In the final tutorial for Networked I spoke to Hugh about the relevance of Communications Histories and Technologies. I found it interesting that he touched on the subject as I have often related Networked and Comms in regards to how the printing press has developed and been remediated to a new, modern digital and online format that is applicable to contemporary society and therefore, Networked Media. In particular, I was interested in the concept of remediation studied in Comms and how this is applicable to the notion of spatial montage given older media technologies such as multiple graphic user interfaces, video games and television news reports have refashioned traditional modes of cinema.

The alteration of older forms of media to create new digital media is demonstrated through the concept of spatial montage, or the split screen technique that is continuously developing within cinema. Old forms of media can be utilised to remediate film narrative by viewing multiple screens within a single frame. This is becoming more prevalent within contemporary society and whilst no full feature length film is yet to be made using the concept, it has appeared frequently as a convention in comic book adaption films. Moreover, the new media artwork, My boyfriend came back from the war by Olia Lialina (1996) exemplifies how this non-linear form of narrative is applicable to film given it constructs a visual narrative on multiple screens, fostering audience active participation in cinema.

Spatial montage is a termed coined by Lev Manovich who outlines that “spatial montage could involve a number of images, potentially of different sizes and proportions, appearing on the screen at the same time to construct a non-linear narrative” (2001). This concept stems from contemporary societies subjection to dense information surfaces. Furthermore, our ability to “switch our attention rapidly from one program to another, from one set of windows and commands to another illustrates that we find multiple streams of audio-visual information presented simultaneously more satisfying than the single narrative stream of traditional cinema” (Manovich 2001). Ultimately, the multiple screens presented through older forms of media such as the multiple graphic user interfaces on computers, video games and television news report have been refashioned and implemented within cinema to create a new viewing experience.”

Why is it your favourite? 

My body: A Wunderkammer by Shelley Jackson was particularly interesting as it provided visual material to assist in directing and conveying its narrative. Given the nature of our visual culture, I feel it is necessary for most hypertext essays to offer a textual but more importantly, a visual experience as well. Jackson’s drawings were both personal, intimate and artistic that correlated closely to the overall tone/experience of the piece written in the first person. Additionally, from my own personal experience when using the internet, these images were successful in capturing the viewers attention for longer amounts of time than the other three examples. Jackson acknowledges that people have reduced attention spans on the Internet and by providing visual material we are able to explore her narrative more quickly and easily. Moreover, this was also assisted by the personal anecdotes that could be enjoyed and interpreted regardless of your knowledge and your position in the text.

What characteristics in this work would you adopt for your own hypertext essay?

From this work I would adopt the visual characteristics that assist in maintaining the viewers attention whilst providing a more aesthetically pleasing and artistic experience. Additionally, I would adopt smaller paragraphs much like the ones Jackson uses to further maintain my viewers’ attention span. Unfortunately, given the academic nature of our own hypertext essays it would be difficult to adopt a personal tone but for future reference this is a convention I would definitely utilises as it is more captivating and understandable.

There was a slight confusion between me and this blog exercise. I apologise in advanced Hugh. I accidentally thought we were meant to adopt one of our own blog entries and write about it. So, when you stumble upon an entry about Robert Altman and spatial montage with a big description about it underneath ignore that or hook me up with a few extra points.

Upon this next entry, I have chosen to adopt a food blog titled, The Stone Soup. I’m very much accustomed to sticking to film blogs such as /Film throughout the day but when it hits 6:30pm I’m usually all over this blog to gage ideas on what I can eat and how I can cook it. What is most appealing about this blog is not only its content but also its visual textures. The title of the blog adopts a somewhat medieval style that fits well with the concept of stone soup, an old folk story about hungry strangers who persuade local towns people to give them food. A pleasant image of a hip cartoon rhubarb is situated next to the title, uniting the concept of stone soup with fresh, easy and healthy meals that can be shared between many people. Moreover, the text used throughout the blog is bold and well spaced, making it ten times more easy to comprehend instructions when your laptop is positioned on the kitchen table and you’re 2 metres away stirring a pot and adding a teaspoon of brown sugar.

This blog incorporates multiple images and videos that makes your cooking experience far more advanced than looking at a cook book. The images of the meals are gigantic making them incredibly appealing and difficult to choose. Moreover, the list of ingredients are visually shown and the cooking methods are actually presented through video clips. And given the personal tone of the blog writing here, you’re easily convinced that these recipes (which they are) come straight from the heart of Jules Clancy and as a result, must be incredible.

The blog possesses a number of easily comprehensible and diverse categories from which you can search for food based on whether it includes meat, eggs, tofu etc or the location of where it is cooked. Additionally, the comments people leave are incredibly exciting and offer further information and ratings of the specified meals.

Overall, the experience of this blog is fresh, crisp and almost cleansing inspiring healthy eating. Everything looks immaculate and the photographs are sharp and bright to make the food look appealing. This is further endorsed through the white background of the blog. The blogs content is informative and casual, and thankfully, it is not bombarded with multiple outlandish advertisements. The most you see here is the promotion of a cook book that actually makes you want to by it.

This blog is highly recommended, 8/10 blog stars.

In the cinema of Robert Altman, every sound is dubbed in post production. Regularly, characters’ dialogue is overlaid to construct multitrack sounds that correlate closely to his panoramic camera. Altman’s camera is often omnipresent as it surveys various different character situations or merely gazes off to focus on an item with little to no importance in furthering the film’s narrative.

Altman’s films, in particular that of 3 Women (1977), MASH (1970) and Gosford Park (2001) illustrate an overt parallel with Manovich’s concept of spatial montage and spatial narrative. The presence of multitrack sounds and use of panorama offer the audience an opportunity to decide upon the character they wish to listen to and whom they decide to watch. In this case Altman utilises an “audio montage”, a term I coin in relation to this blog entry.

Spatial montage offers us an immersive or active experience through the medium of film. Similarly to how Altman defied the conventional methods of film practice and narrative in the 1970s, spatial montage has created its own movie brat pack in contemporary society, offering the public another alternative genre and/or viewing experience in cinemas. The interactive viewing experience offered by spatial montage is reflected in Altman’s layered audio that enables the viewer or listener to decide on the voice they wish to focus on. As a result this furthers the viewer’s own knowledge as to what is occurring in the narrative, or the sub-narratives that simultaneously occur between characters. Certainly, Altman’s large ensemble casts permit the director to create as many plot lines as possible within his films, offering the viewer multiple choices and points of interest.

In his article Manovich outlines that…

“spatial montage or spatial narrative had played a prominent role in European visual culture for centuries. From Giotto’s fresco cycle at Capella degli Scrovegni in Padua to Courbet’s ‘A Burial at Ornans,’ artists presented a multitude of separate events within a single space, whether the fictional space of a painting or the physical space that can be taken in by the viewer all at once. In the case of Giotto’s fresco cycle and many other fresco icon cycles, each narrative event is framed separately, but all of them can be viewed together in a single glance.”

Altman’s films are often compared to large canvases from which he paints with motion. Similarly to the spatial narratives present in the classical art works listed above, Altman constructs his own spatial narratives through his characters that appear simultaneously on screen. These classical canvas forms of art that Altman draws on, or lyrically paints through his camera lens are intertextually referenced within his film MASH (1970). There is a scene within MASH that depicts the cast of doctors and nurses having a last supper for a character who intends to commit suicide. Altman positions his cast to resemble da Vinci’s, The Last Supper that forms as a self-conscious reference to his own form of cinema that corresponds to a canvas painting. Whilst also creating an overt link between the character who intends to commit suicide and Jesus, but this is the point of least significance being made here.

When reflecting on my Annotated Bibliography it causes me grief that I failed to mention Robert Altman and how his cinema closely relates to that of spatial montage in my personal experience blog.

It successfully illustrates how I am combining the features of this course with outside material, combining the conventions of Robert Altman with the concept of spatial montage discussed in lectures. Additionally, I have incorporated a number of links and images in this entry to ensure that readers can successfully understand my entry by looking up terms that may seem foreign to them. This blog entry also captures my blog tone quite well. It verges in-between a formal and semi-formal tone that suits my writing style, and is a tone I’m more comfortable writing in. Moreover, the blog entry constructs a clear idea that is reinforced through imagery and also the use of examples. Additionally, this entry gives me the opportunity to write about my all time favourite director, reveal his obscure conventions and draw on a scene from MASH, that I would usually have only had the opportunity to speak about briefly in a conversation where people probably would not have found it that interesting. Plus, it also expresses a number of points surrounding Altman that can be elaborated and worked upon in further blog entries. Overall, this blog present a good and flowing structure that is easily comprehensible (in my opinion).