Automation as a Means to Immediacy

As Bolter (p.25) mentions, "[a] third strategy for achieving transparency has been to automate the technique of linear perspective." To deconstruct this to a basic explanation and use the camera as an analogy, the camera automates the process of capturing a scene through a series of light based chemical reactions, or a light sensitive electronic sensor. It takes direct illustration of the scene out of the hands of the artists and puts it in the hands of another processing unit. The question of quality then becomes one of mastery of an external system rather than the individual's ability.

Manovich in his explanation of automation as a property of new media describes the automotive processes that modern technology can do which could lead to a 'perfect' realization of Immediacy,

"Other computer programs can automatically generate 3D objects such as trees, landscapes, human figures and detailed ready-to-use animations of complex natural phenomena such as fire and waterfalls. In Hollywood films, flocks of birds, ant colonies and crowds of people are automatically created by AL (artificial life) software." Manovich (p.53).

 

If the perfect realization of transparent immediacy is a state where the user does not recognise using tools at all, then in order to grant that illusion automation and variability have to reach a point where the options provided along with cause and effect are virtually limitless. For example, if we were to take a basic program such as 'Paint' and say wanted to seamlessly use it as if we were actually painting, what would happen if I wanted to take a drink of coffee? In order to provide actual seamless and total transparency we should be able to pick my coffee off the table and take a sip and place it back down without for example, deselecting the pencil tool. In order to do that, the computer would need to recognise the fact I have a coffee on the table and not render anything in the space it occupies and would also need to acknowledge the physicality of the object for manipulation of any images.

 

Ultimately the idea of completely transparent immediacy is impossible, as it would require instantaneous physical manifestations of objects. Physicality is a requirement of transparency defined as not breaking immersion.

 

 

 

Bibliography

Bolter, J.D., (2000). Remediation: Understanding New Media New Ed., MIT Press. (P.20-50)

Manovich, L. (2001). The language of new media. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.