Name: Catalina Sánchez Barry
Student ID: s3830050
I declare that in submitting all work for this assessment I have read, understood and agree to the content and expectations of the assessment declaration – https://www.rmit.edu.au/students/support-and-facilities/student-support/equitable-learning-services
Blog reflections
Week 5 – Analogue Photography (practice analysis)
Week 6 – Analogue Video (practice analysis)
Week 7 – Networked Photography (practice analysis)
Week 8 – Networked Video (practice analysis)
Review (1179 words)
1. Provide a definition for ‘analogue photography’.
The term analogue comes from “analogy” and describes the representation of an abstract notion through a physical process. Therefore, Analogue Photography (AP) regards photography as a mainly tangible practice in which “one set of physical properties can be stored in another ‘analogous’ physical form” (Lister et al. 2009, pp. 17). Analogue cameras use film, which needs a very careful procedure in order to develop the images, including the use of specific chemicals (Woodford, C 2020).
2. Provide a definition for ‘analogue video’.
Videography consists in capturing the light and colours through signals, not just for a specific second, but for a longer amount of time. With analogue video (AV), the main characteristic is that these signals are transferred electronically and are kept in movement in order to transition from one image to another and reproduce sound (Spielmann, Y 2007). AV needs a physical medium to be produced and displayed.
3. Provide a definition for ‘networked photography’.
Networked photography (NP) appears in a moment in history where new technologies were mainly digital, meaning that the input data is transformed into numbers instead of being converted into a material object, like with AV and AP (Lister et al. 2009). The concept of “network” means that the image can be easily shared through different platforms, thanks to the digitization and the creation of devices that are able to process those codes. In conclusion, NP can be defined as practice in which the input of an image is registered by a digital device and, for that motive, it exists in a permanently fluid state.
4. Provide a definition for ‘networked video’.
Networked video (NV) is a digital form of recording that transforms the input data into a numeralized code that allows an uncomplicated manipulation of the product. This goes hand by hand with the invention of more affordable digital cameras and smartphones, “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, T 2018, pp. 8).
5. Provide definitions for the terms ‘authoring’, ‘publishing’ and ‘distributing’.
Authoring constitutes the stage in which the content is created, this can be a material or digital piece. I understand this process in two parts; one is related to the execution of an idea, meaning the intention the author had at the moment he produced the work; and the second is the way he did it, as in which type of camera he used, or any element.
Publishing can be defined as the process the content is displayed for an audience to see or watch through an specific platform. For example, a video can be broadcast through a TV screen or uploaded to a social media, like Instagram.
Distributing is the stage in which the final content reaches an audience through different platforms. This process can be intentional, where the author controls how and where the media is encountered, like art galleries; but it can also be accidental, like the repost of a photo on social media.
6. What differences and similarities did you discover between the way analogue and networked photos are authored, published and distributed?
In terms of authoring, one of the main differences is the accessibility of the practice. With AP, at the beginning the cost of the film camera was very high, allowing only a few people to be able take photos, “photography used to be something that others – professionals (…) – did” (Kuc, K, Zylinska, J 2016, pp.7) With digital and phone cameras, taking photos became something anyone could do at any moment. I could notice that in week 5 and week 7. Henri was a professional photographer, meanwhile Becca Rea-Holloway is a pastry chef that takes photos of her cakes. A similarity I discover both AP and NP have to go through a creative process in order to get the most out of their shots. Cartier-Bresson wanted to show the culture of different countries and Rea-Holloway intends to make viral political statements
Regarding the publishing process, AP had a much more complex technique because it was a purely physical process that required different instruments and the output itself needed a physical object to be displayed, for example, Cartier-Bresson used a gelatin silver print. For NP, instead, is a much more simple process because the data is supported in all digital platforms. Daniel Palmer stated that “camera phones represent something new in the history of photography, because they are capable not only of recording and displaying images but also instantly sharing them” (Palmer 2014, pp. 245). A similarity could be that both publishing processes can be very rigorous; for AP a tiny error could mean that the photo turnt out ruined, and in NP, there are some many editing options that people spend hours fixing every detail.
Distributing AP was something that considered a small group of people. If you were a professional photographer, you could develop the photo and exhibit in an art gallery, but for normal people the reach is reduced to family and friends. For NP, the internet and interconnected platforms allow a photo to thousands of people, “the camera has itself become a viewing device and a mass communication platform” (Palmer, D 2014, pp. 245). For example, the photo I analyzed from Becca Rea-Holloway has over 4,000 likes. In terms of similarities, both types of photography the process is very important and intends to reach more people as possible, nowadays NP can be seen exhibited in galleries and there are a lot of websites and accounts that post old AP.
7. What differences and similarities did you discover between the way analogue and networked videos are authored, published and distributed?
Regarding authoring, one of the main differences is the way the input data is received and transformed; in AV, it is converted into a physical object and in NV it is transformed into digits, meaning that it can be transformed and edited through softwares. However, the similarity is that both practices still need the physical object in order to produce the piece. The practitioner of week 6 used “video tubes, televisions, rheostat, foot switches, plexiglass boxes, vinyl straps, cables, copper wire” (Walker 2020), and the one of week 8 used a Canon C200 camera.
In terms of publishing, the difference is that NV is mainly published on the internet and, because it’s digital data, it is very fluid and can be also uploaded on different platforms. Instead, AV needs a physical medium to be displayed: “analogue media exist as fixed physical objects in the world, their production being dependent upon transcriptions from one physical state to another. (Lister et al. 2009, pp.19). A similarity is that now, with the raise of Instagram, publishing NV has become more related to the market, as it also happened with AV.
Distributing differences are related with the creation of Web 2.0 and social media, which meant that NV could be posted on the internet and viewed by people of any country. For AV, you had to have a TV or go to the cinema in order to see that type of content. Anna Akana posted her videos on her Youtube channel, where she had over 2,6 million followers, while June Paik did exhibitions with limited space capacity. A similarity is that up to this date, videography is format well received by people; AV broadcast on TV were a huge success, and online videos are one of the most consumed content on the internet.
References:
– Berry, TB 2018, ‘Videoblogging Before Youtube’, Institute of Network Cultures, Amsterdam, pp. 9-22.
– Kuc, K & Zylinska, J 2016, ‘Photomediations: An Introduction’, in K Kuc & J Zylinska (eds.), Photomediations: A Reader, Open Humanities Press, London, pp.7-16.
– Lister, M, Dovey, J, Giddings, S, Grant, I & Kelly, K 2009, New Media: A Critical Introduction, Routledge, New York, pp.16-21
– Palmer, D 2014 ‘Mobile Media Photography’, in G , L Hjorth (eds), The Routledge Companion to Mobile Media, Routledge, New York pp. 249–255.
– Spielmann, Y 2007, Video: The Reflexive Medium, MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, pp. 1-6.
– Walker 2020, Artworks – Tv Bra for Living Sculpture, Walker, viewed 10 April 2020 <https://walkerart.org/collections/artworks/tv-bra-for-living-sculpture>
– Woodford, C 2020, Film Cameras and 35mm Photography, Explain That Stuff, viewed 4 April 2020,<https://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-film-cameras-work.html>