Applied Media Research - Henry Jenkins

Center for Storytelling is made up of a network of storytelling specialist who aim to assess the field of storytelling. They held a conference in June last year in which Henry Jenkins talks about 'Partizipatives Storytelling', the video is a bit long but definitely worth a watch:

Digital Media Cultures Essay

Now that the majority of the lectures for this module have been given it's time to set the questions for the essay and pick one... Scary.


Here's the list we have to choose from:

1. How are public service broadcasters responding to the challenges of the contemporary media industry?
2. 'Developments in digital technology are democratising the media industry' discuss.
3. Choose one area of the cultural industry and assess the impact that the Internet has had on the way that particular industry operates.
4. Outline and discuss the shifts in the relationship between producer, text and audience. Your work should acknowledge recent theoretical shifts in audience studies.
5. Analyse the impact of formats on the TV industry. Your essay should also analyse debates that relate to the potential social and cultural impact of formats on audiences.
6. Analyse the relationship between developments in media and the processes of globalisation.
7. 'The pursuit of profit has become the driving force in the development of media and has ultimately ha a negative impact upon culture' discuss.
8. Outline and discuss the impact Apple have had on the contemporary media industry.
9. Choose one area of the media industry and assess how the shift from analogue to digital has impacted upon the industry.

As I've said before I'm such an indecisive person, I can never make my mind up and when I do I worry if I've chosen wrong, and picking an essay topic was not something I wanted to do wrong! I didn't want to pick a question that I had little interest in because I would struggle to come up with 2000 words and would get bored doing so, the choice was tough.

I narrowed the ones I liked the best down to question 1,2 and 5. 

Question 1 appealed to me because well as cheesy as it sounds I love Public Services Broadcasters like the BBC, the fact that unlike so many other companies and people in the world they have to do whats best for the people in the country, they have to comply with their remit.. And they do, they produce some amazingly good pieces of TV. Think of how innovatively crazy Doctor Who is or how captivating series such as Frozen Planet are, especially when you compare them to such shows as TOWIE. I think it would be a real shame if this country lost PSB. Answering that question would be something I would actually enjoy researching into.. And that's saying a lot because research is something I dislike.... That said, I'm really gravitating towards looking into PSB for my dissertation and so I thought it was best to leave that, rather than repeat myself this year and the next!

Question 2 has so much to talk about with the fact that anyone can be a film-maker or a journalist nowadays. Apps allow ordinary people to create things that we're possible before and there's a genuine shift in how the worlds working. But while there is a lot to talk about, there's not much in this question to keep me interested.

Question 5 however is a subject that until recently I wouldn't have even thought about, I'm not sure what it is but I have a genuine fascination with Formats and why they're so popular with people (not just broadcasters) over gripping dramas. It's a subject I would look into regardless of having to do an essay but what perfect reasoning than to write about it as well.

So there it is, question 5 is the winner... Time to start researching.

Applied Media Research - How Storytelling is Changing

Here's a brilliant website I stumbled upon featuring a 9 part video series all about how storytelling is changing, including interviews with Henry Jenkins! It's definitely worth a watch..

How Storytelling is Changing

Filming for TV Studio

Filming the Interview/Demo

So we got through it, how i'm not sure but we did and it went perfectly - sort of. Like I've said before the interview had already been scripted and perfected so we got through that really well and quickly, plus the set looked amazing, it all fitted so well... The hard part was the demo. Ambrose couldn't bring the instruments for the demo until the day before, but then he had to leave, meaning we had to set the demo up AND script it on the day! It was incredibly stressful trying to co-ordinate it all but somehow we got it done and it looked really good! I'm so proud of how well our team worked together.

Filming the Music

For the music shoot all we had to do was pick a song and script it, the set would be done for us. The band TJ & Murphy played us some of the songs to pick from and we chose 'Michigan', its tempo fit well with the rest of our show. All that was left to do was script it which wasn't that hard. On the day I was actually in the gallery giving the boys who presented a chance to work camera. Honestly being in the gallery is nerve racking, more so for Amy who has to cut it all together. But I had to tell her which camera was next, tell the guys on camera to change shot etc, trying to keep up with it all was stressful but surprising fun. I can not wait to see the final piece all put together,

But if you can't wait till then, here's the song we chose:

History of Storytelling

In order to figure out how storytelling will change, we first need to understand its history! Rather than bore you with a list of facts, I found a short, interesting little video that does it for me. ENJOY :)

Applied Media Research - Storytelling

After choosing to research into the question set by the Digital Fiction Factory, I first looked at some of the examples he gave us in terms of media that allows for audience participation. 

One that stuck out to me was 'Bear71', I found the story really interesting but I enjoyed that I had control of how I viewed the content. I also found 'The Beauty Inside' interesting with the fact it was a different person playing the same character but I can't decided if I like it, I think I like the idea but it's just so unusual that it's different people!

Anyway here are some of the examples:

• Britain in a Day - On the 12th November 2011, thousands of people in the UK recorded part of their day and uploaded the footage to YouTube. Hundreds of them were chosen to create a documentary for BBC Two: Britain in a Day.

• This Exquisite Forest - This Exquisite Forest is an online collaborative art project that  allows users to create short animations that build off one another to create a branch like structure.
• Bear 71 - Bear 71 is the true story of a female grizzly bear monitored by wildlife conservation officers.
• Alice for the iPad - An interactive version of the Alice in Wonderland book.

• Take This Lollipop - An interactive horror short film and Facebook app which uses the Facebook Connect application to bring viewers themselves into the film, through use of pictures and messages from their own Facebook profiles.

• The Beauty Inside - A film which gives the audience a chance to play the lead role.
• The Well - A multi-platform horror drama with 4 TV episodes and a true-to-show game running alongside.

TV Studio Meeting

Our show is finally coming together and it's making me so excited/nervous. Today we got so much done, we sorted out everything from the set to the interview!

Set wise we've decided we want something different from the usual living room feel you get with chat shows, we want something that fits well with Channel 4.. Our set designer came up with some great ideas. We decided on a black background with 3 brick covered panels. As we have two presenters we decided to use two armchairs that Phoebe owns for them to sit in, we liked he fact it separated them and showed their clashing personalities, for the interviewee we have a black couch - which we'll add some cushions too to give it some life. We also want a TV monitor between the couch and chairs, helping to join them together to show the connection, it also is a good way to displace the logo of the show and the images we have to display. Under the monitor we have a table with some ornaments including a metal camera and a photo frame containing a cat, while random they fit well with the uniqueness of the two presenters. And that's it really for the set, we wanted it to stay as minimal as possible!

As for the show name I came up with a few suggestions and we chose 'The Alternative Lunch', it may seem quite plain but I like the fact that it says exactly what it is.. If you want something different from everything else then come to watch this! I like the fact our set always reflects the name in keeping with an 'alternative' theme.

Lighting we didn't want to bright and decided on a warm yellow to have on the presenters and interviewee to highlight them, while the background was light with a warm orange to give it a warm, inviting feel.

We even completed the interview script, all that's left to do is sort the demo, while Ambrose is letting us use the instruments he can't bring us them until the day before the shoot and so we won't know how it's set up to be filmed until then, it's daunting to leave it so late, but everything else is going so well I have high hopes for this, I think it's going to go really well!

Collecting Content for Beyond the Camera

Today was the day I was dreading.. 5am start to collect footage for Beyond the Camera, getting up this early is probably the most dedication I've given to uni! I am so proud of my group for sticking to our schedule and getting the majority of the footage we needed. Our next step is to capture, put it into some sort of sequence and figure out what we're missing so we can have everything we need to complete the sequence. During the day I look charge of collecting the sound, Stevie in charge of the images and Josie in charge of the filming, we worked really well together and kept a look out for any other sounds/images we could use while we were out. Walking around we found places that represent the city to capture such as the 'Ferry across the Mersey' and the Liver Building and even some unique shots such as the Liverpool One fountains which visually and audibly are amazing.

Applied Media Research - Choosing a Question

It's come to that time where I need to choose a question to research into for this module. I really struggled to pick one, i'm indecisive at the best of times. Straight away I knew I didn't want to do the question set by Onteca, it just did not appeal to me at all, and if something doesn't interest me I don't feel I work as hard.

This left me to decide between the question from Digital Fiction Factory and Nine Lives Media, both had good aspects of appeal. With Nine Lives the notion of a second screen experience was something I already used and experienced and finding out why people turn to second screen did seem appealing. But the question from the Digital Fiction Factory had something new, a new form of storytelling to explore and understand.

I chose to go with the Digital Fiction Factory question, I liked the idea of a challenge, while I wasn't as aware of new storytelling experiences as I was with second screen, I was intrigued to find out and learn. But also, storytelling is a part of everyday life, I love how storytelling varies from a conversation, to a book or a film and how you can get sucked into this other little word. Reading books is one of my favourite things to do, I find it relaxing and the thought of a new form coming along and challenging this peaked my interested. Understanding this and seeing what the future holds had more appeal to me than second screen. While I'm not a fan of research, I am excited to see what I can uncover from this question.