Modularity – Media Authoring Project 1

Media Authoring Project #1 for DTC101 at WSUV

Demonstrating all five of Lev Manovich’s principles of new media and emphasizing Modularity.

Media Authoring Project #1: Production Statement

Music used: Speechless – Shangri-La https://youtu.be/zDUPz435hm4

1) the process by which I produced the work:

I began the project by drawing three digital illustrations in Photoshop, making sure to use as many individual layers and folders as I could to provide modularity. I turned off the visibility on each layer, and when I began screen recording with QuickTime Player, I made each layer visible again in chronological order. I made three recordings, each being just over a minute long. I opened Adobe Premiere Pro and arranged each recording in a sequence. I then tweaked the speed and duration of each to create a single two-minute video. I made edits and adjustments to the video, such as adding blurring and transitioning effects as well as text that describes the project. After searching YouTube for music to overlay, I came across “Shangri-La” by Speechless. Y2mate allowed me to download the mp3 file straight from YouTube, which I cropped and sped up to fit within my two-minute video. I exported my completed project as an mp4 file and uploaded it to YouTube.

2) the point I was trying to get across in it:

Modularity is an aspect of new media and the second of Lev Manovich’s five principles. Elements of new media, such as images, code, folders, text, audio, and pixels exist independently and can be reused and modified. Although layers can be separated and used again elsewhere, their illustration of an idea requires a specific and purposeful juxtaposition. Although many groups of layers in my Photoshop files are distinct components (such as the boy and the library background), they can easily be reused, rearranged, and altered in an infinite number of ways.

3) what I learned about the subject by producing my work:

When working in new media, abundant modularity is ideal. More modularity brings more efficiency, organization, reusability. Layers (in, say, Photoshop) are a brilliant feature, I have learned that it is wise to conserve, rather than merge, as many of them as possible. With their independent and reusable nature, they will likely prove useful more than once. A file that seems messy due to the number of individual layers can be easily cleaned by placing the layers into folders, rather than simply merging them. This would provide organization, rather than regret.

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