Geleneksel Medyadan Yeni Medyaya: Görüntü Yüzeyi

Year 2012, Issue: 27, 33 - 44, 01.02.2012

Alper Altunay

Abstract

İmgeler bize asıl dünyayıdeğil, seçilmişbir dünyayıgösterir ve gösterilen şeyler gerçeğin temsilleri, yeniden sunumlarıdır.Fotoğrafın bulunuşuna kadar, belirli bir yüzey üzerinde görüntülerin temsillerinin oluşturulmasının en geleneksel yöntemi, resim yapmaktır. Fotoğrafla birlikte elin işlevi, göze yüklenir ve geleneksel resmetme tekniklerinin yerini ışıkla resmetme alır. Video ise ışıkla resmetme sürecine daha önce var olmayan ekranıdahil eder. Yanısıra ekran, ışıklıyüzeyin gündelik yaşama kattığıyeni kullanım biçimleriyle toplumsal bir dönüşümün de simgesi hâline gelir. Yeni medyanın olanaklarıiçerisinde evrim geçiren ekran yüzeyi,iletişim sürecinin çift yönlü olarak yaşanmasınısağlar. Yeni medya,2000’li yıllarda yaşamlarının değişmez bir parçasıolarak ekran kullanan bir jenerasyonunun ortaya çıkmasında, belirleyici bir iletişim ortamıhâline gelir. Yeni medyanın etkileşimli ekranı, geleneksel medya ekranından farklıolarak, görme ve işitme duyularının yanında, dokunma duyularınıda iletişim sürecine dahil eder. Yeni medya ekranınıkullanmaya başlayan “Ekran kuşağı” olarak adlandırılabilecek olan yeni nesil,yeni medyayıgeleneksel medyadan çok daha farklıve kendine özgü biçimde kullanan, yaşam pratikleri içerisinde temel iletişim ihtiyaçlarınıbu ekranlarla birlikte sürdüren farklıbir jenerasyona karşılık gelmektedir.

Keywords

Yeni medya, yeni ekran, temsil yüzeyi, arayüz

From Traditional Media to New Media: The Image Surface

Abstract

All images surrounding us are objects, thoughts, or even something that could not possibly exist reproduced on a certain surface. Rather than portraying the real world, images show us a selected world in which the portrayals are simply representations of reality. All visualization efforts, from conventional imaging techniques to today’s three-dimensional video technology, focus on the imagery of real objects. Up until the discovery of photography, the conventional method of representing images on a surface was painting. Following the development of photography, the function of the painter’s hand was reassigned to the photographer’s eye. Thus conventional imaging techniques gave way to picturing with light. Film and motion picture technology which, quickly succeeded photography, completely transformed the manner and format of viewing imagery. Many conventional viewing practices belonging to the conventional world of images and performances were reunited for film and were manifested into a new form unique to film. Cinematographic traditions had the chance to develop within the film industry and the screen transformed into a tool of expression in which tradition of genres were beginning to form. Within this technological evolution, the image production technology that established the concept of a screen and in which this concept was utilized most was the television broadcast system. The greatest significance of the television screen compared with other image production technologies is that screen images are not projected onto a surface, but are created in a self-illuminated environment. The screen is itself a surface with light and the screen elements pixels that create the image are themselves individual light sources. The primary aspect of a television screen that differentiates it from other image production techniques is that its surface is not merely a field of reproduction, but also the representational surface of a mass communication device. Due to these unique communication characteristics of television, it surpasses the creation of infinite representations of reality on a screen, and through the usage practices it has established in daily life it causes the establishment of a new cultural form Williams, 1990 . This process is one of the crucial steps in the establishment of the screen generation in the 21st century. The most significant revolutionary transformation of the screen has taken place with mobile phones. Previous attempts at various applications in wristwatches never achieved such effective commercial success, however additional functionalities and applications added to mobile phones were the distinguishing reason for the rise in telephone sales. The primary functional imaging region for these applications is the screen of a mobile phone, yet there are fundamental conceptual differences between mobile phone screens and television screens as more traditional media devices. These differences are equivalent to the differences between conventional media and new media. The mobile phone screen can be carried on ones person, as opposed to the traditional notion of a screen. Despite the fact that screens utilized in conventional media took certain steps towards mobility, screens for new media were born with mobility at the heart of their design. Other features of the new media screen have been defined by Ballard 2007 , as personalizable, wakeable, and communicable. On the other hand, each mobile phone is also an imaging device. This transforms new media screens into representation surfaces that can produce and share images anywhere, at any time. Today’s screens are not merely communication mediums portraying images. They are mediums that utilize images, written text, numbers and even interactive fields, thereby uniting new communication forms. The most frequently utilized form of screen communication today is based on user interfaces. “User interface” is the general term used to describe visual communication methods that allow the human body to manipulate and control computer-based electronic or mechanical devices. The basic functions of an interface can be summarized as follows: To create visual information that allows technological devices to adapt to the human body and vice versa , to convert functional information into visual expressions, and to utilize these visual expressions enabling the continuity of the human-device relationship. The space in which interfaces function is the screen, and the underlying concept of an interface is to organize the relationship between man and machine into a visual/pictorial expression. The seamless operation of an interface regarding the organization of the man-machine relationship is the primary constant within this process. During this visual communication process, hand-eye coordination was initially established through mice or similar additional hardware but with the development of the touchscreen and its introduction to consumers, additional hardware between the hand and the screen was eliminated. Due to the aforementioned reasons, the fundamental differentiation between new media and other media is usually conducted via the analog-digital separation. However, while “digital” describes the technological infrastructure of media which allows for the digital processing of data, the actual innovations brought to users through this digital processing of data is of greater significance. Three important changes in practical use following the technological transformation of the screen can be observed. The first may be defined as the screen becoming a simple, user-friendly visualization tool. This quality dates back to the Kodak company tradition of selling cameras that can be easily used by everyone. The main goal is to allow for anyone acquainted with basic media tradition to create moving and static images without any advanced technological knowledge. In accordance with this objective, screens have assumed the additional functions of potential visual recorders and playback devices. As such, the screen has become one of the basic communication components within the practices of daily life in the 21st century. As we fulfill nearly all our visual communication needs in our daily life through these screens, the surfaces that definitively offer the ease of recording and playback in digital technologies are new media screens. Yet another characteristic that the screen has accrued upon its existing conventions during its process of transformation is the portability of simple and easy-to-use imaging devices. Portability, as stated above, makes carrying different time and spaces everywhere through the use of screens’ visual representation. It enables experiencing real time and spatial dimensions in representational time and spatial dimensions. Therefore the new media screen eliminates the time and space limitations of conventional media. The fact that new media screens are developed upon the concept of sharing is a further differentiator between the new media screen and conventional media. This sharing becomes infinite when combined with current network technology. Today’s screen is also a network screen. Shares combining real world mixed content visual and audio together with network technology overcoming limitations of time and space have become the primary variables that shape today’s new media. This being the case, new media content has also undergone a transformation in the direction of the usage practices of sharing-focused screen use. There are significant differences regarding both technological underpinnings and usage practices between the sharing of video produced for television as a conventional media screen and those of new media screens. In this regard the screen is now more an electronic eye than a portrayal tool; yet most importantly it is a tool that allows for real-time visualization and imaging, and synchronously expressing and sharing. The transformation of the screen into an interactive field of information begins with its intersection with new media capabilities. The representational surfaces on the computer, which is one of the foremost devices of new media, are new media screens. These screens differ from conventional media in that they provide the visual communication required for the planning and continuation of the communication established between the user and computer throughout the process of interactivity. Therefore, the operational logic of all computer screens is based on interactivity; however as of the year 2010 this does not accurately describe what is understood by the term “interactive screen”. The 21st century technological equivalent of an interactive screen is the touchscreen. Interactive screen therefore denotes the manipulation of on-screen objects on electronic devices such as mobile phones and computers by touching the actual screens. In the 2010s, touchscreens have been utilized in many different fields, from mobile phones to cars; bank ATMs to complex industrial manufacturing processes. Touchscreens may be utilized for very diverse purposes such as informing, one-on-one communication, games, entertainment, mass communication, social media, music, mapping and navigation, photography and video applications, finance, education, and health-medicine-hospital applications. This process is the beginning of the process in which through the use of new media screens, the interactive screen generation is differentiating from the conventional screen generation by including the sense of touch along with sight and sound in the communication process. This new generation, which may be called the “screen generation”, is a generation that utilizes new media very differently from conventional media in unique ways and conducts their communication needs within their daily practices of life through these screens

Keywords

New Media, New Screen, Surfaces of Representation, Interface

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