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Final Project Essay

According to Graham Meikle and Sherman Young, Media Convergence is the networked digital media that is incorporated into everyday life. They’ve concluded that there are three key elements that media convergence brought together, which in turn, has made it thrive: media content (Music, images, film, TV, radio, newspapers, etc.), computer hardware and software, and communications (Downloading, sharing, and connectivity) (Meikle and Young, pg. 14). Due to the inclusion of these three elements in social network media, media audiences today are becoming participators of media rather than just receivers of media. They are constantly changing, remixing, adapting, understanding and creating new works from previous works that they are fans of. As a result, this emergence of a new participatory culture blurs the line between audiences and producers.

An example of this participatory culture is the video I created for this project called, “’Shape of You’ By Ed Sheeran Compilation.” This compilation video contains various artists and creators who were influenced by the song, “Shape of You,” by Ed Sheeran and created their own original works to showcase not only their talents and abilities but to share their love of the song to many communities. I will list the videos, artists, and creators in the order that they appear in my video. First is the original music video for the song that was directed by Jason Koenig. He created a story based on Ed Sheeran and a female boxer becoming a couple while training in a boxing gym for a huge fight. As they become close, she leaves Sheeran a picture of a certain arena in his gym locker to find her there. Sheeran trains and makes it to the arena to find that he has to fight a sumo wrestler. He tries but fails to fight the wrestler in an inflatable sumo suit, but suddenly she appears, and the video ends with her almost kicking the sumo wrestler in the face. I show the music video throughout the course of my video as it is an artistic interpretation of the song and shows comparisons to other videos I incorporated. The next video is a choreography created by Lia Kim and was performed by members of the 1MILLION Dance Studio in Seoul, South Korea. After that is a mash-up video showing President Donald Trump singing “Shape of You” created by the YouTube channel, The Donald Sings. Next is a cover by South Korean musical artist, J.Fla. After the cover video is another choreography that was created by Kyle Hanagami and was performed by members of the Debbie Reynolds Legacy Dance Studio in North Hollywood, California. I wanted to incorporate both the choreography created by Lia Kim and Kyle Hanagami to show that these two well-known choreographers created two entirely different dances, but were both inspired by the same song. After Kyle Hanagami’s choreography video is a parody video of the music video created by the YouTube channel, The Key of Awesome. Next is another cover of the song created by the music group, Walk off the Earth. In this particular cover, they use household items and music pipes to create the music. This particular group is infamous for using out-of-the-box methods and “instruments” to create the music for their covers of popular songs. After the last cover video is another parody video that was created by YouTuber, Bart Baker. Again, I wanted to incorporate two different parodies to show that two different creators created two unique parodies from the same video. In the The Key of Awesome parody, the Ed Sheeran character pretty much sings about how the music video doesn’t really relate to the song “Shape of You.” In the Bart Baker parody, the Ed Sheeran character is basically stalking the female boxer and pretends to box so he can get her measurements. After the Bart Baker parody is a trap remix of the song by musical artist BKAYE. The last video is an acapella cover of “Shape of You,” created by YouTuber, Mike Tompkins.

All of these videos are the result of the creators’ and artists’ responses and meanings that they interpreted from Ed Sheeran’s hit song “Shape of You” (Meikle and Young, pg. 105) Each of them was inspired by the song to create their own version based on their talents and creative mindsets. Thus, by sharing these videos on a platform like YouTube, this gives audiences who are fans of Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” a new interpretation of the song. This, in turn, forms new interconnected communities who like Ed Sheeran, the various artists, and creators, and/or both. This also shows that audiences aren’t just receivers of media, but participatory creators that manipulate, juxtapose, combine, revise, adapt, and remake convergent environments (Meikle and Young, pg. 115).

CMM 350: Media Convergence Final Project

Here is my final project! Unfortunately, I had to download the trial version of the editing software that I used, which is why there will be a watermark present throughout the entire video. I hope you enjoy otherwise! Thank you!

Final Thoughts on Media Convergence

Before this class, my initial interpretation of Media Convergence was the ability to incorporate different forms of media for one cohesive task or goal. After learning about this topic through the readings of both Jenkins, Miekle and Young, Media Convergence is a long, ever-growing road filled with side roads and intersections. As new media outlets emerge, traditional media outlets are incorporating or merging new media into their business practices and ethics. This changes the relationship between technology, industries, markets, genres and consumers/audiences. Our society and culture are also greatly influenced as media convergence expands as well. Its influence blurs the line between audiences and producers, as well as how these audiences receive and interpret media. As this media convergence road still grows and expands, we still haven’t fully understood its power and how it has greatly shifted our culture and society in such a short period of time. I do believe, however, that media convergence is currently in its beginning stages. This means that through the course of its evolution, we can gradually begin to understand its influence on our society so that we can educate others about its power. That way our society can evolve with a better understanding of media convergence as a whole.

“System Failure” Response

Social Evolution and creativity are natural phenomena that we decided had to be regulated and controlled. This was an absurd decision as it is in our nature to be influenced by other people’s ideas so that we can copy, transform, and combine these ideas to make new ones. The only reason why I believe influential thinkers at the time claimed that ideas should be considered Intellectual Property was the fact that they didn’t want to get their own ideas stolen from others. They didn’t want to lose what they had already gained. As a result, this led to an untangled road where the government had to adapt to this idea by creating broader interpretations of the system, new legislation, new realms of coverage, and new rewards. Due to the changes, we now live in a society where if we adopt or change an original idea, we will constantly fear the potential lawsuit for copyright infringement. I understand that we have these rules in place for the deliberate copying of work for someone else’s monetary gain. However, to have constant million dollar lawsuits over songs that “sound similar” and the like seem unethical to me. Just because two songs sound alike, doesn’t mean that an artist deliberately copied another artist’s song. I have come across plenty of songs that sound similar, but each has their own creative interpretation. Why can’t we appreciate that? This is just one example, but there have been plenty of other instances where creators have been wrongfully brought to court in an attempt for someone else to get monetary “damages.” Hopefully, over time, our government will realize that we live in a world of remixes, file sharing, and the adapting and creating of original ideas so that they can create a better and more universal policy where we can incentivize creativity and return to the original concept of a public domain where we can appreciate all creativity and knowledge of the arts.

How I Watch TV!

When I was a kid, I was glued to the television. I would watch movies over and over again and would constantly watch Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network every chance I’d get. Even in the middle of the night when I couldn’t sleep, I would go downstairs to the living room and turn on Cartoon Network, not realizing that it was Adult Swim. Anything that would be on, I would watch. However, times have changed. Because of a busy life now and my addiction to YouTube, I don’t watch as much T.V. as I used to. I think this is unfortunate, considering I am an Audio/Radio, TV/Video double major. I should be watching more shows to be inspired and excited about the entertainment industry, as I will eventually enter the ever-growing industry after college. So to watch more shows, I usually rely on Netflix and Hulu. I like the fact that these streaming media have full seasons of shows so that I can watch whatever I want, whenever I want and not have to be worried about missing episodes when watching a show on live T.V. Personally when I would miss one episode of a show on live T.V., I would usually forget to watch what I missed, and then stop watching the show altogether. So I like the fact that with Netflix and Hulu, I could forget about a show but jump right back in from where I left off whenever I have time to watch. That is why, as a result of streaming media like Netflix and Hulu, I’ve become more of a passive viewer of television as opposed to when I was younger.

Digital Media has Changed Traditional Publishing

The term, “Participation,” has different meanings when it comes to different environments. Corporations believe that “participation” is a concept where they have complete control over. In contrast, consumers believe that “participation” is the right to integrate culture on their own terms (Jenkins, pg. 175). This means that while loyal fans of a book want to create a fan fiction, parody, a website that mimics the world of the book, fandom, etc., corporations believe that this is a violation against the owner’s or corporation’s intellectual property. However, the participation of media for fans and consumers has been very dominant due to the Internet and social media. Due to new technology constantly emerging and an increasing number of social media platforms, beloved fans of books are creating their content and displaying them at an increasing and easier rate. Thus, communities of fans emerge, enabling fans from around the globe to communicate with each other about how much they love the book and the fan-created work and inspire each other to create their own works. This causes a chain reaction that I don’t personally think corporations have control over anymore. If corporations that own the book forbid fans to participate in media and create their own works, fans will not stay fans for long, as they will believe corporations aren’t allowing them to express their love for the book. As a result, there needs to be a balanced set of guidelines for corporations to allow fans to communicate with each other and create content without violating their intellectual property (Jenkins, pg. 157). However, with the Internet and Social Media’s fast-growing nature, it may take a long period of time before this balance will ever be enforced.

Why did I not know about Lo-Fi!?!

Music is my life. I don’t leave home without my headphones. My favorite past time is listening to music. And when I have endless work to do, I keep my sanity by listening to music. However, I find that when it comes to doing work, I prefer listening to relaxing music so that I can stay focused and not distract myself with my favorite songs. I would usually listen to movie soundtracks, classical music or the occasional deep thought Spotify playlist. That is until I was introduced to Lo-Fi. One of my classmates suggested it to me during finals week last semester, and I’ve been hooked ever since. It helped me survive finals week and it has helped me stay in focus with work ever since. I keep telling myself, “WHERE HAS THIS BEEN ALL MY LIFE?!?!” It’s so good. There isn’t really a solid definition of what the lo-fi genre is, so I’ll give you a basic definition based on what I have listened to. Basically, it has repetitive hip-hop-ish beats that have relaxing piano, bass, guitar, etc. and embraces distortion, hum, background noise and/or low-frequency response. I just come to find that it keeps me relaxed in times of stress and it keeps me focused on the present moment. Rather than thinking and worrying about many different things at once, this music helps me stay on task and not worry as much. I just wish I found this a lot sooner because this music would’ve helped me out through a lot.

Anyway, one of the songs that I really like so far is called “Controlla,” by Idealism. Hopefully, for some of you, the title of the song should sound familiar to you. That is because this particular song is a remix of Drake’s song “Controlla” off of his album, Views. If you don’t know who Drake is, shame on you, look him up. I like the song in the fact that it brings a whole new perspective and vibe to the popular song. At first, I didn’t even recognize that the lo-fi song was a remix but that it did sound familiar. Then when the chorus came, it clicked and I was shocked. I never imagined that the sexy, beat-heavy song that I was familiar with could have a relaxed, more delicate tone to it. It’s great to see that people have that creative mindset to create something original from a mainstream song. This shows that due to new technologies and outlets on the Internet, people can now create and display their passion and creativity for other people to enjoy and be inspired.

“Controlla” by Idealism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_eD_QOTv-U

“Controlla” by Drake

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6f-npV9ZsQ

Stranger Fruit

I am a huge fan of Stranger Things. So much so that when the second season was about to air, my housemates and I went to Target to get Stranger Things’ shirts so we get ourselves excited for the premiere. One of my housemates and I even dressed up as Eleven and Barb for Halloween this past year! The second season was a fantastic comeback from a year hiatus. However, that’s beside the point. I didn’t know that I would become such a huge fan until me and my housemate watched the pilot of the show and then decided to watch the rest of the season in one night. We are that obsessed to the point when they announced that a third season was in the works, we freaked out for a good hour.

Now I have also been a huge fan of the acapella group, Pentatonix, for far longer than Stranger Things. For those of you who don’t know, they were an acapella group that auditioned for the singing competition show, The Sing-Off, and eventually won on the show’s third season. After that, they began making videos of themselves performing different songs on YouTube. After one of their videos (”The Evolution of Music”) became viral, they became Internet and mainstream sensations. Currently, they have eight albums, two of which are Christmas albums, and have been on many tours. I think they give a fresh take to popular songs and have beautiful tracks on their original albums. They are talented and extremely likable. So when I found out two of the members of the group (Scott Hoying and Mitch Grassi) created a YouTube channel called Superfruit, I was excited to see them in a different perspective besides them just performing beautiful ballads.

One of the videos that they posted on their channel was called “Stranger Things in 3 Minutes.” It’s a fan film/parody that pays homage to their favorite show, Stranger Things. They dress up as the characters, re-enact the first season in three minutes and provide dirty, slapstick comedy as opposed to the very serious show. Highly recommend that you should watch that video, but the bloopers as well. Both are linked down below.

This just goes to show that Scott and Mitch are showing their love for the show by making this awesome video. They also add their own flare into the mix to show a funnier side of the more serious-toned sci-fi horror. Not only did they expand their fan base by showing that they are fans of the show, but they made themselves more personable than they already were. They created a community where fans of the show and fans of the channel can connect with each other. They have also potentially influenced fans of the channel who have never heard of or watched the show, to go out of their way to watch it so that they can relate to the video; otherwise, they would have spoiled the entire first season by watching the video. It also shows that amateur YouTubers can now create this kind of content through editing software and other technology that is now provided on the Internet. In short, this video is the result of participatory culture because fans of Stranger Things decided to make the video to pay homage to one of their favorite shows while giving us a different and original perspective of the show.

“Stranger Things in 3 Minutes”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FNMaL6iBQQ

“Stranger Things Bloopers”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU3cLDTN0Mg

dav-19

Mononoketale~

No Phones Allowed

When it comes to watching movies or TV shows, I want to be fully engulfed in the movie. I want to see its plot progress. I want to empathize with the characters. I want to be enraged or filled with tears. I want to imagine myself in the movie. I CAN’T DO THAT WITH A PHONE. You can’t be fully invested in a movie if you’re on another device in any given setting. Whether we are in a theater or at home, we cannot multitask. As we try so many times, it’s just not in our nature. So, whether you are on the phone at home, or lighting it up in a public movie theater, you will not remember a majority of the movie. Thank god movie theaters have the notice to put your phones away before the movie starts. It’s telling you that you’re going to miss out and waste your money if you don’t put the phone away. To that I say, when I doubt, PUT IT AWAY.

Cinema and YouTube

I believe one form of integration between traditional media and social media is the one between the Movie Industry and YouTube. I believe that nowadays, movies have to rely on advertising on social media platforms in order to get massive crowds into the theatre. I know for me, I constantly look at the “Trending” video on YouTube because most new movie trailers usually end up there. I have also been noticing all the views for said trailers. Most of them are in the millions. I believe this is the fact that the movie industry heavily relies on the users on YouTube so that they can share the trailer with other users who would be interested in the movie. I also believe that views on YouTube and other social media platforms have a more accurate reading of views than say on the Television. I feel that a lot of factors have to be taken into account for an accurate number of views when viewers watch Television. For example, some people “watch TV” while they do other tasks around the house. So even though the Television is on, the people “watching” may not be as invested as to what’s on. There is also the fact that even though there could be one television in the house, more than one person may be watching at the same time. However, with convergent media devices and platforms that are geared to the individual viewer, there is the likely chance that the many views on social media are the result of many individuals on their own devices watching the trailer and later sharing the trailer to other individuals. As a result, the views on YouTube show a more accurate reading as to who will end up in the theaters to watch the upcoming movie. In short, I believe that the integration of the movie industry and social media platforms have been successful for the industry to get massive crowds into the theatre and give an accurate representation of views on their trailers and other forms of advertising.

Hope you love this meme that we’ve all been guilty of! :)

Interactivity Through YouTube

Because I don’t have a Twitter, I didn’t know what I was going to do to answer the question, what does interactivity mean to me. Then, I discovered live events on YouTube. This is when YouTube channels post a live video and live stream for an important event or just for fun. One of the channels that posted a live stream was ChillCow. This channel plays LoFi hip-hop music that is meant to help with relaxing and studying. While the music is playing, the live stream provides a live chat where listeners can chat while listening to the relaxing beats. I've listened to this video before, especially during finals week during this past semester. So while I listened to the music this week, I decided to chat with the people who were also tuned in to the video, saying that I loved the fact that these videos have helped me focus throughout finals week. After I sent that post, so many people agreed with me, saying that these videos were their go to for studying, focusing and relaxing. It made me so humbled to know that other people listen to the kind of music played in the video to help them with studying too. It made me realize that Interactivity for me is having a conversation with other people on different platforms so that we can form a community built on the same interests. That way we can all feel like we are all a part of something because we like the same interests or completely understand each other when we listen to a kind of music when studying.

#community #live #interactivity #chillcow #lofi hip hop #music

What Traditional Outlet Has Embraced Media Convergence?

When we think of traditional media outlets, we would typically come up with television, radio, and newspapers. All three nowadays have embraced media convergence, but one I want to specifically talk about is radio. I believe that radio has embraced media convergence because if they didn’t incorporate it, radio stations wouldn’t be relevant otherwise. I feel that in order to have an engaged radio audience now, radio stations need to have their identities on social media and have interactive events so that they are relevant to the current digital age and still have a loyal fanbase. For example, a radio station that I love to listen to is New York City’s Z100. This station has a college student-adult demographic that particularly plays today’s top hits. They also have various radio shows to listen to including Elvis Duran and the Z100 Morning Show. This station has specifically embraced media convergence by making the station available to listen on other media outlets, like the IHeartRadio website and app. They also have various social media accounts, like a Facebook and Twitter page, to keep their followers up-to-date on events and contests they have going on. Lastly, they have also just recently embraced filming their radio shows and posting them on their social media and YouTube pages. I believe they are doing that to not only keep their loyal fans engaged in the station but also gain new fans of the station because of their new platforms. In short, I believe that if radio continues to embrace media convergence, they will stay relevant in our ever-changing culture.

How has News Media Changed due to Media Convergence?

News Media has changed tremendously with the involvement of media convergence. Some examples include having the news available on many different platforms, like on social media and the Internet, and incorporating subscriptions of news onto many different convergent media devices. However, I think the greatest change of News media thanks to Media Convergence is the emergence of user-generated content (USG), or citizen journalism. Because convergent media is now digital and networked, viewers and readers have more of a say, making news a conversation instead of a reiteration. This means that through the use of convergent media devices, average people can become key sources for creating news media content; thus, blurring the lines between reporters, sources, and audiences (Meikle, Young, pg 55). For example, if someone witnessed an incident and took a picture or video of the said incident, that could potentially be a key piece of evidence for a future news story. Viewers and readers also have the ability to comment on news stories, whether to share more information that they would know is relevant to the story or if they just want their opinion to be heard. Before the integration of convergent media devices, the only way to build conversations between the readers and the editor was through restricted letters. Now through social media and the comment section underneath online news stories, not only are viewers are more engaged in the story by having the ability to have their voices heard, but they can also build a connection and conversation between them and the editors and journalists of the stories. Below is a link to a recent article about the President’s relationship with Russia from the New York Times. This article has been on their website for only a day, and it already has over 900 comments. This goes to show how news is now evolving to incorporate viewers and reader’s comments so that new information and opinions can be included in the story.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/30/us/politics/how-fbi-russia-investigation-began-george-papadopoulos.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

ming85

Been rewatching Avatar and still have so much love for these characters. I enjoy thinking of Iroh meeting Zuko’s dragon, sometime after The Search. It would be a nice way of bringing the symbolism of the dragons in their story come full circle.

go90

“I did everything for you. Because that’s what you do when someone makes you feel as alive as you made me feel.” Kobe Bryant, ‘Dear Basketball’ We are excited to announce the launch of Kobe Bryant’s Dear Basketball today! Directed by Academy-Award winning Disney animator, Glen Keane, and scored by Oscar Award winning composer, John Williams, Kobe Bryant’s Dear Basketball animated short is his farewell love letter to Basketball. The hand-drawn animated film speaks to the heart of Kobe’s love, passion and a six-year-old’s dream fulfilled as he closes the chapter on his 20-year NBA career.

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Meghan Marshall