1. Introduction
“Consider
the concept of Remediation and the viral nature of the internet”
“How
media travels back and forward for the genres and technology”
2. Remediation
In the introduction part of Remediation then Bolter
and Grusin discusses the idea of Virtual Reality and the concept of
transferring ones experiences to another, the wire. They argue that Virtual
Reality was not possible since the user would immediately break illusion when
she removes the headgear. Such qualities as low framerate, bad graphics/sound,
bright colors and system crashes would also be an interference that would
prevent the immersion (1999, pp. 22). I’d say that I find this interesting
since these concerns partly exists today but are to my knowledge solved in
comperes an to then, my essay being written 16 years after the book.
As
mentioned above, the topic of wiring ones consciousness to a computer like
machine, to share/gain experiences, are argued to eliminate the need for
television, film and media (1999, pp. 3). I’d like to argue this today that
even if you would have the knowledge of something, you’d probably still want to
experience it. If you would follow and survey a families TV usage, then I would
be more then certain that families would watch film series that they already
know the outcome off. Series like Seinfeld, Friends and The big bang theory are
all streamed over the TV on specific hours, in a pattern, every day. It’s not
uncommon that the families social time is combined with the time spent in front
of the TV, dinners for example (sadly don’t have any reference for this, but my
own family and friends experiences and habits). This said, I think that the
shared experience with others across the world would be an amazing benefit for
technology and culture overall. Not to say in a teach purpose.
I’d like to go as far to
say that everything in the world derives from something else, this especially
comes to mind while reading “Experts on computer graphics often say that they
are striving to achieve ‘photorealism’—in other words, to make their synthetic images
indistinguishable from photographs.” (…) “We argue later that this is all any
new technology could do: define itself in relationship to earlier technologies
of representation.” (1999, p. 29). In a way I’d argue that all media can be
considered a method for retelling existing stories from other contexts/medium.
Roland Barthes's article “Death of the Author” comes to mind while writing
this.
You could attempt to
create some elaborate and abstract interface for a computer but that would
probably result in a bad user experience considering that she won’t know what
to do unless you personally guide her. The idea of copying iconic objects
however such as a trash bin to convey the meaning of “this is where you delete
things” is executed perfectly without any unnecessary explanation. By simply
having this icon of this bin then the user don’t have to waste time/energy to
trying to learn something completely new from scratch. Instead we can use
cognitive ability of the brain and its prior-associations for increased
learning performance.
If you break down a
computer to its core then it’s actually a very long series of binary digits.
Since these digits would take hour’s maybe days to try to decipher (and without
errors) for a common person with no prior knowledge of computers or even a
computer enthusiast. Than I would say that the decision of representing the
computers different layers and hierarchy in the depiction of folders and
archives is in fact genius from a user & design perspective.
3. Searching for the Origami Unicorn
At the start of chapter six then Jenkins summarizes a
transmedia story: “A transmedia story unfolds across multiple media platforms,
with each new text making a distinctive and valuable contribution to the whole.
In the ideal form of transmedia storytelling, each medium does what it does
best” (2006, pp. 96). The concept of using and combining all the mediums to
create a larger arc is definitely an interesting idea. Although it creates a
rewarding challenge in itself for people to look up and find the parts of the
story themselves it also creates an entry barrier/requirement for people to get
past before they can enter the community (inner circle). The idea of transmedia
also presents the problem that people need to watch/read all the different
types of media to be able to get the whole picture. This could be a problem for
some people on either an economic standpoint or a simple obliviousness of the
different media existences. But it could also act as a happy stimulant when you
think “Oh I know that from that one comic!” or the contrary “that looks cool”
and leaving the viewer wanting more. Examples of this in the text “’Second
Renaissance’ introduces many of the weapons deployed during the final assault
on Zion, including the massive ‘mecha’ suits the humans wear as they fight of
the invaders. At the same time, ’The second Renaissance’ builds upon ‘Bits and
Pieces of Information.’ One of The Matrix comics” (2006, pp. 118).
Side note: But personally I generally find act of mixing
media to create a deeper and more complex story, with the lack of better words;
really awesome! Especially when you use it to watch a story unfold from
different perspectives (people and ideologies).
Literature:
Bolter, J. David &
Grusin, Richard (1999). Remediation [Elektronisk resurs].
Jenkins, Henry (2006). Convergence
culture: where old and new media collide. New York: New York University
Press
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