Assignment 2- Review
Name: Elizabeth Busch s3718289
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
Practice Analysis
Week 5 – Analogue Photography
Week 7 – Networked Photography
Review (1019 words)
1. Provide a definition for ‘analogue photography’.
Analogue Photography involves manually capturing visual portrayals of the word on camera. But more specifically, non digital cameras using film. This works by using the light hypersensitive film to reflect the light of the aimed scene onto the film, capturing the image. Without the use of the technologies of today’s current world, this process is not instantaneous and takes time. Extreme care has to be taken to ensure damage to the photograph is not inflicted. There is little room for error. This also means there is no way to check images directly after they are taken. Thus many photographers favour taking images to capture life in the moment and not stage images. Additionally with the images not processed digitally through pixels and coding, the images when developed could not be published and distributed to the masses. There was often only the singular image that could be displayed through galleries or by hand.
2. Provide a definition for ‘analogue video’.
Analogue Video is an audiovisual electronic medium that consists of signals kept in a constant circulation between ‘recording and reproduction equipment’. (Spielmann 2007, pg. 1) generating these signals allows the visuals and audio to generate on television screens Originally, Video was recorded through the use of film, much like photography, but over time slowly moved away from this medium and utilised these electronic signals to generate audiovisual images onto television screens. This is done by registering the light of the scene and translating it into visual signals. (Spielmann 2007, pg. 3) These signals are then able to be broadcasted through television screens from a wide range.
3. Provide a definition for ‘networked photography’.
Networked Photography is the newer modern form of photography, no longer relying on the analogue film like before and now utilising digitised cameras. This would include the introduction of things like phone cameras and DSLR cameras, leaving behind film for a faster and more practical data solution. Because of this and the now widespread access to the world wide web, everyone is capable of authoring, publishing and distributing their work on global scale. Anyone with a phone camera and the internet is capable of publishing work to Instagram in a streamlined fashion. The development of film is no longer necessary and now makes the process almost instantaneous. As Kamilia and Zylinska state, ‘We are all photographers now.’ (Kamila & Zylinska, 2016, pg. 7)
4. Provide a definition for ‘networked video’.
Networked Video, much like before, involves the transmission of audiovisual information and signals, only now a great deal of this data can be collected, stored and distributed more easily. Much like with Photography, the process of recording, publishing and distributing this content has been streamlined, the need for film or bulky equipment has nearly been left behind with equipment like phone cameras able to easily capture footage and near-instantly publish it to the internet for all to see. Social media platforms like Instagram have become ‘a conduit for communication’ (Leaver, Highfield & Abidin, 2020 pg. 1), is easily accessible with the use of these internet platforms like Youtube and phone cameras to reach a wide variety of viewers with little limitation to the craft.
5. Provide definitions for the terms ‘authoring’, ‘publishing’ and ‘distributing’.
Authoring refers to the process of creating a form of media content. The length of time this can take will vary on the artist, and the medium used. It could take days to take and develop or a matter of seconds. Publishing refers to how the piece is set up to be presented to the world. This is through means such as a gallery where people could come to view work, or through a networked means such as uploading the product to a social media platform. It will depend on the medium and the preference of the artist. This then leads to distributing. Distributing refers to the process of sharing the chosen content to be viewed by as many people as possible. This can be done by sharing an analogue piece to various exhibitions, letting it travel to various locations to be viewed. This can also be done in the networked sense where the uploaded images can be shared by followers, tagged in the appropriate categories, and encouraging followers to bring traction to the post. This is often done to gain traction to the creator for fun or financial gain.
6. What differences and similarities did you discover between the way analogue and networked photos are authored, published and distributed?
Photography has evolved greatly throughout it’s time. In the early years of its popularity, analogue photography was, and still is to many, considered an art form due to being able to produce images as they were, there was no bias to what was seen as that of the human eye. (Wells 2015, pg. 7) Images were accurate and artists that were able to capture the beauty of the world in this mode were seen as highly creative. The process however was much more arduous, requiring many steps to capture and develop the image with little room for error. Without the internet and the cameras of today, it is a process with many steps and would be much more difficult for images to be published and distributed, having to rely on galleries and exhibitions to travel around so that others are able to view the image.
Networked Photography, on the other hand, is ‘haunted by the ghosts of traditional photography’. (Palmer 2014, pg. 247) Using a camera like that on an iPhone has never been faster and easier. It is less time consuming to capture and develop the image how you would like and then publish it to the internet. The widespread distribution of the image by followers thereby immortalises the photo in a way for all to see. Photography as an art form today does still seem to hold true, however. While the practice itself can be viewed as diluted due to the mass overstimulation of the medium today Photography at its core is still a matter of capturing the world, either in its reality or its beauty, it’s a fundamental aspect to the creating to the art form and as something many viewers can still appreciate whether as an image on instagram or framed in a gallery.
7. What differences and similarities did you discover between the way analogue and networked videos are authored, published and distributed?
Like photography, video in its analogue and networked senses differ greatly. Analogue video is known to be reliant on ‘physical artefacts’ (Lister et al. 2009, pg. 17) with its signals needing to be manipulated and interfered with. Networked Video, on the other hand, streamlines this process to rely on digital data to record and store video. Again, thanks to the creation of the internet and its many social media platforms, artists are also able to streamline the publishing and distributing process as video can be uploaded straight away after recording if the artist desired, yet can also be edited to publish when they please. It is no longer a long process. It also allows video to reach a wider audience rather than just galleries and the television screen. So long as there is access to the internet, anyone can locate and view an artist’s footage on whatever screen they possess, whether phone, computer monitor or television. Video creators overall however still share a like minded goal in creating content that fits into their own personal aesthetic of art, showing the world how they want and putting a message out to their viewers that they want to send.
References
Spielmann, Y 2007, Video: The Reflexive Medium, MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts,
Kamila K & Zylinska J, editors. Photomediations: A Reader. Open Humanities Press, 2016, viewed 2 May 2020, http://www.openhumanitiespress.org/books/ titles/photomediations/
Leaver, T., Highfield, T., Abidin, C., 2020. Instagram: Visual Social Media Cultures. Digital Media and Society, United Kingdom.
Lister, M et al 2009, New Media: A Critical Introduction. Routledge, New York
Palmer, D 2014 ‘Mobile Media Photography,’ The Routledge Companion to Mobile Media, Routledge, New York
Wells L 2015 Photography: A Critical Introduction. 5th ed., Routledge, New York.