Posted on May 2, 2019
Makeup Vloggers on Instagram
Networked Media 2019 Week 8
Who is the practitioner (what is their name?) and when were they practicing?
After realizing an emphasis on the beginnings of the DIY amateur video blogger, I was reminded of many online personas that I loved watching back in high school who had that particular style of grainy webcam quality video, framed poorly while they just rant and talk about whatever. Most of these personalities began on YouTube and have either worked on perfecting their craft and now product much higher quality content or have done the complete opposite of just disappearing off the face of the cyber universe. It’s either one or the other, I cannot think of anyone who has remained the same as they have started since the beginning of YouTube.
Now, on the topic of video practitioners on Instagram, I mentioned in class that I follow and consume a variety of videos on the platform, particularly two types: aesthetic videos, like cinemagraphs (looped, moving images), or quick snappy meme videos. In class, we also identified the popularity of make-up videos on Instagram, and although I do not follow and watch many of these types of videos, I suddenly remembered a very famous online beauty guru who blurs the lines of aesthetics and meme culture: Bretman Rock. He began his social media presence on YouTube in September 2012 while he was in eighth grade, and joined Instagram in January 2015, but only kept it private for his close friends and family. I cannot find the exact details of when he changed his Instagram setting to public, however, he has noted in an interview with Maria Sherman in 2017, that as soon as he made his presence public online, his “life did a whole 360”. Most of his content is fashion, make-up, and beauty related, but what makes Rock stand out from the abundance of online beauty gurus is his “ratchet” personality, which is one of the reasons why I watch his content more than others in the oversaturated industry.
Before Instagram, Rock was mostly on YouTube, Snapchat and Vine, and as discussed in class and from the readings, the journey of online video sharing from the ‘amateur’ to demands for high-quality production, and inevitable commercialization, this is all an important aspect in understanding networked media. Rock has expressed enjoyment for Snapchat and Vine but has understood the affordances of Instagram and has utilized it in his growing success as a young beauty influencer now with over 11 million followers (May, 2019).
With the photo or video you are examining, when was it produced (date)?
I have chosen to look at a series of videos Bretman Rock posted on Jun 10th, 2015 that showcase step-by-step tutorials on how to contour and highlight. I have only embedded part 2, as it was the video that had the least profanities and mature innuendoes.
View this post on InstagramHighlighting and contouring part 2 Mac Pro Longwear Foundation and Morphe 439 brush
How was the photo or video authored, published and distributed?
In an interview with Maria Sherman, Rock talks about how he would record a lot of these comedic short videos for his friends and family through Snapchat, but as Snapchat videos disappear in 24 hours, he decided to start uploading them on Instagram where they can remain more permanent. As Snapchat only allows for 10 seconds of recording, Rock’s tutorial is split up into 14 parts which didn’t face any issues on Instagram since the platform favors shorter videos. Furthermore, quick, snappy videos were trending from developing Vine culture, so the disjointed parts of the tutorial worked in Rock’s favor and granted him more viewing with each video. Taken from the SocialBlade statistics website, Rock’s Instagram boomed in August 2015, just after he posted the Contour tutorials, and so many consider these videos as his jumpstart to fame and recognition.
https://socialblade.com/instagram/user/bretmanrock
As our course work and readings have shifted from analog to digital media, I am noticing patterns of blurring lines between definitions of publishing and distribution of online works. Taking into account what Gerard Goggin observes in his chapter on ‘Mobile Video’, he notes that mobile media is ‘becoming highly integrated into the range of modes of consumption’, which is very evident with Bretman Rock’s involvement with online media. Back in 2015 when these platforms were still experimental and ‘amateur’, he seems to have been very fluid between each platform and thus, the publishing and distributing of his content merges and becomes almost one. Looking at publishing and distribution in the eyes of music, an artist can publish their music on their chosen platforms and receive revenue through said platforms, or they can go through a distribution company that receives a certain percentage of the revenue. And so, looking at how Rock’s tutorials have been posted on his Snapchat’s snapstory, then Instagram and Vine, and now downloaded and posted elsewhere on other Instagram accounts and YouTube channels, I would argue that Rock had published his videos through his own accounts on Snapchat, Instagram and Vine, while his fans downloaded and shared his videos across the cyberspace as an act of distribution.
References:
Goggin, G 2013 ‘Mobile Video: Spreading Stories with Mobile Media’, in The Routledge Companion to Mobile Media (eds.) Goggin G., Hjorth L., Routledge, New York, pp. 146-156.
Sherman, M. (2017). Beauty Vlogger Bretman Rock on How Contouring Made Him King and His Love for Frank Ocean. [online] PAPERMAG. Available at: http://www.papermag.com/beauty-vlogger-bretman-rock-on-contouring-social-stardom-and-his-love–2380005570.html