Digital Media Analysis

Introduction to Digital Media Presentation Notes

Jessica Egan 1/2/2016 What is Digital Media?

Overview This presentation examined Lev Manovich’s popular film essay “What is Digital Media?” and its relation to contemporary cinema, such as Transformers (directed by Michael Bay, 2007). Throughout the presentation I discussed how according to Manovich, cinema can no longer be distinguished from animation because of its use of CGI and digital software, the progression of digital cinema and animation throughout history and how they are interlinked, and how Digital Cinema has developed into a sub-genre of painting according to Lev Manovich. I also discussed how the use of digital media in cinema can impact a film’s financial success.

Both of which use static pictures, that when rotated on the devices, told a story.

Digital film pushes cinema away from being live action, which consists of unmodified recordings, into animated images that have been manipulated, in order to get the best shot. In current mainstream cinema there are very few, if any, solely live action movies. The integration of digital cinema into a classically narrative fiction film is a clear indication that there is no longer a distinct difference between the two, they are simply cinema.

Narrative cinema is now being pushed into the background, while the cinematic foreground now consists of the attraction; the animation, the explosion, the 3-D movie. Films such as Transformers are not praised for their narrative, but for their special effects. The plots of these films are often shallow and poorly written, however audiences do not enjoy such films for their plots, the audience enjoys the spectacle, the

The narrative disappears among the visuals. Director Michael Bay’s use of “chaos cinema” is used to create a visceral effect among spectators, rather than a logical plot.

Despite the downsides of digital cinema in relation to the narratives of some films, most films include some form of digital media. Considering the highest grossing films of all time rely heavily on digital cinema, there appears to be a direct correlation between digital cinema, and commercially successful filmmaking.

To conclude the presentation I asked my peers if they believed that spectators are now more concerned with visual appeal rather than narrative. This began a short discussion on the double logic of remediation, and how it oscillates between transparency, immediacy, and hypermediacy, as remediation is a constantly changing thing. We also discussed the geniality of cinema, as something that does not develop from a linear history. Lastly we exchanged our views on Manovich’s theory of digital media as a form of painting, which some people agreed with, while others did