Principles of New Media#01

Principles of New Media#01

Date: 13/06/13

Every mode of media has its own rules, regulations and principles. Be it Broadcast, Print or New media, every set has its own attributes, identity and ideology. New Media also follows some principles and it strictly follows them. Laws as compared to principles are strict contextual wise, even for new media the principles are not strict and these principles come out of the changes when various cultures around the globe are going through computerization. Through computerization there is a cultural blend which puts forward a new culture altogether. This culture is very much different to the existing cultures in this world as people existing in this culture have some common attributes.

Metalanguage

What is it? A human mind conceptualizes before any action has been done either through speech, gestures or body movements. The concept of Metalanguage comes from here. As we all know metalanguage is used to make statements about statements in another language. So, even a verbal nod comes under Metalanguage. Let me share a link:

http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/literary-criticism/12700085/wordsworth-language-forms-collected-poems-1815

This link mentions an abstract of a research paper related to Wordsworth and the Language of Forms: The Collected "Poems" of 1815 by David Duff. William Wordsworth through his poems has meticulously expressed the metalanguage of various forms. The love for nature is expressed in most of his poems which is a sign of using the concept of metalanguage.

Another link: http://www.vcestudyguides.com/what-is-metalanguage

From this link we get to know that at present the concept of metalanguage is hardly taught. Metalanguage is a language analysis. Metalanguage is used in various literary works to understand various attributes of the work. It is used in novels, films, play and in many other art forms. An author's perception about a particular subject can be understood through analysis and the analysis is boosted by metalanguage. 

Examples:
Novel:

1. Tone
2. Narration
3. Grammar and Punctuation

Play:

1. Stage settings
2. Props
3. Lighting
4. Dialogue/Monologue

Film:

1. Tone
2. Narration
3. Grammar and Punctuation
4. Mise-en-scene
5. Music
6. Lighting

Principles of New Media

Manovich identifies 5 tendencies which are present in the new media objects, which are considered to be the principles of new media.

The details are found on:

http://www.somasa.qub.ac.uk/~prebelo/teaching/amt05/AMT_lecture5.html

1. Numerical Representation

Any object, image or any shape can be described using a mathematical function. In computers any form is coded through binary numbers, namely 0 and 1.
New Media object is subject to algorithmic manipulation. Behind every command used in computers there is a specific algorithm. For example, when an user edits a photograph in a software namely Adobe Lightroom, the commands which are used are based on certain algorithms.

2. Modularity

This principle is also known as 'fractal structure of new media'. It explains about an object's independence in any level of complexity. There are many elements in any new media object. In any program like a sound software ProTools, there are many various elements which together when put together gives the form of a software. For example in ProTools there are sound files, there are many tabs, buttons, commands and many more which are a subset of the main set ProTools.
Another example can be the presence of various elements in an web page. There are various colors, images, videos, animations, links, tabs, buttons and many more but all of them have their separate identities and together makes an web page.

3. Automation

Automation is present in media creation, manipulation and access. Various softwares can be used to manipulate either images or videos on computer. In most of the computer games Artificial Intelligence is used to control characters and various other tasks. Artificial Intelligence uses high level automation in computers to accomplish certain things like manipulation and creation.

4. Variability

Various elements can be used variably to fulfil a certain objective. In comparison to traditional media where elements are fixed to create a main file from which copies are made, in new media various elements can be used variably at different times to make many copies.

5. Transcoding

At present with the advent of new media, media studies is changing to software studies. We create documents, we edit them in software, we upload it through software, we download it through software and much more we can do with the help of software. The concept of Informatics comes from this study. Computer is used as a medium of instruction. At present every alternative object in this world is controlled by computer.
Manovich talks about two modes which is popular in the new media. They are as follows:

• Cultural layer and
• Computer layer

According to Manovich both these entities influence each other. For example, when an audio file is created it is created by following certain algorithms. Next, when this file is being used as music it represents a specific culture. Here culture is the means of distribution of that specific audio file in form of music. In broader context the music represents a specific culture.