Essay

Professional amateurs.
Question 3
Digital media has greatly impacted various ‘professionals’ in their line of creative work, as certain programs and software allows the amateur to achieve similar high standards. ‘Professionals’ claim their title by demonstrating a very high level of skill in their creative field, achieved through rigorous study and years of trial and error. Every area of creative work requires a specific focus and level of understanding.
With the emergence of digital media came a new opportunity to condense years of work into simple programs designed for the everyday amateur. Programs such as pain shop allows the user to become a digital artist creating complex artwork, advertorials, airbrushed photography, cartoons etc. Paint shop is becoming more and more popular with computer users especially for creating professional photographs. So where does this leave professional photographers? With such a craze for amateur photography, how do we recognise the difference? Such photography and digital artwork were seen as rare and sparked a sense of wonder. Unfortunately, we are becoming desensitised once we learn how to create similar works ourselves. This makes it very difficult for aspiring photographers to prove themselves in a world where everyone knows their secrets. Professional photographers charge hundreds of dollars for black and white portraits, airbrushed and tweaked to create flawless images. However with programs such as paint shop, we can evidently do all of the tweaking at home. A similar impact has been felt by film makers. With programs such as imovie, amateurs can create short films easily and quickly. The software includes a simple editing process, frames are moved around by dragging the mouse , music tracks are added through itunes, text can be added and the movie is easily exported onto websites such as youtube. The entire process takes no longer than an hour and the quality is of a fairly high standard. Such programs allow users to creatively express themselves easily and without any major costs. The software was designed for personal use, but has no restrictions for commercial operation. Although it lacks some elements and is fairly simple, users can almost get away with a professional video. The process of editing a film is dedicated to entire degrees and careers, so what happens when programs such as imovie become more advanced? Potentially telling the user what shot to use next, suggestions for each frame or an automatic editing process. Where does this leave professionals? And what does this mean for amateurs?
“Today, with the growth of user-generated content sites like Twitter, YouTube, or DeviantArt, amateur culture is suddenly amplified, to the point where it's changing the fundamental dynamics of media production and consumption. With their unique genres and aesthetics, these amateur digital media creations represent cultures of innovation keyed to today's collaborative and social media landscape.” (Uhr, H 2009)
The social media landscape mentioned by Uhr is seen to benefit from contributions by amateurs, constantly redefining the dynamics of technology and digital culture. Our consumption of digital media has evolved to include amateur information and creations as valued content.

Such programs are designed and created by professionals for the amateur. The creators utilise their ability and understanding of the creative work and manufacture an easy to use version, and in a tech-savy age the programs are mastered promptly. We have already seen the effects of evolving technology on other aspects of living. Socially we prefer to engage online on social networking sites, something once feared and apprehended by society now dominates every household worldwide. We seem to adjust to these changes as we try and keep up with new technologies confronting our daily life. The reality of amateurs and professionals working side by side is fast approaching. However amatuers generally utilise these programs for fun, to share with friends and to amuse themselves. The idea of making a profit out of their work without establishing formal training or education seems unrealistic. Film makers will hire formally trained editors, the public will hire professional photographers and artwork will be highly scrutinised before it is sold by an amateur using paint shop. It appears for now the professional is somewhat safe. The merits of a degree, or formal training is still viewed as vital within our community and education is still the driving force behind employment.
“Opportunity and desire alone do not professional historians or journalists or pundits make. There's this process known as "learning your craft" and "paying your dues" that all professionals must endure. Sorry, but trolling the web and blogging from your darkened study doesn't qualify as on-the-job training.” Long, T 2007)
Long takes the approach that certain amateur sites are established to encourage creativity and personal touches within that particular site sharing with fellow amateurs, a sort of digital play pen. He believes this is the only fair outlet for amateurs who are yet to accomplish any recognized abilities. It is fair to be apprehensive about amateurs being able to publish anything on the internet leaving it to the discretion of the reader to believe the content, however without amateur sites encouraging online activity, cyberspace may very well be an empty space.
Amateurs are regarded as amateurs for a reason, they are not recognised as professionals in their field. It is important that programs exist for amateurs to harness their creativity and build vital skills for the world of technology. Without programs breaking up technical talk society won’t be capable of keeping up with the vast technical developments and we will see a loss of interest and support.
It is vital for our media landscape to maintain a balance between professional and amateur content. Amateurs have never been so supported with their ideas and creations, there are more outlets for creativity then ever before. Amateurs have the opportunity to learn from professionals, and really refine their skills with supportive software and programs. However, these programs do not give amateurs the years of experience acquired by the pros and so their education continues. It is important that amateurs continue to explore the realms of digital media, to redefine its content and to adapt to the evolving digital world.




Uhr, H 2009, Amateur Innovation: Creative Production in the Emerging Digital Media Landscape. www.telekomtrendforum.de/trendforum/en/program/show/47, viewed: 19/10/09
Long, T 2007, Internet Smackdown: The Amateur vs. the Professional, www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/commentary/theluddite/2007/06/luddite_0621, viewed: 19/10/09
Paint Shop Pro: a complete photo-editing software solution, www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/us/en/Product/1184951547051#versionTabview=tab1&tabview=tab0 viewed: 19/10/09
Ilife09, Movies that aren’t a production, http://www.apple.com/ilife/imovie/, viewed on 19/10/09