Lev Manovich for Dummies: Five Principles

#1 Numerical representation:

All new media objects are made up of binary code, a code system using only 1's and 0's.  For example  Kari equals 01001011 01100001 01110010 01101001. Lev Manovich equals 01001100 01100101 01110110 00100000 01001101 01100001 01101110 01101111 01110110 01101001 01100011 01101000.  Confusing? Yes. But that's why new media exists. I used it to figure out how to translate those names at http://binarytranslator.com. Thank you new media.

#2 Modularity:

A new media object is made up of independent modules that are made up of smaller modules. So with a picture, pixels are considered modules. They can exist in different sizes. The smaller the module, the clearer the image. Here are some visual examples of the concept.

    Big pixels    Smaller pixels   Small pixels

#3 Automation:

New media objects can be created automatically and can be manipulated easily.  An example of this is video editing. You can easily manipulate the frames of the videos and break them down. That's how they create our modern movies. And are able to incorporate CGI. Automation has transformed the cinema industry. 

#4 Variability:

New media objects exist in multiple versions. A photograph can be seen first in its original form. Then it can be seen in Noir, negative, sepia, etc. It's the same image, but it exists in multiple versions. The variability of images has transformed as well. The first photographs were strictly black and white with no variability. Here are some visual examples of the concept. 

 Original

Noir

#5 Transcoding

How we understand and represent ourselves is influenced by the logic of the computer. New media changes the way we live. For example, No one my age subscribes for old-school daily newspaper deliveries. We use online news mediums. I personally use ksl.com and the drudge report. No one pulls out their Brittanica Encyclopedia anymore, we have Wikipedia.com. I used to go to FYE for my music, now I just use iTunes from my phone to instantly download anything I need. The End. My life is completely different than when I was a child. It will continue to change. 

I Was Once Old, and Now I am New?

Manovich opens with a lengthy history of societal changing technology. Technologies such as the daguerreotype, Analytical Engine, and the electric tabulating machines all were awe inspiring. During their times of service they offered great improvement to an existing system in which they were apart of. In todays standards each device is crude and obsolete yet each device made way for newer and better technologies.

Manovich introduces the idea of New Media. Very simply, New Media originates from a digital source and is manipulated by a digital source. Manovich says computer and I say a digital source. When this article was written computers were really the only devices that would hold up to Manovich's New Media idea. Now we have smartphones and other smaller devices that do the same thing. 

The Five Points of New Media


Numerical representation is the first point of New Media. Numerical representation states that for an object to be New Media it must be defined and manipulated with a mathematical formula. An old picture hanging on the wall is not New Media, but it can become New Media. An old picture is one piece of data. In order to make that old media new it must be digitized. To digitize the old picture, the picture must be sampled and quantified. The old picture must be examined into smaller and smaller lines and each line broken down into smaller points. The smallest points are given a numerical designation, (1's and 0's). Manovich calls these points discrete units. These units separate old media from New Media.

Besides the old picture on the wall a good example of old media that has been digitized is the Declaration of Independence. The original document is far removed as possible from ever being called New Media, yet today it can be called New Media. The Declaration of Independence is no longer a museum piece. It can now be viewed a million times over on large screens and small screens. Even the original text can be altered and displayed in an easy to read font and format.

Modularity is the second point of New Media. Modularity states that New Media can be inserted into other New Media. This can be repeated over and over again. A new object can be created from many objects and each individual object will keep its likeness. The object can be taken apart back to the original pieces, and the pieces put back into the new object.

An example of a modular object is Pandora Radio. Pandora Radio and other similar internet apps, fulfills modularity in that it is totally customizable and scalable. I can create a playlist consisting of any genre of music I like and even combine other genres. I can create something new each time I listen all the while the individual songs are left untouched and free to be used again by myself or any one else.

Automation uses templates to speed up and simplify common tasks. Automation takes the work that at one time was long and complex and makes it easy to replicate. A good example of automation used today can be found in smart phones. The auto correct texting feature demonstrates automation. This feature uses some sort of AI as Manovich discusses. Similar to the AI in the martial arts game, the AI can only predict your actions. The AI can not write the text message for you as the martial arts character can not converse with you. Automation can only do what it is programed to do, even the greatest AI is limited in its abilities, for now.

Variability of New Media is an object existing beyond its original creation. I am not quite sure what Manovich was attempting here. My understanding of this idea is using a YouTube video as an example. Take What dose the Fox Say as an example. At first there was an original, probably a digital original made. By looking at YouTube there are countless other versions of the same song made into short videos. The new versions of the music video may appear different the original has been untouched. This agrees with Manovich in that both modularity and numerical representation are preserved with each new version of the original.


Transcoding, bridging one idea into another. Current culture has been affected by New Media. Society can change and manipulate digital objects at will. With each change something new is made and yet the underlying features of the object are not changed. In the end a new media object is still just 1's and 0's.