Task 7: media convergence / social media

Social media has had a huge impact on our lives, the way we communicate and express ourselves. It has basically revolutionised our lives. The major social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram are used by pretty much everyone these days. Social media is a huge part of my life too. Especially in my field, i.e. media, you need to have an online presence and have as much exposure as possible. Social media is the next big thing whether you’re marketing your product through it or just telling a story through it.

Anyone with a smartphone capture a video and get many hits on YouTube. Social media has opened up communication, allowing rich media to be distributed across multiple global networks and connect millions with similar interests. Before the advent of social media, word of mouth was the only true method of marketing your product, especially films or any other forms of art. This changed after the arrival of social media. Whether you’re a business, a film production company or just a student, marketing your work had not been so easy and had such a huge reach around the world before, with almost no costs. We all have seen people becoming huge stars from nobodies with the Justin Bieber being the most recognisable example. He first came into the limelight through his YouTube videos. Universal pictures in particular, created an interactive campaign around their Minion characters for the promotion of their movie Despicable Me 2, which tapped into fans via mobile. panning five European countries are mobile-controlled digital ads with personalised skits from the Minions themselves. Fans are then encouraged to share their personalised video clip across their own social profiles. So in other words, it is basically the fans who did the marketing for them. Using social media management tools for active listening is essential to maintain a film’s longevity – especially for sagas like Twilight or Harry Potter. Films can use social media to listen to what their loyal fans want, and hopefully find a creative way to do just that.

I have been quite active on social media lately and using it to market my films and digital narratives, especially my web documentary. This again has been for a number of reasons:

1. No cost.
2. Easily accessible for everyone and has a wide reach.
3. Especially good for someone like me who is starting out in the industry.
4. The option to get instant reactions by people through platforms like Facebook.
5. Ask for their suggestions, comments, whether they liked my narrative, what can be made better.
6. Give the option to people of easily contacting me for anything, in this case, for donation and to get the contact details of the homeless.
7. I’m making a documentary web series for my digital narrative, which will be completely posted online with an episode posted every week. People in this fast paced world do not have the patience or time to watch 1 or 2 hour long documentaries especially on topics like homeless people. That is why I have divided mine into 5 episodes of 10 minutes each.
8. Will have another season based on people’s comments and the overall response.

 

Talking further about web docs, Philipp Barth says: “Basically, web documentaries are stories of documentary character published on the Internet. They can be put together in different ways, use different interfaces and have different approaches to their subject matter, but they have several features in common.”

He further discusses that mosst web docus have some kind of viewer participation of atleast joining in discussions, polls, voting or even voicing their opinion. Which is exactly the case in my web doc. That is one of the main reasons I incorporated social media in to it.

 

References:

Growth Gurus. 2016. Why you need to understand the importance of social media. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.growthgurus.com/business-brand-need-understand-importance-social-media/.

Kirby, D. M. (2016, June 21). The role of social media in film marketing. Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-m-kirby/the-role-of-social-media-_b_10571026.html

Milbrath, S., & Hootsuite (2013, July 18). The film industry and social media Retrieved from https://blog.hootsuite.com/film-industry-social-media/

Journalism, D. (2012, December 19). Web documentaries … what are they? – digital journalism – English – DW.COM. Retrieved September 26, 2016, from http://onmedia.dw-akademie.com/english/?p=6567

 

Task 5: audience analysis

The documentary as discussed, is about the homeless people in Melbourne. It is by no means showing a negative side of Melbourne. This problem is all over the world. Melbourne however, got voted the most liveable city again this year. It is a great place to live at, however, no place is perfect and rather than denying or ignoring the problems, we should come together, educate ourselves, urge the government to take action and do as much as we can to overcome the problem.

1. The reason for making this docu-series is to highlight and educate people about one of Melbourne’s growing problems in recent years. They may see homeless people around the city in daily life but this series will tell them the reasons for homelessness, the problems they are facing and give them an insight in to homeless people’s’ lives but showing individual stories.
2. This is a documentary web series and will be spread over around 5 episodes. Right now only a single season is planned with a possibility of a second season in the future. Each episode will be around 10-12 minutes long and will be divided into two parts. The first part of each episode will show basic information about homelessness, its causes, how it is affecting people and what can be done to help them overcome it. All these visuals will be shown with a narration which will be describing it and also some infographics and other facts. Also interviews of the general public, people from charity and nonprofit organizations and also some government officials if possible. The second part of each episode apart from the fifth will cover the story of a homeless person. This will be interview based. They would be given the brief beforehand about the documentary and assured that they are not at all shown in a bad light or as helpless. This is actually to highlight an important issue and it will help them. There will be cutaway footage of the place they’re currently staying at and how they spend their day and activities. The reason to highlight individual stories is for the audience to feel a deeper emotional connect with them. Also, in each episode, the individual stories will be of people in different circumstances who have become homeless for different reasons. So it is more about highlighting the reason because of which they became homeless.
3. Will have a Facebook page and YouTube channel with weekly episodes uploaded there since they’re the two most easily accessible and popular online video platforms. Facebook especially, is a platform which everyone uses and has easy access too. The marketing and promotion of your product is free and has a wide reach. I am hoping to reach out to the maximum number of people I can through these online platforms.
4. The target audience is pretty much everyone but it’s targeted more towards people who are 18 and above since it is a serious documentary and also a bit graphic at times. It is both for educational purposes and also to bring awareness to the issue so that people come forward and take notice in whatever way possible.
5. I’ll start posting content around 2 weeks before I start uploading the episodes on the Facebook page. First of graphic based teasers will be uploaded, followed by short video teasers with some facts and figures about homelessness in Melbourne. The episodes will be uploaded weekly on Fridays.
6. Since this is a pretty much straightforward linear narrative, there is no real scope for audience interaction, however, there is an option for the audience to contact us through the Facebook page or email us if they want to help any of the homeless people shown in the individual stories donate to them through us or get their contact details through us. Also, there will be polls and posts asking for people’s opinions on the issue.

Task 4: narrative flowchart

Task 8: Personal choice (teaser and poster)

This is a teaser poster which will be uploaded on Facebook a couple of weeks before the series starts. It does not advertise the show yet but just kind of gives away its idea with a powerful image and a quote.

This is the poster. It will be uploaded a week before the series starts. It again follows a pretty simple theme and layout and shows the title of the show. Again a powerful visual combined with text which compliments it.

Note: The images in these posters are not mine. They are taken from the internet. I am trying to give the feel and layout of the promotional material.

Task 2: write a digital narrative outline

Take me home

Genre slot: A web documentary series about the increasing number of homeless people in Melbourne, the causes and it’s solutions.

Documentation/background: Australia is one of the world’s richest countries and it has been successful to maintain the image of a socially and economically stable country. It has been one of the most alluring destinations for immigrants around the world. Melbourne has been rated the most liveable city in the world for several years now. The city has welcomed people from all over the world and offers unlimited opportunities. However, the images on the doorsteps of tall buildings and outside shopping malls tell another side of the story. According to the 2011 census, the total number of homeless people in Australia is 100,000 which is 0.5% of the total population. There are more than 22,000 people living on the streets of Victoria. A person is generally defined homeless when he or she has inadequate access to conventional shelter and particularly spends nights outside at risky and unsuitable spots. One of the biggest concerns is that almost half of the homeless people are under the age of 25. People sleeping on the streets in miserable conditions are seen around the city and the number is increasing by time. There are many reasons for the growing homelessness in Melbourne. One of the major ones being the rising cost of housing. Some other reasons include broken marriages, domestic abuse, mental illness, drug addiction, unemployment or simply depression. Enterprise park opposite the Crown casino is popular spot where homeless people stay. People living on the streets don’t have access to basic needs such as lockers, showers and laundry. The number of people sleeping rough on Melbourne’s streets has increased by 74 per cent compared to two years ago, a City of Melbourne survey shows. Homelessness can happen to anyone. Homelessness does not define a person but is instead a temporary situation.

Platform: Will have a Facebook page and YouTube channel with weekly episodes uploaded there since they’re the two most easily accessible and popular online video platforms. They are completely free and have wide reach. Also, people get to interact and voice their opinions through comments and polls and even contact us for donation.

Size: This is a single season web documentary series. Right now I’ve planned for about 5 episodes with each of them showing a story of a different person

Market: This web docu-series is aimed at the general public of Australia especially Melbourne. Preferably 18+since younger people might not be interested or excited about the serious nature of it.

Premise: Highlighting and raising awareness about the growing homelessness in Melbourne, especially the number of people sleeping on the streets. The docu-series will in no way show Melbourne in a bad light, but instead will tell how no society is perfect and people should work together to overcome problems. It will be divided into 5 episodes with each of the them showing a different story of a homeless person, about the hardships they faced and why they became homeless.

Main characters: Since this is documentary series, there will essentially be no protagonists or antagonists in this case, however it will be a narrative documentary and also each of the episodes of the series will have a different homeless person/family, so they’ll be the main characters. Apart from these, there will be interviews of the general public as well and some NGOs.

Story world: The series will mostly be based in the Melbourne CBD and the surrounding suburbs where the issue of homelessness is growing.

Narrative outline: As mentioned earlier, this is a documentary web series and will be spread over around 5 episodes. Right now only a single season is planned with a possibility of a second season in the future. Each episode will be around 10-12 minutes long and will be divided into two parts. The first part of each episode will show basic information about homelessness, its causes, how it is affecting people and what can be done to help them overcome it. All these visuals will be shown with a narration which will be describing it and also some info graphics and other facts. Also interviews of the general public, people from charity and nonprofit organisations and also some government officials if possible. The second part of each episode apart from the fifth will cover the story of a homeless person. This will be interview based. They would be given the brief beforehand about the documentary and assured that they are not at all shown in a bad light or as helpless.

For a simple breakdown of the episodes see this flowchart.

User interaction: Since this is a web documentary, there is no such way for people to directly interact but the first thing we’ll do is set up a Facebook page with all the information on the upcoming series. We will be requesting organisations like Melbourne City Mission to promote our page through theirs since they’re working for homeless as well and it is for a good cause. The reason Facebook is chosen as the main platform is that it is easily accessible. Also we will get to know people’s reaction and views pretty much after a few minutes after we release the first episode. They can post their comments and suggestions on how to improve it in the future and also express interest if they want to help or donate through us or get the details of any of the homeless people whose stories were shown.

Visuals: The documentary will be narration and interview based as mentioned earlier. The shots will not not be your usual static documentary shots. There will be many cutaways depending on the scene. The background music will be slow and more on the positive and encouraging side to give the overall positive feel. Dip to black transitions will be used here and there and also at the starting and end. Apart from this there will be quite a few animated info graphics showing the facts and figures. I’ll be using info graphics similar to the ones below:

References:

YouTube. 2016. One Day – A day in the life of Melbourne City Mission 2012 – YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BHF_RD9-Ks. [Accessed 26 August 2016].

YouTube. 2016. Rough sleepers, Melbourne – YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0IjUdsJetE. [Accessed 26 August 2016]. YouTube. 2016. Raising Hope for the Homeless in Melbourne – YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyKxrU44d_8. [Accessed 26 August 2016].

YouTube. 2016. Life of Homeless in the most Liveable City – YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZDiMsCMkVE. [Accessed 26 August 2016].

YouTube. 2016. Homelessness Tours with Melbourne Citymission on The Project.wmv – YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4zJRdEXIzw. [Accessed 26 August 2016].

Homelessness services for youth and adults in Melbourne and Victoria . 2016. Homelessness services for youth and adults in Melbourne and Victoria . [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.melbournecitymission.org.au/services/homelessness. [Accessed 26 August 2016].

Homeless of Melbourne. 2016. STREET STORIES – Homeless of Melbourne. [ONLINE] Available at:http://homelessofmelbourne.org/streetstories/. [Accessed 26 August 2016].

Homelessness statistics. 2016. Homelessness statistics. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.homelessnessaustralia.org.au/index.php/about-homelessness/homeless-statistics. [Accessed 26 August 2016].

The Age. 2016. The endless tide of homeless in Melbourne’s inner city. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/the-endless-tide-of-homeless-in-melbournes-inner-city20160227-gn55fa.html. [Accessed 26 August 2016].

The Age. 2016. ‘Shocking’: Record numbers of homeless people sleeping on Melbourne’s streets. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/shocking-record-numbers-ofhomeless-people-sleeping-on-melbournes-streets-20160609-gpf1wk.html. [Accessed 26 August 2016].

The Age. 2016. Increase in children homeless in Victoria harrowing, say welfare agencies. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/youth-homelessness-harrowingincrease-in-children-homeless-in-victoria-20160729-gqh0ba.html. [Accessed 26 August 2016].

ABC News. 2016. Melbourne homeless survey StreetCount finds rough sleepers up 74 per cent in two years – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-09/rough-sleepers-in-melbourne-up-74-per-cent-in-twoyears-survey/7495502. [Accessed 26 August 2016].

Crosslight. 2016. Homelessness on the rise – CrosslightCrosslight. [ONLINE] Available at:http://crosslight.org.au/2016/06/10/homelessness-on-the-rise/. [Accessed 26 August 2016].

Poverty Living. 2016. Top 10 Causes Of Homelessness. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.povertyliving.com/2013/09/top-10-causes-of-homelessness-2/. [Accessed 26 August 2016].

Wheeler Mission Ministries. 2016. 10 Causes of Homelessness – Wheeler Mission Ministries. [ONLINE] Available at: http://wheelermission.org/learn-more/causes-of-homelessness/. [Accessed 26 August 2016].

Shelter England. 2016. What is homelessness? – Shelter England. [ONLINE] Available at:http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/homelessness/homelessness__an_introduction/what_is_homelessness. [Accessed 26 August 2016].

Homeless Connections. 2016. What is Homelessness? Who is Homeless?. [ONLINE] Available at:http://homelessconnections.net/homelessness/. [Accessed 26 August 2016].

Task 1: analyse a digital narrative

Ink by Coldplay

Story elements:

Events – Coldplay’s “Ink” is an interactive story about a lost traveler who journeys to the ends of the world in hopes of finding his lost love. Viewers explore beautifully animated environments by making real-time choices throughout the video. With over 300 possible paths to take, each experience-altering decision changes the how the story unfolds. Actors – characters that cause or experience events. Actors are not necessarily human. The music video starts off with the man lying on the beach and we have 3 choices to begin the journey with including a pen, a compass and a knife. He starts following the woman after this and then has a choice of two paths, whether to go left i.e. the woman’s way or right. Throughout the journey, there’s many choices to make and many twists and turns.

Time – The events usually take place in the present, but the story is non-linear, sometimes a little confusing and full of imagination. You never know if this is for real or just a part of the man’s imagination.

Place – Most of the events take place at and around the beach and in the woods.

 

Narrative elements:

Ordering – As mentioned above, it is a non linear narrative and most of the events are not close to reality so it is a possibility that it is a dream or the imagination of the guy.

Pace – The narrative moves along at a pretty good pace since the story is based on the choices we make, also, the animated nature of the video suits the pace. Visuals are amazing.

Focalization – The story is told through the point of view of the guy who is in search of his lady love. It pretty much remains the same throughout the video and even the choices we make are through the character of the guy. The video is based on his journey and experiences and how they change according to his choices along the way.

Narrator – It is a music video so there is no narrator, but a song playing in the background called Ink by Coldplay. It is a love song about a person who is hurt in love because his loved one is not with him and he longs for them.

Text – Not much text used except for the start when it shows the titles and tells you to click the compass to start the video.

 

Traditional narrative features:

Linearity: Non linear but the overall journey of the man in linear.

Series of conflicts that leads to a climax and resolution: There is quite a lot of conflicts in the video. For example, having to choose between the path where the woman is going or the other way and then the man floating in the water while seeing the woman floating in the air like a cloud, he’s probably imagining her or it’s her spirit, kind of giving the impression that she might even be dead. He see’s he this way a number of times in the video. He also sees her and himself in the stars and leading up to all these fantasy elements, he continues his journey. It’s almost like these events are leading him up to the woman. He finally gets united with her in another fantasy and dream like sequence when she saves his life from the waterfall.

Protagonist and antagonist: There is no antagonist as such and the protagonists are the only two characters in the video.

Three-act structure:

1. Man is lying on the beach, make his first choice and follows the woman. The story is established about the journey.
2. His journey, seeing the woman at different places in different forms and how he makes the right choices in an attempt to get to her.
3. Arrives at the huge waterfall in a boat. Falls of the waterfall, only to be saved by the woman. They get reunited.

Heroes journey: The hero is the guy and the music video shows the journey and all the things and clues and incidents that lead him to the love of his life in the end.

 

Digital narrative features:

Numerical coding: Probably a good number of codings since it is a high budget production for a big music band.

Modularity: It is a modular narrative, often shifting from past to present and hard to classify it just as a love story. It can be a fantasy as well and also an experimental or abstract piece. The tiniest of details are given huge attention to in this video, all the visuals, the landscape, the illustrations, all of them come together to form something amazing.

Variability: It is an interactive music video, so obviously the viewer has many choices, with different paths but all of them lead to the same ending. It is very interesting.

Programmed elements: As mentioned before, the viewer gets to make a number of choices and choose paths along the journey through the guy’s point of view to find the woman. All of them lead to the same end though.

Participatory aspects: There’s a choice of paths or other objects throughout the video which alter the journey of the man according to the thing you choose.

References:

Fungus, S. Coldplay: News – experience the interactive ink video. Retrieved September 26, 2016, from http://www.coldplay.com/newsdetail.php?id=1806

Encina, M. (2016). Coldplay ink. Retrieved September 26, 2016, from http://www.blind.com/work/project/coldplay-ink/