Read:
Obviously vidding has been around for a while now. The videos shown here are all from 2008 - now it's 2012, an incredibly long time in terms of online popularity. Still, the Facebook Vidding page clearly indicates that there are ongoing contributions, linked on a regular basis.
Looking at Vidder.net I found out in the 'about'-page, that vidders are mostly female.
Cucco, M. (2009). The promise is great: the blockbuster and the Hollywood economy. Media, Culture and Society, 31(2), 215-230. (Available through library's electronic databases)
Summary of essential conclusions (citations):
As Douglas Gomery recalls: ‘Jaws was not the first film sold by and through broadcast television, but its million-dollar success proved that that strategy was the one that would redefine Hollywood through saturation advertising’ (1998: 51)
In everyday usage the word ‘blockbuster’ is usually used in a derogatory way, referring to a worthless film that restates something that has already been seen. That is not completely off the mark, even though there is the risk of underestimating the strategic complexity of the production and distribution of these movies. First of all, blockbusters are born from US popular culture and their target is the mass public, with few artistic-expressive expectations. They are films which appeal to feelings and primary emotions, with charac- ters and situations able to enthrall emotionally, whose stories give universal messages. The narrative construction is usually simple, not highly innovative or revolutionary in content and apolitical.
The use of special effects tries to push for- ward the visible, displayable and imaginable boundary, and the trailer of the film tries to enter into an agreement with the members of the public, asking them to watch the film to see to what extent the film-makers have dared to push their ability. It’s a promise of novelty dictated by conservatism, where novelty means the use of technology because there is no advancement in the themes, content and style.
The identity of a high-concept movie is simple and easily communicable since it is designed around the public’s taste and market research. Its funda- mental features are the simplification of characters and narration, and a close relationship between image and sound. As already explained, blockbusters usually give more importance to special effects than to narration because the former can intensify the spectacularity.
Avoiding qualitative debate:
By showing the film in many theatres at the same time, the number of people who watch a movie without reading reviews or hearing opinions beforehand increases. As De Vany put it, these movies depend on the so-called ‘uninformative informa- tion cascade’. Moreover, they are usually defined hit and run as they earn a lot of money when they come out in theatres but disappear from programming in a few weeks.
While reviews are not a particularly serious threat, because some studies have demonstrated that their effects on revenues are fairly limited (Eliashberg and Shugan, 1997) and that they are directed at adults who are not the blockbuster’s main target, word-of-mouth is a different matter. The danger of this lies in its unpredictability and ungovernability.
However, he can also decide to join the argument, to turn it around and pull potential movie-goers to the cinema. For instance, The Da Vinci Code devised a clever policy to accentuate (and limit) the debate surrounding the film. Sony’s marketing office called in theology experts for an online debate on the book and film. It was allegedly a website for the free exchange of thoughts about the film but in actual fact it was run by Sony’s marketing office.
The pre-sold identity effect can attract viewers to the theatres as well. The pre-sold identity concept is extremely wide-ranging so we will only consider the phenomena of sequel, prequel and remake. Of the 65 movies that earned most on the opening weekend, there are 29 sequels, 3 prequels and 3 remakes, for a total of 35 titles. Also considering the movies that have had the widest release each year since 1980 (Figure 1) sequels, prequels or remakes are numerous (19 out of 26 movies) and represent the key moments in the growth of the wide-release approach.
Comment:
Cucco argues that in the aim to attract as many visitors as possible to so called blockbuster films, quality is not so much the main aspect in the creation process anymore. Rather than delivering a good story, modern films thrive on the technical finesse of CGI programmers, producing more stunning effects all the time. Also, the target group of blockbuster movies are younger viewers, who are also easier to target as mature viewers. Older film viewers wait for critics to give their expertise before deciding to go themselves. Also, rather than producing a completely new film, film producer prefer to create/use iconic figures (Spider Man, Indiana Jones, Batman etc.) for the purpose of creating sequels and prequels, also reducing production costs by re-using materials that were already produced for the initial film.
All in all it seems as if film studios are more concerned with maximising box office results at the lowest possible costs and the lowest risk, rather than producing intelligent films.
Comment on Tama Leavers I-Lecture for this week:
"Zappers - Casuals - Loyals":
Summary of essential conclusions (citations):
As Douglas Gomery recalls: ‘Jaws was not the first film sold by and through broadcast television, but its million-dollar success proved that that strategy was the one that would redefine Hollywood through saturation advertising’ (1998: 51)
In everyday usage the word ‘blockbuster’ is usually used in a derogatory way, referring to a worthless film that restates something that has already been seen. That is not completely off the mark, even though there is the risk of underestimating the strategic complexity of the production and distribution of these movies. First of all, blockbusters are born from US popular culture and their target is the mass public, with few artistic-expressive expectations. They are films which appeal to feelings and primary emotions, with charac- ters and situations able to enthrall emotionally, whose stories give universal messages. The narrative construction is usually simple, not highly innovative or revolutionary in content and apolitical.
The use of special effects tries to push for- ward the visible, displayable and imaginable boundary, and the trailer of the film tries to enter into an agreement with the members of the public, asking them to watch the film to see to what extent the film-makers have dared to push their ability. It’s a promise of novelty dictated by conservatism, where novelty means the use of technology because there is no advancement in the themes, content and style.
The identity of a high-concept movie is simple and easily communicable since it is designed around the public’s taste and market research. Its funda- mental features are the simplification of characters and narration, and a close relationship between image and sound. As already explained, blockbusters usually give more importance to special effects than to narration because the former can intensify the spectacularity.
Avoiding qualitative debate:
By showing the film in many theatres at the same time, the number of people who watch a movie without reading reviews or hearing opinions beforehand increases. As De Vany put it, these movies depend on the so-called ‘uninformative informa- tion cascade’. Moreover, they are usually defined hit and run as they earn a lot of money when they come out in theatres but disappear from programming in a few weeks.
While reviews are not a particularly serious threat, because some studies have demonstrated that their effects on revenues are fairly limited (Eliashberg and Shugan, 1997) and that they are directed at adults who are not the blockbuster’s main target, word-of-mouth is a different matter. The danger of this lies in its unpredictability and ungovernability.
However, he can also decide to join the argument, to turn it around and pull potential movie-goers to the cinema. For instance, The Da Vinci Code devised a clever policy to accentuate (and limit) the debate surrounding the film. Sony’s marketing office called in theology experts for an online debate on the book and film. It was allegedly a website for the free exchange of thoughts about the film but in actual fact it was run by Sony’s marketing office.
The pre-sold identity effect can attract viewers to the theatres as well. The pre-sold identity concept is extremely wide-ranging so we will only consider the phenomena of sequel, prequel and remake. Of the 65 movies that earned most on the opening weekend, there are 29 sequels, 3 prequels and 3 remakes, for a total of 35 titles. Also considering the movies that have had the widest release each year since 1980 (Figure 1) sequels, prequels or remakes are numerous (19 out of 26 movies) and represent the key moments in the growth of the wide-release approach.
Comment:
Cucco argues that in the aim to attract as many visitors as possible to so called blockbuster films, quality is not so much the main aspect in the creation process anymore. Rather than delivering a good story, modern films thrive on the technical finesse of CGI programmers, producing more stunning effects all the time. Also, the target group of blockbuster movies are younger viewers, who are also easier to target as mature viewers. Older film viewers wait for critics to give their expertise before deciding to go themselves. Also, rather than producing a completely new film, film producer prefer to create/use iconic figures (Spider Man, Indiana Jones, Batman etc.) for the purpose of creating sequels and prequels, also reducing production costs by re-using materials that were already produced for the initial film.
All in all it seems as if film studios are more concerned with maximising box office results at the lowest possible costs and the lowest risk, rather than producing intelligent films.
Comment on Tama Leavers I-Lecture for this week:
"Zappers - Casuals - Loyals":
Tama is referring to TV in his examples. In music I wonder if the situation hasn't changed, in terms of religious followers, buying everything around a favourite band. If you think about all the bands that are now online and distribute their music by link to YouTube, their fan page, MySpace etc, I wonder if there is actually any space for the purchase of merchandise, limited edition CDs and vinyl etc. Why do that, when their material is ubiquitously available online?
Consuming television in Australia seems to be something that people don't really do. While in Germany, where I come from, all the people who put on their TV, put it on to watch something. Nobody would get the idea of having the TV run in the background without anybody watching. Quite a few Australians told me that they need the TV or the radio running to produce some background noise. Quietness makes them feel uncomfortable. What a strange behaviour - it's almost like coming home and opening the tab, just in case you need some water later on...
As in Joss Whedon's case, engagement with your audience pays. Some writers of TV series take their audience seriously which pays off as they stand loyal to the writer, if something happens like the network interfering with a series, taking it off the program schedule or refusing to accept a sequal of the series although a huge fan base is demanding it.
Creating such a large fan base by actually listening to his audience and even responding to them, Whedon was able to activate these fans for his low budget online project Dr Horrible - a sing along blog. Rather than creating his own webpage and dragging all the attention to himself, he took the contrary approach and vsited fans in their spaces, on Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Digg and as a contributor to the Whedonesque portal. There he would post his own thoughts or respond to thoughts from others, rather than being the centre of attention. In fact, from a fan base "he is one of us".
Consuming television in Australia seems to be something that people don't really do. While in Germany, where I come from, all the people who put on their TV, put it on to watch something. Nobody would get the idea of having the TV run in the background without anybody watching. Quite a few Australians told me that they need the TV or the radio running to produce some background noise. Quietness makes them feel uncomfortable. What a strange behaviour - it's almost like coming home and opening the tab, just in case you need some water later on...
As in Joss Whedon's case, engagement with your audience pays. Some writers of TV series take their audience seriously which pays off as they stand loyal to the writer, if something happens like the network interfering with a series, taking it off the program schedule or refusing to accept a sequal of the series although a huge fan base is demanding it.
Creating such a large fan base by actually listening to his audience and even responding to them, Whedon was able to activate these fans for his low budget online project Dr Horrible - a sing along blog. Rather than creating his own webpage and dragging all the attention to himself, he took the contrary approach and vsited fans in their spaces, on Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Digg and as a contributor to the Whedonesque portal. There he would post his own thoughts or respond to thoughts from others, rather than being the centre of attention. In fact, from a fan base "he is one of us".
Particiation - not dissemination.
More detail on the project:
http://blog.jeffreymcmanus.com/896/whats-in-it-for-doogie-howser/
Watch:
More detail on the project:
http://blog.jeffreymcmanus.com/896/whats-in-it-for-doogie-howser/
Watch:
Vidding (2008) a series of short videos about vidding - you don't have to watch them all.
Viding: What about copyright concerns?
Comment:
Viding: What about copyright concerns?
Comment:
Obviously vidding has been around for a while now. The videos shown here are all from 2008 - now it's 2012, an incredibly long time in terms of online popularity. Still, the Facebook Vidding page clearly indicates that there are ongoing contributions, linked on a regular basis.
Looking at Vidder.net I found out in the 'about'-page, that vidders are mostly female.
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