The ideas of New Media were not simply created by new technologies alone but though cultural changes in society, changes such as Modernism. As Creeber notes, "Modernism is the umbrella term we give to the way that human society responded to the changes that took place during the industrial revolution", (Creeber, 2009, pg.11). A world transformed by ideas of a beneficial and progressive industrial society, diminishing previous societal structures such as a religious monopoly of dominance.
The faith of the masses now invested in technological advancement and material goods to help deal with the stresses of daily life rather than relying on spiritual guidance, "A triumph of consumerism, commercial culture"(Manovich, 2002, pg.31). The Fordism production line ethic resonated this change across all layers of society, the same product replicated cheaply, quickly and with little collective thought, as the "Modernists came to perceive industrialization as the enemy of free thought and individuality", (Creeber, 2009, pg.12). Manovich notes this practice in today's media production, where "modern media follows the factory logic", dividing a singular project into repetitive jobs such as an artist who only colours backgrounds for an animation, (Manovich, 2002, pg.51).
In Post-Modern society, focus changed from the consumption of material goods to that of information. Leading to the rise of "information technologies, the globalization of financial markets, the growth of the service and the white-collar", an information age, (Creeber, 2009, pg.15). The Frankfurt school feared the "ideological influence of the media on a gullible and powerless audience", the masses drooling over their mass produced, mind numbing, popular culture? (Creeber, 2009, pg.15). The elites who dismissed popular culture as a low brow mind control underestimated the complex relationship between the reader and the text. Audiences are not mere puppets of media but "active participants in the production of meaning", they can interpret the meaning of texts using their own cultural means (Creeber, 2009, pg.16).
Identifying how elements such as popular culture cannot be categorised as high or low brow, "as the 'real' and 'unreal', the 'authentic' and 'inauthentic'", as the meaning lies within the cultural view of the reader (Creeber, 2009, pg.17). This is identified in today's culture where the meaning and status of media is being blurred, using multimedia mediums such as YouTube. Where low brow mash-ups such as the "What does the wolf say?" become more significant than professional industry standard media. The masses now hold more power and influence over the media they consume, sharing, choosing, participating and driving New Media.
Bibliography
Creeber, G. Digital Theory: Theorizing New Media (Maidstone: OUP)
Showing posts with label Cultural Layer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cultural Layer. Show all posts
Wednesday, 23 October 2013
Wednesday, 16 October 2013
Computerization
Computing and Media Technologies begin as two separate entities
converging together overtime through, film, photography and binary
information. These technologies are developing through experimentation
and the format in which the cultural collective forms for the needs
of mass.
New media can be broken down into two distinct layers, Cultural Layer and Computer layer. The understanding of the cultural layer is to be known as the input information (user generated), whereas the computer layer is generated from the input information through automation and variations of the same. This transition from the user generated information to the media form and the transcoding for computer or digital information.
During the text of 'Language of New Media' as Manovich speaks of transcoding he states that "computerization turns media into computer data" (Manovich, 2002, p.63). The computer storing and re distributing the media that it has been given. "In new media lingo, to “transcode” something is to translate it into another form." (Manovich, 2002 p.64)
Transcoding doesn't happen without another 4 principles of new media such as numerical representation, modulation, automation, variability. Each of which cross one path or another. Computerization requires numerical or coded information, binary or otherwise, Modulation through mixed mediums being digitized, automation, the process of creating the binary and coding into a visual or piece of spectral information. Variability the changing of the medium e.g. photograph into a video format. Although suggesting that all within the cultural layer has to be of human origin Manovich states a database "originally a computer technology to organize and access data, is becoming a new cultural form of its own" (Manovich, 2002 p.64), can be consequence of the principle transcoding.
Manovich suggests that the "computer layer and media/culture layer influence each other" (Manovich, 2002 p.64) rather than have computer layer overpowering the cultural layer, they converge to develop each other further. With the development of computer and digital technology, new media continues to grow along side rather than being the technology. Is it suggestible that transcoding is changing the development of software and the skills required?
Bibliography
Manovich, L., The Language of New Media (Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 2001)
New media can be broken down into two distinct layers, Cultural Layer and Computer layer. The understanding of the cultural layer is to be known as the input information (user generated), whereas the computer layer is generated from the input information through automation and variations of the same. This transition from the user generated information to the media form and the transcoding for computer or digital information.
During the text of 'Language of New Media' as Manovich speaks of transcoding he states that "computerization turns media into computer data" (Manovich, 2002, p.63). The computer storing and re distributing the media that it has been given. "In new media lingo, to “transcode” something is to translate it into another form." (Manovich, 2002 p.64)
Transcoding doesn't happen without another 4 principles of new media such as numerical representation, modulation, automation, variability. Each of which cross one path or another. Computerization requires numerical or coded information, binary or otherwise, Modulation through mixed mediums being digitized, automation, the process of creating the binary and coding into a visual or piece of spectral information. Variability the changing of the medium e.g. photograph into a video format. Although suggesting that all within the cultural layer has to be of human origin Manovich states a database "originally a computer technology to organize and access data, is becoming a new cultural form of its own" (Manovich, 2002 p.64), can be consequence of the principle transcoding.
Manovich suggests that the "computer layer and media/culture layer influence each other" (Manovich, 2002 p.64) rather than have computer layer overpowering the cultural layer, they converge to develop each other further. With the development of computer and digital technology, new media continues to grow along side rather than being the technology. Is it suggestible that transcoding is changing the development of software and the skills required?
Bibliography
Manovich, L., The Language of New Media (Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 2001)
New Media and the Computerization of Culture
In his book 'The Language of New Media', Lev Manovich (2001, p.43) states that:“(…) today we are in the middle of a new media revolution—the shift of all of our culture to computer-mediated forms of production, distribution and communication.”. This new media revolution can be seen as the junction of the history of computing and the history of media technologies. According to Manovich, five main principles can be identified in order to distinguish New Media from old media: numerical representation, modularity, automation, variability and transcoding.
Although Manovich acknowledges that the principles of automation, variability and transcoding are predominantly dependent on the basic principles of numerical representation and modularity, he also acknowledges that transcoding is “(…) the most substantial consequence of media’s computerization.” (Manovich, 2001, p.63). In technological terms, transcoding can be defined as the transformation from one format to another. However, when we define transcoding in more general terms, it can be understood as the computerization of culture.
In this respect, we have to think about New Media as comprising two layers. On the one hand, there is the cultural layer which reflects the perspective of the human mind. On the other hand, there is the computer layer which represents digital data or numeric codes. Given that computers are used to create and distribute New Media, it is anticipated that the computer layer will influence the cultural layer. In this way, the representation of culture by the computer affects culture itself. An example of this would be the evolution from old web communities to social networks, which have a significant social impact on our daily lives. Moreover, this influence can be seen in both directions, resulting in the merger of computer and culture. It is a merger of how human beings see the world and how the computer represents it. Nevertheless, the question remains to what extent this effect is substantially different from the impact of more traditional media.
Bibliography
Manovich, L. (2001). The Language of New Media. Cambridge, Mass., London: MIT Press.
Although Manovich acknowledges that the principles of automation, variability and transcoding are predominantly dependent on the basic principles of numerical representation and modularity, he also acknowledges that transcoding is “(…) the most substantial consequence of media’s computerization.” (Manovich, 2001, p.63). In technological terms, transcoding can be defined as the transformation from one format to another. However, when we define transcoding in more general terms, it can be understood as the computerization of culture.
In this respect, we have to think about New Media as comprising two layers. On the one hand, there is the cultural layer which reflects the perspective of the human mind. On the other hand, there is the computer layer which represents digital data or numeric codes. Given that computers are used to create and distribute New Media, it is anticipated that the computer layer will influence the cultural layer. In this way, the representation of culture by the computer affects culture itself. An example of this would be the evolution from old web communities to social networks, which have a significant social impact on our daily lives. Moreover, this influence can be seen in both directions, resulting in the merger of computer and culture. It is a merger of how human beings see the world and how the computer represents it. Nevertheless, the question remains to what extent this effect is substantially different from the impact of more traditional media.
Bibliography
Manovich, L. (2001). The Language of New Media. Cambridge, Mass., London: MIT Press.
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