An accessible guide to the wealth of media-making tools and processes in our contemporary world.

Today’s world offers no shortage of media for us to consume, and the ever-expanding array of available media has changed the way scholars think about its production and reception. Missing from these conversations about new media, however, is the maker—the one with the power to produce media from their own pocket.

In Material Media-Making in the Digital Age, Daniel Binns looks at the current media landscape in order to understand his own media practice. The result is a personal journey through media theory, history, and technology, furnished with practical lessons on the digital form for teachers, students, professionals, and enthusiasts. A refreshing combination of theory and practice written in a personal, engaging style, this book will enable readers to understand how a personal creative practice might unlock deeper thinking about media and its place in the world. 

Daniel Binns is a lecturer at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. He is the author of The Hollywood War Film: Critical Observations from World War I to Iraq, also published by Intellect. 

Introduction: Maker, material

1. Hollis, my smartphone, and me: Practical lessons from historic avant-garde cinema
2. Time Part I: From clip to continuity
3. Time Part II: From continuity to fluidity
4. Sound: From added-value to cohesion
5. Fragments: The remnants of media practice
6. Messy cinema: Casey Neistat and the affordances of the vlog
7. The GIF: Silent but digital
8. A purely digital form?: Streams and atmospheres
9. Dronopoetics: Telepresence and aerial cinematography

Coda: Lessons from the cutting-room floor