The 5 Principles

Like many of the articles and videos that we have watched, Lev Manovich's "The Language of New Media" starts with the classic question in this Digital Media class: “What is New Media?” Is it solely the Internet, websites, computer games and DVDs? Manovich offers the suggestion that texts that circulate on a computer can also be considered new media. He says, “We are in the middle of a new media revolution.”(p.43)

Manovich's five Principles of New Media are as follows:

1. Numerical Representation
2. Modularity
3. Automation
4. Variability
5. Culture Transcoding

Numerical Representation is the first principle and the way Manovich defines the concept, is anything that is created from scratch or transformed form analog. He sees Numerical Representation in two ways, both mathematically and in media. He speaks of algorithms and digital media that is programmable. This reminds me of when I first seriously started doing ballet. When I reached a certain age, I finally realized that each and every technique class that I take will include plies, tendus, jetes, and so on. And every technique class with out fail will include a barre, center, adagio and allegro. A dancer always knows what is coming next during class; though they wont know the specific combination, which brings us to modularity.

Modularity: noun. employing or involving a module or modules as the basis of design or construction. This is the New Oxford American definition, but Manovich considers modularity to be components that assemble into large-scale objects but proceed to keep their separate shape/identity. His examples are the following: pixels, polygons, vowels, characters, and scripts. As previously described part of taking class, and not just ballet class any form of dance, one must learn and pick up the combinations. When we go to the center the combinations become a little bit more complicated and they are made up of different steps. A grand allegro for example can have as many steps as the teacher pleases; but I would say an average grand allegro is made up of roughly 12 steps. A simple grand allegro is: tombe, pas de bourree, glissade grand jete. These are four separate steps, but when a dancer connects the steps it becomes one long phrase. It is almost like connecting the dots in a coloring book, but instead of finding an image, we find a movement, a dance.

Automation: noun. the use of largely automatic equipment in a system of manufacturing or other production process. Both numerical coding and modular structure allow for automation creation. There are two levels of automation low and high. A couple examples of “low level” automation would be image editing, 3D-Graphics and word processing. “High level” deals with semantics as well as artificial intelligence. “Finally, in what maybe the most familiar experience of automation of media generation to most computer users, many Web sites automatically generate Web pages on the fly when the user reaches the site.”(p.53) This is most similar to the way a teacher works in class. Though there are a small percentage of teachers that come to class with notes and a class already written out, I would say that the majority of dance teachers out there come up with their class on the fly.

Variability: noun. not consistent or having a fixed pattern; liable to change. Manovich believes that a variable can be “mutable” or “liquid”. Variability is close to automation as well as modularity.  Variability is Manovich’s longest and most detailed principle; there are a total of seven sub-sections, ranging from media database to periodic updates and hypermedia. “A new media object is not something fixed once and for all but can exist in different, potentially infinite versions.”(p.56) Due to the fact that the teachers come up with classes on the fly means that they vary. No two classes are the same. Even is the teacher gives a similar class, your input is different from day to day, therefore it is literally impossible to have the same class.

Finally we come to transcoding. Transcoding: verb. convert (language or information) from one form of coded representation to another. Transcoding is what Manovich considers to be the “most substantial consequence of media’s computerization.”(p.63) A computer image is part of both the human world as well as the computer world. This is perhaps the most difficult principle to grasp and the most difficult to relate to my art form.  I think the best association that I can think of it that when I do a dance performance, I am dancing for the audience of course because they are the ones who come and pay, but I am also dancing for myself. Which is the way it should be!