After today’s class, write a comment on this blog post of at least 250 words summarizing your reading and today’s lecture. Focus on Manovich’s five principles of new media in your response.
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Lev Manovich currently serves as Professor in the Ph.D. Program in Computer Science for the CUNY Graduate Center, and as a faculty member at the Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture, and Design in Moscow, Russia. Comparable to Drs. Gitelman and Kittler, Dr. Manovich also analyzes new media in terms of its historical and social impacts on culture.
We read a portion of his book, “The Language of New Media,” and learned how the history and origins of old media give us the terminology and language to be able to better define new media. For example, he discusses the history of the image, citing the daguerreotype, and the history of the computer, citing Babbage’s Analytical Engine. These inventions used scientific tools like chemistry, mathematics, metallurgy, mechanics, etc. in order to fill a communication need. Their paths were parallel but discrete, not converging in their early days.
As society began using these technologies more and more, these various media began to be less and less discrete as they were merged together for our use. The more society used these media, the more the media impacted society in turn. Dr. Manovich explains that with old media, we were essentially consumers- we didn’t control media creation, production, manipulation, etc., as we didn’t have the tools to do so. Now, we are able to produce media just as much as consume it, and we should be mindful that media production is as important as, if not more important than, media consumption.
Dr. Manovich expresses that this new media revolution that we are in is much more profound than its predecessors. The fact that old media was very discrete and compartmentalized limited its impact; conversely, new media via computers impacts all stages of communication. He elaborates on the distinction of old media vs. new media by way of five principles. It should be noted that without the first two, the latter three could not exist.
1. Numerical representation: All data has numerical representation. As a result, new media may be described mathematically and its data is subject to algorithmic manipulation. The result is media’s programmability.
2. Modularity: New media objects, whether they are represented as pixels, sound bytes, scripts, shapes, etc., can be grouped together in limitless fashion; however, their identities remain separate and distinct. He described this as the “fractal structure of new media”. To this end, we discussed in class Dr. Benoit Mandelbrot who discovered fractals. Dr. Mandelbrot realized that (with the proper computational magnification) the closer you zoomed in on an object, the more the result looked like the original object. And whether you zoomed in or out, the object’s core components never changed.
3. Automation: With the advent of advanced computer technology, there is less and less need for human contribution to many processes. Dr. Manovich is saying that new media are unique because the science behind them allows for the removal of humans, thus allowing computers to perform on their own, in an automated fashion.
4. Variability: New media objects are not static or “fixed”, but rather are “mutable” and fluid. They can exist in potentially infinite versions. Old media relied heavily on humans to store finite, fixed, identical objects. New media, thanks in large part to automation and modularity, is very malleable depending on the needs of the user, allowing for customization.
5. Transcoding: This occurs when information from one format is translated over to another format. There are two layers within new media that touch on this: the cultural layer and the computer layer. As mentioned earlier, old media did not have this capability- to touch on both a cultural and computer level because it was finite, unchangeable, and inaccessible. However, new media utilizes transcoding all the time, and as computers transcode, their influence impacts us as a culture at the same time. An example is in coding: once a vocation for only computer science majors, it has become a mainstream endeavor for people to learn to code. People want to learn coding because they want to understand the technology that they use more; also they want to create media and be able to manipulate it on a deeper level. Computers evolve and are being used in new ways all the time; as they do, they cause our culture to evolve in similar fashion. In turn, as our culture evolves, our demands for media production influence how computer technology is produced. New media is a blend of human and computer ontologies as a result.
Lev Manovich is a professor of computer science at the City University of New York, Graduate Center as well as an author an author of several books on new media theory. In one of his most famous books titled “The Language of New Media” he lays out five principles that separate old media, such as, print media from new media, such as, the internet. The first principle is that of numerical representation. All forms of new media can be described mathematically and because of this all forms of new media are subject to algorithmic manipulation. This is what allows us to edit our pictures and make substantial changes such as brightness, contrast, saturation, and many more. New media is programmable. The second principle is modularity. This refers to the fractal structure of new media. Modularity is the degree to which a system’s components may be separated and recombined. As Manovich puts it, this means that “New media objects consist of independent parts which, in their turn, consist from smaller independent parts, and so on, up to the level of smallest “atoms” such as pixels, 3D points or characters.” These first two principles are the foundation of new media. Without them new media and next three principles would not be able to exist. The third principle is automation. Numerical coding and modular structure of new media allows computers to automate or mimic human thought. This, in turn, removes a piece of human creativity from the equation. Some examples of this are auto-complete typing features, batch edits in photoshop, and artificial intelligence engines that simulate human intelligence and adaptive behavior in games. The fourth principle is variability. New media objects are not fixed they are liable to change. They “Can exist in different, potentially infinite, versions.” This is what gives us the capability to change the formats of new media. The fifth and final principle of new media is transcoding. Transcoding refers to the conversion of language or information from one form of coded representation to another. It also refers to how the human cultural layer and the computer layer and how the two affect the development of each other. Manovich states, “Since new media is created on computers, distributed via computers, stored and archived on computers, the logic of a computer can be expected to have a significant influence on the traditional cultural logic of media… The result of this composite is the new computer culture: blend of human and computer meanings.” Through his five principles Manovich clearly draws a distinguishable line between old media and new media.
Jessica L. Roman
ENG 1710
04.11.18
Lev Manovich is a Professor in Computer Science at the CUNY Graduate Center as well as a faculty member at the Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture, and Design in Moscow. Additionally Manovich is the director of the Cultural Analytics Lab. His book, “The Language of New Media”, is a widely regarded in how we discuss new media.
We read the first part of “Language of The New Media”, titled “What is New Media”. This portion of his book serves as a skeleton to the rest of the book. Similar to Kittler and Gitleman, Manovich uses his work to discuss and analyze new media as the product and influencer of both our historical and social culture. For his argument, the origin of new media lays ion the history of the image. Manovich, much like Kline, also goes to great lengths to present the language and principals of new media that would help us better understand what it is.
Manovich explain that new media is the culmination of the trajectories on media technologies and computing. This begins with the media technology of photography, like the early daguerreotype, and computing developments’ like the punch card loom and Analytical Engine. Manovich also tell us that it is not unusual that these developments happened during the same time in history as is necessary to be able to distribute images and text to the growing modern society. After discussing the contributing factors and advancements, Manovich provides us with the five principles in defining what new media is.
1. Numerical representation- all new media objects can be represented numerically and thus can be manipulated and programmable.
2. Modularity- independent elements that come together in order to create new media objects. Allows the laying of programming.
Theses first two principals are prerequisite to the last three.
3. Automation- Removes part of the human contribution. We can think of programs templates and software that assist/streamline a process.
4. Variability- New media is not static and can exist in numerous versions.
5. Transcoding- the broadest and most substantial of the five principles. This is translation of a new media into different formats but also describes the transcoding of computer culture into our popular culture and ontology.
Lev Manovich is a writer who elaborates on new media theory. As a professor of Computer Science at the City University of New York, his work is tremendously influential. His work “The Language of New Media”, illustrated the origin of imagery media and the sequence of changes throughout time.
Manovich explains there are five principles of new media. The first principle is known as Numerical Representation. Behind each innovation, there is a digital code. The numerical quantity represents how media is understood. Manovich wrote this principal. as having “ two key consequences: New media object can be described formally (mathematically) in which media becomes programmable”(pg50).
The second guideline is known as Modularity. Manovich depicts this idea as “fractal structure of new media.” Media has various components. This can include but not limited to pictures, sounds, shapes, pixels and more.These small components are gathered on a sizable scale maintaining their individual uniqueness. The items themselves can often be joined into many massive articles. Professor Ellis used an example of the Mandelbrot set which is known for the sequence while retaining its original shape.
The third main is known as Automation. This allows the media to become completely enabled to become computerized where human interaction is removed from the process. For example, on Google Docs allows for the use of templates for a resume or a memo gives an automatic response to a concept.
The fourth principle is known Variability. New media is in a constant metamorphosis. Media is altered in myriad forms in which the concept can be, as Manovich writes, as “potentially infinite versions.” New media opens doors to various forms. This concept can be altered to fit a user needs.
Lastly, the final principle is known as Transcoding. This happens when data starts to arranged onto another organized data. The two layers are known as the “cultural layer” and the “computer layer.” Previously, old media could not manage cultural and technological aspects. Manovich writes, “Since new media is created on computers, distributed via computers, stored and archived on computers, the logic of a computer can be expected to be a significant influence on the traditional cultural logic of media.” Together as the layers intertwine, Manovich believes their influence affects computer’s ontology and cultural aspects.
In conclusion, the third, fourth and fifth concept cannot come to life without the first two principals. The first two principals lay the foundation for the creation of the new media. On page 66, Manovich also provides a constant of what is not media. This portion just elaborates on the process Manovich researches new media in an objective interdisciplinary standpoint.
Lev Manovich is a Computer Science professor at the CUNY graduate center and is the director of the cultural analytics lab. He is also a faculty member of the Strelka Institute of Media, Architecture and Design in Moscow. One of his books that we’ve read and discussed in class is called “The Language of New Media.” Manovich starts off by asking “What is new media?” The popular answers to that question is the internet, computers, and cell phones, anything that is related to technology. He writes that “the popular definition of new media identifies it with the use of a computer for distribution and exhibition, rather than with production. Therefore, texts distributed on a computer (Web sites and electronic books) are considered to be new media; texts distributed on paper are not. Similarly, photographs which are put on a CD-ROM and require a computer to view them are considered new media; the same photographs printed as a book are not.” New media comes from somewhere and when looking at Mavovich’s book, we can think of Lisa Gidleman and how she said that new media isn’t really new. It came from somewhere. He talks about how new media became new by using two examples. The first example he talks about is Louis Daguerre’s daguerreotype, which was a photographic process. Two years later, with improvements being made to the process everyone wanted their picture taken. The second one is a device called the Analytical engine which was created by Charles Babbage. Babbage designed the devise to have it do “any mathematical operation; not only would it follow the program fed into it by cards, but it would also decide which instructions to execute next, based upon intermediate results.” Babbage’s idea of the Analytical engine came from a programmed machine that used punch cards storing information. Manovich discusses five principles of new media and states that principles three to five are dependent on principles one and two. The first one is numerical representation. All new media is made up of numbers. Its data, its algorithm is made up of numbers and numbers can be changed or manipulated. The second principle is modularity. Manovich describes it as “fractal structure of new media.” Media elements like images for example are made up of pixels and those images can assemble and make bigger objects while still being independent. An example that Manovich uses for this principle is “the concept of “object” used on Microsoft Office applications. When an object is inserted into a document (for instance, a media clip inserted into a Word document), it continues to maintain its independence and can always be edited with the program used originally to create it.” The third principle is automation. This principle has two levels, a “low-level automation” and a “high-level automation.” “Low–level automation” is where the computer user can make changes to a media object using templates or algorithms. “High-level automation” is where a computer is required to understand what is embedded in the object. The fourth principle is variability. A new media object is no longer fixed for good. It requires updates, different versions that can be installed automatically without having to do it. With old media a human being would be able to fix something manually for good. But not with new media. There are different versions of each type of new media that no longer requires a person to “fix it.” These versions or updates are stored in a database. The fifth principle is transcoding. In this final principle when something needs to be translated into another format, it is called transcoding. Manovich explains that new media can be thought as two different layers. The first layer is cultural layer and the second one is called the computer layer. In the cultural layer lies the encyclopedia and a short story, where the short story consists of a plot, point of view, etc. As for the computer layer we have process and packet which are data packets being transmitted through the network, a computer language and data structure.
Lev Manovich is an author and professor. His academic career goes beyond the United States. While he is a computer science professor at the Cuny Graduate Center, he also a distinguished figure in many fields including cultural analytics and digital humanities. He is the author of 13 books that analyze a variety of topics in New Media. In the last class we analyzed the part of his book, titled, “Language of The New Media”, where he starts off with the subtitle “What is New Media”. He starts off describing the iterative process of each generation having a revolution of modernizing old media. However the people of the 20th and 21st century have came up with new ways of recording information and making it easier to modify which makes it New Media. He called this progressive sequence, the five principles of new media.
Numerical Representation: These numbers represent graphics, sound, measurements, and information about us but they also have the ability to enhance the experience in software applications over a medium. To me the earliest form of Numerical Representation is the Social Security numbers and area codes. In the later part of the century, companies were able to input these numbers in their systems and find out credit card, insurance, and job information about anyone and pin them to a certain area code the lived in. A more accurate example of numerical representation would be to type a street number on to google maps and find the directions to that street. Manovich referred to this as digitization , “converting continuous data into a numerical representation” (pg. 49).
Modularity: The actual representation of new media in pixels, sound bytes, and shapes. When you put them together they maintain their individuality ,but create a larger picture. On google earth you can see a street image and zoom into buildings, the pixels remain in their uninformed fashion and never change their appearance you can also use the measure tool and analyze the objects in depth ,but the pixels still remain unchanged.
Automation: We can program machines to imitate human actions. Some robots flip burgers and some systems process your order in certain restaurants instead of humans Computers have a built-in update system that allow themselves to update on a regular basis.
Variability: The constant upgrading new media objects have to go through. This goes hand in hand with Modularity and Automation. Although humans have to schedule the update still, software applications not only update by themselves , but they complete the process of modifying their own features.
Transcoding: The ability new media has to be placed in other formats while touching both the cultural and computer layer of today’s world. It could be simple like converting a YouTube video file to an Mp3 file to your phone. More and more people decide to expand their knowledge in computing by attending coding camps and looking up techniques online to fit into the internet culture and expand their skills. Software applications live and die by the ability to transcode their documents over to another application.
Lev Manovich is a professor of Computer Science at the City University of New York, Graduate Center. He was born in 1960 in Moscow Russia. Manovich holds a M.A. in Experimental Psychology and a Ph. D in Visual and Cultural Studies. Manovich is an author of books pertaining to media theory, his most important being “The Language of New Media”. In the designated pages, Manovich discusses what exactly New Media is. To help better understand what new media is, Manovich lists five principles of the difference between old and new media. The first principle is that new media are numerical representations. New media becomes programmable due to its reliance on computers and digital code. The second principle is modularity: all of the elements that join together to form a new media. The third principle is the conjunction of the first two principles: automation. Automation is the process that guides us to make something. The fourth principal, variability, is the multiple versions of a media that can exist, since new media isn’t something that can be perfected with one fix up. The fifth and final principal is the fusion of the culture and computer. This fusion ,titled transcoding, is how computers impact our culture and vice versa. As Manovich himself mentions the last three principles cannot stand without the first two. The numerical representations and modularity are such prominent pieces in creating new media due to their being integral facets in computer programming. With these five principles Manovich lists the difference between old and new media is clear.
Lev Manovich is a prof of science program and CUNY graduate center. In Manovich’s writing “ the language of new media” he talks about how new media and the five principles of new media. Manovich says that new media began when images arose ( early photographs ). Manovich’s first principle was numerical representation, all new media is created from scratch or from analog media sources and are composed of digital code. The second principal was modularity, new media is represented in pixels and if you would zoom into the same picture you would end up with the same picture over and over again. If both of numerical representation and modularity aren’t met the next three aren’t possible. The third principle is automation, automation is simply making things easier in a sense, having templates to do things faster or machines doing work instead of humans. The fourth principle is variability, new media isn’t fixed and can exist in different forms. For example, there’s pictures then videos and video games are all forms of new media. This also gives new media a lot of flexibility. The fifth principle is transcoding, transcoding consists of two layers the computer and cultural layer. Since we now have the computer to influence culture the two are forced to intertwine.
Lev Manovich was born in 1960, he is an author of books mainly focusing on new media theory. He is also a professor of Computer Science at City University of New York, Graduate Center. Majority of his research and lecturing focuses on digital humanities, new media art and theory and software studies. In his book, “The Language of New Media” he argues that, “Today we are in a new media revolution…”(pg.43). The most important aspect of his book is the five principles ranged in progressive order. In order to meet third, fourth and fifth principle, the first two are crucial to know first.
The first principle is the numerical representation, all of new media objects can be disciplined. Second principle is the modularity, this term comes from Mendel. The fractal media is the new media object throughout. All images are made out of pixels. The third principle is automation, which in this case it the numerical coding of media and involvement of modularity. The fourth principle is variability, as Professor Ellis stayed, “A new media object is not something fixed once and for all but can exist in different, potentially, infinitive version. This is another consequence of numerical coding of media and modular structure of a media object. Other terms which are often used in relation and which would be appropriate. Last fifth principle is transcoding. According to Manovich =, transcoding is the most important. As discussed in class computer culture has invaded the popular culture. Transcoding computer culture to nonpopular culture.
Lev Manovich is a scholarly man at the CUNY Graduate Center, a Director of the Cultural Analytics Lab, and a member of the Moscow program. In his essay “What is New Media?” Manovich sees photography and the tools linked with it, as the the beginning of ‘media.’ In class it was said that “we should not privilege the computer as a means of media consumption, but rather as a means of media production.” This means that we should see the computer device as something that can reproduce, and manufacture other means of media and devices. The computer is a foundation, a system that is meant to further the media systems as a whole, rather than for means of consumption. Let’s take Netflix for an example (which my research project is based on), it is an app contaminated with hundreds and hundreds of shows, we can see the Netflix app as a whole in relation to the computer. The hundreds of shows in all the different languages that Netflix features are the means of media productions; people around the world can learn an entirely new language by watching a show, or be educated on a civil rights matter of the 1900s with a documentary. Manovich devised a system of five principles to differentiate the “old media” from the “new media.” The first principle assessed the “numerical representation,” which is about the concept of media becoming programmable. The second principle is about the “modularity,” which addresses the notion that objects can be contained into larger objects, without losing their independence. An example is a group of people, each individual has their own independence. The third principle is the “Automation,” which means that humans
intentionally cannot be removed into different parts. The fourth principle is the “Variability,” which is how new media is characterized by the variability instead of identical copies. This gives a rise to many different versions of things. The fifth principle is “Transcoding,” which is designated as the most substantial consequence of media computerization
Lev Manovich was born in 1960. He is an author of books on new media theory. He works at the City University of New York as a professor in Computer Science. Manovich’s research and teaching focuses on digital humanities, social computing, new media art and theory, and software studies.
His best known book is The Language of New Media which were decided to be translated into ten languages and used in classes around the world.
“The Language of New Media” Manovich argues that history of the image and the history of computing had converged–come together– in the preset which “the translation of all existing media into into numerical data accessible for computers” and the result being new media which he defines as “graphics, moving images, sounds, shapes, spaces and text which become computable. That is simply another set of computer data.” Later he adds “in short, with media comes new media” He gives us a set of 5 principles of new media. First 2 are the foundation on which the rest are built. The first two must be read first in order to get to the others.
Principles of New Media
Numerical Representation: new media object are represented as numerical data that can be formulated–meanings mathematical described and manipulated and figured out by computer algorithms.
Modularity: or the fractal structure of new media or media objects can be combined or disabled visual interchangeable parts.
Automation; or the way in which computer templates implode can automate creation and manipulation of new media
Variability: or not being fixed in potential the infinity different versions
Transcoding; or the translation of the to layer: the computer layer and the cultural layer.
Lev Manovich was born in 1960. He is an author of books on new media theory. He works at the City University of New York as a professor in Computer Science. Manovich’s research and teaching focuses on digital humanities, social computing, new media art and theory, and software studies.
His best known book is The Language of New Media which were decided to be translated into ten languages and used in classes around the world.
“The Language of New Media” Manovich argues that history of the image and the history of computing had converged–come together– in the preset which “the translation of all existing media into into numerical data accessible for computers” and the result being new media which he defines as “graphics, moving images, sounds, shapes, spaces and text which become computable. That is simply another set of computer data.” Later he adds “in short, with media comes new media” He gives us a set of 5 principles of new media. First 2 are the foundation on which the rest are built. The first two must be read first in order to get to the others.
Principles of New Media
Numerical Representation: new media object are represented as numerical data that can be formulated–meanings mathematical described and manipulated and figured out by computer algorithms.
Modularity: or the fractal structure of new media or media objects can be combined or disabled visual interchangeable parts.
Automation; or the way in which computer templates implode can automate creation and manipulation of new media
Variability: or not being fixed in potential the infinity different versions
Transcoding; or the translation of the to layer: the computer layer and the cultural layer.