-Digital Remediation and Remix-
What is digital remediation?
Digital remediation is defined by Jay David Bolter and Richard Grusin, in their 1999 book, Remediation: Understanding New Media. Digital remediation is "the process whereby computer graphics, virtual reality, and the WWW define themselves by borrowing from and refashioning media such as painting, photography, television, and film," [1]. In other words, remediation is the representation of one medium in a new medium. Some forms feature an exaggeration and emphasis on the previous form, where others attempt to eliminate all forms of the previous source, in their entirety [1].
The eventual convergence of digital media, and more traditional forms of media, was termed “new media studies”, when it came about. Various forms of digital technology, such as computers and word processors, have been used to “remediate” certain mediums, and present them in entirely different forms. Examples include: Digitally retouching photographs, holding meetings and/or conferences via webcam, and animation in television and film [1]. The construction of this new form of media sheds light on the social context of a particular medium, as well as the importance and understanding of the producers and consumers of the source. [1] [7]
Key to digital remediation and remixing, is the presence of “vitality” in the new media forms. [1] Artists incorporate various mediums in order to give the reader the vicarious experience of the original source. Hybridization of mediums is the primary means of achieving this imagery. The viewer is allowed the experience of the full field of view, without interruption or limitation, much like the “daily visual” experience [1].
History of digital remediation/how it came about?
The process of remediation amplifies the concept of one medium, by translating it into another form [1]. Thus, the subject of one medium, is understood by means of another medium. Marshall McLuhan, author of Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, noted “the ‘content’ of any medium is always another medium. The content of writing is speech, just as the written word is the content of print, and print is the content of the telegraph...Dutch painters incorporated maps, globes, inscriptions, letters, and mirrors in their works,” [8].
A popular example is the online blog, or “moblog”, as coined by Karin Wagner in Moblogging, Remediation and The New Vernacular [11]. These forms of media allow for users to input their own content, and engage in the production of a certain source. This “user-led content creation”, was termed “produsage” by author Axel Bruns [2]. Moblogging is a form of digital remediation and produsage in that viewers/users of the blog, can provide their own personal contribution, to increase understanding for other viewers, as well as make it more socially relevant.
Two types of digital remediation?
The two main forms of remediation are, remediation and remixing (also termed hypermediacy).
In the traditional form of remediation, one source is converted into another medium. The intention of traditional remediation is to transfer the content of a source from one medium to another. Ideally, as authors of digitally mediated sources intend for, the experience of the source in one medium should be no different than the same source, after remediation. Examples include, digital picture galleries, such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read-Only Memory) or DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), digital copies of paintings or photographs, and/or literary text, such as PDF’s (Portable Document Format) [12]. Conversion of these mediums to a digital form preserves the document, where the physical form can degrade or be lost, over time. In these formats, important and crucial information will cannot be lost [3]. In addition to this, digital forms of these documents are a means of increasing accessibility to and availability of various sources.
Remix displays a different intent than the traditional remediation of a physical medium. Remix involves the preservation and emphasis of the original text/source, in the remediated version. The audience is intended to be aware of the original source, in the remediated version, yet be unaware of the digital effects in remediating it. This form of remediation is utilized to produce an up-to-date, new, and fun, production of the original media, to keep the audience engaged. Thus, the new source is still dependent on the original source for its meaning and significance. Examples include, Wikipedia, as an online encyclopedia, remix of tracks/songs in music, or a color version of a black and white film, as well modern-day memes and gifs [1].
Different forms of remediation/examples of each form.
Websites:
The evolution of technology and the internet made websites one of the most globally popular sources of information. Websites, consisting of both traditional text and more innovative elements like videos and chats, integrate new technologies with the old, thus exemplifying remediation. In his article, “Participation, Remediation, Bricolage: Considering Principal Components Of A Digital Culture” [5], Mark Deuze builds on that idea by saying,” developments in new media theory toward an integrated perspective of ‘old’ and ‘new’”. Deuze is making a point that while remediating the original source in order to fit it to the new format, it is still keeps the original, “old”, information which is being integrated. As an example websites allow users to introduce concepts in more than one way, as opposed to conventional text.
Texting:
Texting is a form of remediation of the older media phone conversation. Papworth’s SMS (Short Messaging Service) text was sent from a PC (phones didn’t yet have keyboards) to a friend at a Holiday Party across town and simply read, “Merry Christmas” [6]. Amazed by all the functions of the SMS, in July 2006 technology remixed itself and became a bit more advanced. The introduction to Twitter makes its debut as a text-message-based service. Its famous 140-character limit was set by SMS’ own limitations pioneered by Hillerbrand states [6]. Text messaging can also be in the form of remediation by the various forms of social media in today’s society such as:
Twitter:
Snapchat:
Facebook:
Voice Recording:
YouTube:
Youtube can be viewed as the remix of the many song lyrics, music videos and reviews on many different products that individuals come into contact on a daily. YouTube is the world’s most dominant online video site, which averages 1 billion visitors every month [4]. Though YouTube keeps its subscribers and visitors musically inclined, there are other possible remakes that can be done through YouTube. Remakes including the start of an online visual blog, a writing space defining current economic and political issues and simply stating a review on different products.
Gifs:
Movie Editing:
Photography:
Though the photograph has been around for decades, the remix in today’s world is more prominent than it has been. One example would be that photographs can now be photoshopped which has become a well known digital feature in “editing.” How a photo can be remixed is due to juxtaposition. Juxtaposition can be simply defined as the placement of two things closely together with contrasting effect. One example of juxtaposition is the movie poster for Terminator 3. The poster uses the images of each character-the stylization of each one’s face, blending from human into machine-and juxtaposes these two elements to set up the internal distinctions that make up each character [9]. You can juxtapose elements in a single space, such as a still image, or through time, through video [9].
Online Publications:
Online Publications have taken media delivery to the next level. Before the innovation of technologies, most publications were printed in hard copies. That made printed newspapers the most popular way of getting information. The innovation of technology changed it, by allowing news agencies to publish those news online. The website digitalrhetoriccollaborative.org describes that process as, “to take a text in one form and transform it into another medium, preserving the essential features of the original while adapting it to the affordances and audience of the new form”[10]. The news had to be converted to fit the online format, however it allowed for more people to access it online, compared to the effort required of getting the printed hard copy version. While the older version, printed hard copy of a newspaper, and the new version, a news website, are very similar in almost any way, the news website has an advantage since it is constantly being updated; that is not possible in the case of a hard copy printed newspaper, since it cannot be changed once it was printed.
Works Utilized
[1] Bolter, J. David, and Richard A. Grusin. Remediation: Understanding New Media. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 1999. Print.
[2] Bruns, Axel. "From Prosumption to Produsage." Handbook on the Digital Creative Economy (2013): 67-78. Web.
[3] Canazza, Sergio. "The Digital Curation of Ethnic Music Audio Archives: From Preservation to Restoration." Int J Digit Libr International Journal on Digital Libraries 12.2-3 (2012): 121-35. Web.
[4] Chmielewski, Dawn C. "YouTube Crosses 1 Billion Monthly Users." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2013. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.
[5] Deuze, Mark1, mdeuze@indiana.edu. "Participation, Remediation, Bricolage: Considering Principal Components Of A Digital Culture." Information Society 22.2 (2006): 63-75. Education Source. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.
[6] Gayomali, Chris. "The Text Message Turns 20: A Brief History of SMS." The Text Message Turns 20: A Brief History of SMS. The Week Magazine, 03 Dec. 2012. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.
[7] Kember, Sarah, and Joanna Zylinska. Life after New Media: Mediation as a Vital Process. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2012. Print.
[8] McLuhan, Marshall. Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
[9] Morey, Sean. The New Media Writer. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
[10] "Remediation." Digital Rhetoric Collaborative. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.
[11] Wagner, Karin. "Moblogging, Remediation and The New Vernacular." Photographies 4.2 (2011): 209-28. Web.
[12] Werner, Courtney L. "Speaking of Composing (Frameworks): New Media Discussions, 2000–2010." Computers and Composition 37 (2015): 55-72. Web.