Networked Videography
Who is the practitioner (what is their name?) and when were they practicing?
Rachel Aust is a lifestyle ‘influencer’ from Melbourne, Australia with a background in professional photography. Aust moved onto the world of YouTube and created a channel in 2011 where she posts content with a focus on healthy eating, fitness and minimalism (Aust 2019). She has transferred her skills in photography to author visually appealing and creative videos for her various social media platforms. Her YouTube channel has 660 thousand subscribers and her Instagram @RachelAust has over 168 thousand followers.
What is the title of the photo or video you have chosen to analyse (can you provide a link?)
The video I will be analysing is titled “5 FAST & HEALTHY WEEKNIGHT DINNERS”
The full caption is:
“5 FAST & HEALTHY WEEKNIGHT DINNERS – just uploaded to my channel! Are we doing packable lunches or healthy snacks next?
—
This is one of the options, and I have been having this a couple of times a week as my afternoon meal because it’s so easy! —
All recipes are also up on www.eatrunlift.me #easyhealthymeals#easymealprep #vegetarianmeal”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwSitv0BKUw/
With the photo or video, you are examining when was it produced (date)?
The video was produced on the 16th of April 2019.
How was the photo or video authored?
Aust has produced a recipe video for Instagram which is an excerpt from her YouTube video. Aust uses a variety of equipment to produce her videos and evidently cares about high quality production standards. She does not specifically outline what equipment she used for this video but does provide information on the technology she utilises most regularly on her website. From this information I can assume that she used a canon 6D mkII or 5D mkIV. She has a wide variety of different lenses and it’s likely that she used a combination of them to produce this video (Aust 2019). This is assumed because of the variety of shot types, varying depth of fields and focus which indicates a variety of lenses used. The video commences with a top down angle to showcase the meal, this shot type being very popular on Instagram. The video then includes a number of varying close up shots with shallow depth of field to highlight the food she’s using.
This video has been edited specifically for Instagram in accord with its affordances and constraints. The square format being a specific visual aspect of Instagram as well as the one-minute limit. Another affordance of Instagram is that users have to click the video to turn the sound on, therefore, despite Aust editing this video with music she has also authored it to be played without sound. This is evident with the captions utilised throughout the video indicating ingredients. Also, captions are very popular on Instagram videos and photos recently and it is likely she is also playing into this trend. To edit her videos Aust utilises the program Final Cut Pro.
Additionally, this video was authored with the feed of Instagram in mind. Often on Instagram users will have themes on their accounts. This means that each post visually relates to the post before and after it, or every post in the feed. In the case of Rachel Aust, her current theme is neutral golden and brown tones. The thumbnail of this video keeps in accordance with Aust’s theme.
How was the photo or video published?
This video was published on Instagram, a platform that was originally for photographs but now affords video publishing as well. As I mentioned in the previous question, this video was produced for and originally published to YouTube but edited for the purpose of being on Instagram. Therefore, the affordances of Instagram impacted the way in which it was edited.
As much as Instagram restricts videos from being more than sixty seconds, users of social media also more likely to engage more with shorter videos (Wochit 2016). Therefore, the fast paced editing of this video and the way that it was edited to showcase the final product in the first shot highlights how it was produced with the intention of being on Instagram.
Additionally, new media and social platforms have allowed for highly specific content to reach niche audiences. Aust creates videos for a highly specific audience, one that is health conscious but also has interest in minimalism and fashion. Her ability to tap into this audience is through the use of social platforms like Instagram.
How was the photo or video distributed?
This video was published on Instagram which means that it was immediately received by Rachel’s followers on their feeds as the platform essentially combines publishing with distributing in one place. It is obvious that the content within the video was produced with the idea of reaching her existing audience on Instagram but also in a way that makes it shareable. Instagram affords sharing, and as this video was a recipe video it is shareable content. A follower of Aust might see the recipe and then share it with a friend who then shares it with another friend. This new way of distribution is highly Instagram specific as the platform so easily affords sharing.
Another way the content was distributed was through Aust’s various channels. The longform version of this video was uploaded to YouTube which linked to her Instagram and website. The Instagram post was embedded into her website in the ‘Follow Me’ section and the Instagram video caption linked to the website. All this cross-platform linking allows for traffic to be driven between her various platforms generating an increased reach.
Additionally, the caption of the video includes three hashtags relating to the video including #easyhealthymeals, #easymealprep and #vegetarianmeals. Utilising these hashtags at the end of the video serves as another form of distribution within the Instagram app. This is because these hashtags allow for users who do not follow Aust to find this video through searching the hashtag.
REFERNCES
Aust, R 2019, ‘Technology’, Rachel Aust, viewed 1 May 2019, <https://rachelaust.me/technology>
Aust, R 2019, ‘About Rachel’, Rachel Aust, viewed 1 May 2019,<https://rachelaust.me/about-1>
Wochit 2016, ‘Why are short-form videos so effective on social?’, Wochit, viewed 1 May 2019, <https://www.wochit.com/blog/short-form-videos-effective-social-2/>