“The Language of New Media” by Manovich explains the five essential principles of New Media. Throughout the first chapter, “What’s New Media?” argued that New Media is not only about the computer and advanced technology but it is the gradual evolution based upon the such as traditional black and white photography from a book. There are so many forms of New Media that it’s impossible to mention that one form is better than the other. One of the principles of New Media that I really like is “Automation ” which means manipulation. Whenever I hear the word manipulation, I am immediately reminded of Photoshop. With such an advanced program, you are capable of doing many things such as altering the lighting of the picture, changing the colors and even distorting it with special tools. One quote that captured my attention regarding the principle of Automation is ” In Hollywood films, flocks of birds, ant colonies , crowds of people are automatically created by AL ( Artificial Life) software. No wonder why I was always bewildered by many films that succeeded in making the film realistic and appealing to the audience. Three D movies are especially relying on this program so it could make it fantastical and exciting. One film that I was drawn to was “I Am Legend” starring Will Smith. It was filmed in New York City, one of the most populous cities , so it was impossible to have no people exist throughout the movie. The creator had to include artificial events to make it work by adding a broken Brooklyn bridge and a empty city through meticulous skills. This can be also named as special effects. Overall, I learned a lot from this section about the different views of depicting New Media Arts.
