The introduction and first chapter of Remediation: Understanding New Media discusses how media technologies attempt to provide authentic, live experiences to viewers, and that a medium’s value depends on immediacy and hyperimmediacy. According to the authors, Jay David Bolter and Richard Grusin, “our culture wants both to multiply its media and to erase all traces of mediation: ideally, it wants to erase its media in the very act of multiplying them (5).” This is an interesting and seemingly obvious observation, yet something that I hadn’t thought of before.
For instance, when people go to the movies they want to feel like they are actually there, in the story; they don’t want to be reminded that they are sitting in a theatre watching a film. The article frequently uses the example of virtual reality, which allows the viewer to experience situations live and from their point-of-view. However, the clunky head gear the viewer is required to wear prevents them from truly feeling that they are taking part in an actual experience. People want the medium (clunky headgear) to disappear (21-22).
Older, more traditional media, such as television and print media are revamping to fit into this climate of immediacy, or transparency. For example the television show, Cops, allows the viewer to experience first-hand what it’s like to be a police officer by providing them with the police officer’s live account. Also, I’ve noticed that a new trend in sitcoms, such as, The Office, Parks and Recreation, and Modern Family, is for the characters to speak directly to the camera and tell the audience what they’re thinking during a situation. It makes the viewer feel that they know the character, and for a minute, the medium disappears because the viewer feels that they are listening to a friend opposed to watching TV. (In class we decided that the character speaking to the camera is a content decision, and immediacy doesn't quite cover content. I decided to leave this point in though because I think that it's an interesting argument).
News programs are also changing. They are more interactive and “feature multiple video streams, split-screen displays, composites of graphics and text (6).” The article doesn’t mention that these programs also rely more on first-hand accounts from amateur’s blogs, tweets, and videos. All of these strategies aim to make the audience feel as if they are there and that they are receiving up-to-the-minute news. Furthermore, newscasts such as CNN are starting to mimic Web pages, where hyperimmediacy is the goal (9).
Web cams provide another example of immediacy. They allow the viewer to experience different environments as they are at a particular point in time. The Web site at the university that I work for has a Web cam, and I just recently heard from a parent who goes to our site everyday because her son waves to her on his way to class. For her, she is seeing her son everyday, not watching him through a Web cam that is mounted on our Bell Tower. It is only when the technology is down, or not working properly, that the medium is noticed.
I mentioned hyperimmediacy earlier, and this refers to being there +. I understand the term best when I think of the example, the Internet. With the Internet you can have multiple pages open at once, and the pages can consist of sound, images, video, and text – in any combination. There’s an infinite amount of information available. For instance if you visit cnn.com, there are multiple channels to gather information: videos, links, graphics, banners. Another note regarding hyperimmediacy - the interface tends to surface more, whereas it disappears for immediacy.
For instance, when people go to the movies they want to feel like they are actually there, in the story; they don’t want to be reminded that they are sitting in a theatre watching a film. The article frequently uses the example of virtual reality, which allows the viewer to experience situations live and from their point-of-view. However, the clunky head gear the viewer is required to wear prevents them from truly feeling that they are taking part in an actual experience. People want the medium (clunky headgear) to disappear (21-22).
Older, more traditional media, such as television and print media are revamping to fit into this climate of immediacy, or transparency. For example the television show, Cops, allows the viewer to experience first-hand what it’s like to be a police officer by providing them with the police officer’s live account. Also, I’ve noticed that a new trend in sitcoms, such as, The Office, Parks and Recreation, and Modern Family, is for the characters to speak directly to the camera and tell the audience what they’re thinking during a situation. It makes the viewer feel that they know the character, and for a minute, the medium disappears because the viewer feels that they are listening to a friend opposed to watching TV. (In class we decided that the character speaking to the camera is a content decision, and immediacy doesn't quite cover content. I decided to leave this point in though because I think that it's an interesting argument).
News programs are also changing. They are more interactive and “feature multiple video streams, split-screen displays, composites of graphics and text (6).” The article doesn’t mention that these programs also rely more on first-hand accounts from amateur’s blogs, tweets, and videos. All of these strategies aim to make the audience feel as if they are there and that they are receiving up-to-the-minute news. Furthermore, newscasts such as CNN are starting to mimic Web pages, where hyperimmediacy is the goal (9).
Web cams provide another example of immediacy. They allow the viewer to experience different environments as they are at a particular point in time. The Web site at the university that I work for has a Web cam, and I just recently heard from a parent who goes to our site everyday because her son waves to her on his way to class. For her, she is seeing her son everyday, not watching him through a Web cam that is mounted on our Bell Tower. It is only when the technology is down, or not working properly, that the medium is noticed.
I mentioned hyperimmediacy earlier, and this refers to being there +. I understand the term best when I think of the example, the Internet. With the Internet you can have multiple pages open at once, and the pages can consist of sound, images, video, and text – in any combination. There’s an infinite amount of information available. For instance if you visit cnn.com, there are multiple channels to gather information: videos, links, graphics, banners. Another note regarding hyperimmediacy - the interface tends to surface more, whereas it disappears for immediacy.
Another way to think of hyperimmediacy: you're at a sport's bar during March Madness, simultaneously monitoring several games at once and listening to commentary. You're "living" March Madness more than a person who's at an actual game, since they are only viewing one game.
Throughout this article, I kept thinking of the Melinda Turnley article, “Towards a Mediological Method: A Framework for Critically Engaging Dimensions of a Medium.” On page two, she says that new media won’t replace old media, but rather new and old media “will interact in ever more complex ways.” For instance, it’s possible to view images and watch videos on the Web. Another illustration of how old and new media interact is the example that CNN newscasts resemble Web pages. In each of these instances, the goal of new and old media is to provide the audience with a more authentic, immediate experience.
Throughout this article, I kept thinking of the Melinda Turnley article, “Towards a Mediological Method: A Framework for Critically Engaging Dimensions of a Medium.” On page two, she says that new media won’t replace old media, but rather new and old media “will interact in ever more complex ways.” For instance, it’s possible to view images and watch videos on the Web. Another illustration of how old and new media interact is the example that CNN newscasts resemble Web pages. In each of these instances, the goal of new and old media is to provide the audience with a more authentic, immediate experience.
Works Cited
Bolter, Jay David and Richard Grusin, eds. Remediation: Understanding New Media. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 1999.
Turnley, Melinda. "Towards a Mediological Method: A Framework for Critically Engaging Dimensions of a Medium." (2009).
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