program in place for their products. Since then, he is famously known as one of the rare few YouTube personalities that openly expresses how he feels about mainstream issues and brands and executes said thoughts in the most innovative ways. 

What is the title of the video you have chosen to analyse?

The video is entitled ‘Make it Count’. The active-wear brand Nike approached Casey Neistat to promote their FuelBand fitness tracker and showcase what it means to #MakeitCount. Neistat took a completely unorthodox route in promoting the product by utilising the budget for this campaign to travel to as many places as possible until the given budget runs out.

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

The video was first published onto his YouTube channel on 9 April 2012.

How was the video authored?

The video was shot with a Canon EOS 80D DSLR; a common choice of camera for vlogging. The video contained an array of sharp cut scenes of Neistat and his friend/editor Max Joseph trotting around the globe to reinforce the slogan of Making Things Count. At the beginning of the video, Neistat nonchalantly points at the Nike slogan branded on the FuelBand fitness tracker he was paid to promote (this being the only creative element Nike had control over) (Fast Company, 2018). He provides a brief written explanation to provide context to the video. To accompany the travel shots, Neistat weaves famous motivational quotes and embeds it within shots to add to the overall aesthetic. The video encompasses a mixture of traditional vlog footage with Neistat talking directly to the camera in addition with artistic shots of different locations around the world. Neistat deliberately cut scenes of him running across the screen in different countries and combined it to produce a seamless video like so:

“My vision for it was forget about what Nike is, forget about sneakers, forget everything; what does ‘make it count’ mean to me? And what it means to me is take a huge chance.” – Casey Neistat on his #MakeItCount video. (Fast Company, 2018)

How was the video published?

The video was first published to Neistat’s YouTube channel, where it has been viewed over 28 million times by individuals across the globe. It has sparked over 12 thousand comments with encourages the YouTube community to discuss and comment on the video.

How was the video distributed?

After the initial distribution on his YouTube channel, the video was then redistributed and promoted through news articles, social media shares and overall word of mouth referrals through the websphere.

This is a common trend with modern day videos as “Online video has been transformed from an expensive to distribute media-form to one which can be networked, shared, downloaded and re-used with ease” (Berry, 2018). In addition to this, Neistat often captures screen grabs of his YouTube videos to provide teasers for his Instagram platform. The affordances of Instagram allows him to reach a wider audience that he may not necessarily reach solely through his YouTube channel. It also allows fans of his work to keep up to date with his day to day life through his Instagram stories and updates. All in all, Neistat videos allows fans a personal look into his life as “video has become every person’s point of view” (Sherman).

References

WEEK SEVEN: Online Photography

Who is the practitioner (what is their name?) and when were they practicing?
Theo Wenner is a New York based fashion photographer who has worked with the likes of Chloe, Rolling Stones, Marc Jacobs, Vogue and many other notable high fashion labels/publications. Wenner is the son of co-founder and publisher of Rolling Stones Magazine, Jann Wenner. Theo began making a name for himself in his early 20’s and has since saw his career as a professional photographer skyrocket with being affiliated with high profile clients. I really like Theo Wenners work because of his overall aesthetic with every image he produces. It provides a very nostalgic vibe. 

What is the title of the video you have chosen to analyse?
There is no given title for this photograph, but this particular chosen shot was amongst a photo series of similar aesthetic of celebrity Kim Kardashian for Vogue Spain.

With the video you are examining when was it produced (date)?
The editorial photo series was produced in August 2015 for the August issue of Vogue Spain.

How was the video authored?
The photo series was deliberately shot and edited in a way that mimicked the simplistic style of legacy photography. This can be seen through the grainy texture, the lack of focus and simplicity of the set in each photograph. With the array of high definition editorial photos plastered across publications, Wenner wanted to stray away from the norm as he “mimic the lo-fi look of cheap film-based cameras such as Lomo or Polaroid” (Palmer, 2014).

How was the video published?
The photo series of Kim Kardashian was first published in the August 2015 issue for Vogue Spain accompanied by a feature about her. The editorial piece circulated around her career, family and status.

“Theo Wenner gave me no direction and wanted to capture me being me. I just landed back from Armenia, pregnant and jetlagged so literally was trying to nap while they were shooting” – Kim Kardashian on the the editorial shoot by Theo Wenner for Vogue Spain

How was the video distributed?
Since its’ initial distribution in Vogue publication, the photo series of Kim Kardashian quickly circulated throughout social media platforms as fans “very rarely catch a glimpse of the real Kim, even on her off-duty days” (Klein and Klein, 2018). Kim Kardashian herself re-distributed some of the photos from the shoot on her Instagram to show her fans. This provides a heavier engagement with the masses as those who don’t consume Vogue can now access the photos. It sparked a lot of positive feedback as Kim was not her usual ‘slammed up’ persona and showed a softer and more natural side of her. 

In addition to this, Theo Wenner frequently distributes his work to the public through his Instagram profile: CLICK HERE 

References

  • Klein, A. and Klein, A. (2018). Why Kim Kardashian’s ‘Vogue’ Spain Editorial Is Her Best Ever. [online] Fashionista. Available at: https://fashionista.com/2015/07/kim-kardashian-vogue-spain [Accessed 1 Sep. 2018].
  • Palmer, Daniel. ‘Mobile Media Photography’. The Routledge Companion to Mobile Media, edited by Gerard Goggin and Larissa Hjorth, Routledge, 2014, pp. 249–55.
  • Winner, Theo. “Kim Kardashian Vogue Shoot”, Vogue Spain, 2015

WEEK SIX: Legacy Video

Who is the practitioner (what is their name?) and when were they practicing?
Nam June Paik was a Korean American artist famously known as one of the first few artists to experiment with video art. Heavily influenced by the Neo-Dada art movement, also known as Fluxus, Paik made his artistic debut in 1963 with his public exhibition entitled ‘Exposition of Music Electronic Television’. Throughout his active years, Paik contributed to the art community with an array of thought provoking and innovative pieces that combined videography and expression of art. He passed away at the age of 73 in 2006.

What is the title of the video you have chosen to analyse?
The title of the video is entitled ‘Global Groove’. It is an electronic collage of sound and images that draws heavy inspiration from the Neo-Dada art movement with all the popular imagery and modern; well considered to be modern materials at the time.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UXwhIQsYXY

“This is a glimpse of a video landscape of tomorrow when you will be able to switch on any TV station on the earth and TV guides will be as fat as the Manhattan telephone book.”

With the video you are examining when was it produced (date)?
Global Groove was produced in the year 1973

How was the video authored?
The video was authored using the Paik/Abe Synthesiser; the first video synthesizer that “allows artist to paint electronic pictures. Paik envisioned it as a video piano at which the artist could play and compose the new music of today” (High, Hocking and Jimenez, 2014). Global Groove provides a stream-of-consciousness style montage that captures the likes of John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Allen Ginsberg and the Living Theatre dancing around amongst colorized beams of light to the song ‘Devil with a Blue Dress On’ by Mitch Ryder. The ironic juxtapositions and often random jump cuts were deliberately left in by Paik as he believed that there was no such thing as mistakes and became a social commentary on the proliferation of broadcast television and content. This directly correlates with Kate Horsfield’s argument about early forms of video art being of “low quality, grainy and shaky footage” which allows a sense of “authenticity that challenged the presumed objectivity of broadcast television” (Horsfield, 2006).

How was the video published?
Global Groove was produced and initially published by TV Lab at WNET/Thirteen. It was a time where creatives were able to “produce alternative media content for communicating countercultural ideas outside the restrictions of mainstream channels” (Horsfield, 2006).

How was the video distributed?
Since the initial distribution, Global Groove has been on display for public viewing throughout several notable museums such as The Museum of Modern Art, The Guggenheim Museum, Mueseo Nacional Centro De Arte and so forth. In addition to this, excerpts of the Global Groove and detailed explanations of the video and concept are made available through YouTube.

References

  • High, K., Hocking, S. and Jimenez, M. (2014). The emergence of video processing tools. Bristol, England: Intellect Ltd
  • Horsfield, Kate. Busting the Tube: A Brief History of Video Art. Video Data Bank, School of Art Institute of Chicago, 2006, pp. 1–9, http://www.vdb.org/content/busting-tube-brief-history-video-art.
  • Paik, Nam June. “Global Groove”, 1963, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UXwhIQsYXY

WEEK FIVE: Legacy Photo

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

The photograph was captured by German-born American photographer and photojournalist, Alfred Eisenstaedt. He became a professional photographer in 1929 for a range of publications in Germany before moving to the United States, where he became a staff photographer for Life Magazine. His photographs has been featured over 90 times across Life Magazine covers and over 2,500 photo stories published as content.

What is the title of the photo you have chosen to analyse?

This chosen photograph by Eisenstaedt is entitled ‘V-J Day in Times Square’. It is also known as V-Day or The Kiss.

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

August 14th 1945 during Victory over Japan Day in New York City’s Time Square landscape where U.S. Navy sailors and the general public were celebrating. The exact location was south of 45th Street where Broadway and Seventh Avenue converge.

How was the photo authored? 

The photograph was taken by a Leica III; a rangefinder camera created in 1933.

How was the photo published? 

Since Alfred Eisenstaedt was a staff photographer for Life Magazine, this particular photograph was published in the magazine amongst other celebration photographs that highlighted the essence of the day. It was apart of a larger twelve-page spread entitled “Victory Celebrations”. V-J Day in Times Square coveted a full page display. A limitation of having this photo published in a print publication is that it wouldn’t be as easily accessible to the mass audience. Only consumers of Life Magazine would be able to access said photograph. This is an example of a constraint most photographers had to face back in the 1940’s; previous to age of digitalisation and the Internet.

How was the photo distributed?

According to Joanna Zylinska, photography in its’ purest form is “perceived as a tool for capturing and archiving personal memories” (Zylinksa, 2016). As previously stated before, Eisenstaedt was on site to capture images for the magazine and only had one chance to capture this truly genuine and candid moment in the haze of frenzy and celebration. It happened so quickly, he didn’t get the chance to get the names of the couple. It was a form of “naturalistic documentation” as described by Liz Wells when explaining photography in the early stages of life. Previous to the introduction of Photoshop and similar editing suites alike, a photograph “rendered a complete and faithful image of its subjects.” (Wells, 2015)

Over the years, this photograph has been re-intepreted and redistributed for consumption. Examples of this include cameos and reimagined in:

  • Bronze life size sculpture in 2005
  • Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)
  • Watchmen (2009)
  • Letters to  Juliet (2010)

References