Where mass media and social production meet

Antoni Roig Telo Open University of Catalonia (UOC) Mediaccions Research Group ( www.mediacciones.es ) ATACD. Changing Cultures: Cultures of Change Barcelona, 10-12 December, 2009 Where mass media and social production meet: change and continuity in participatory audiovisual projects

Presentation summary
Research framework and focus
First stage (2004-2008)
Methodology and case studies
Practices observed
Conclusions
Current and future research

Research framework
Interest in changes in the relationship between media industries and audiences in an environment where:
Consumers can become (and/or be legimitzed as) content producers
‘ Success stories’ around self-produced complex cinema-based media -> ‘alternative media ecosystem’? (Hanson, 2007)

Research focus
Main challenges and transformations in contemporary cinema production
Interrelations between movie industries and consumers
Main practices related to participatory media production
Elements of change and continuity

Methodology: practices
Theories of practice as a body of theory and a methodological tool to observe nexus of doings and sayings when people engage in any kind of social activity (Schatzki, 1996,2001; Swidler, 2001; Reckwitz, 2003)

Methodology: practices
Any kind of social activity as a complex interrelation of practices.
Potential for the analysis of creative practices (Knorr-Cetina, 2001; Ardevol et al., 2007)
‘ Consumption’ and ‘media’ as an open set of practices (Warde, 2005; Couldry, 2009)
Shift from objects/ texts to organizational forms (companies, collectives)

Case study structure X-ILE PICTURES (USA): related to fan culture Energia Productions (Finland): related to fan culture Comparative A Swarm Of Angels/ ASOA (UK): related to ‘open source culture’ Transference Transference

X-ILE Pictures (USA): brand of director and entrepreneur Shane Felux since 2006, particularly renowned for his Star Wars fan movies: Revelations (2005) and Pitching Lucas (2006). In 2007 and 2008 Felux produced for Stage 9 Media (affiliated with Disney) the sci-fi webseries Trenches Cases overview

Energia Productions (Finland): brand established in 2006 by the Finnish team behind popular fan film Star Wreck: in the pirkinning fan film (considered the first feature film freely distributed on the Internet). Alliated with Universal Pictures Scandinavia for a commercial DVD release; presently co-producing sci-fi comedy Iron Sky and promoting a collaborative movie platform, Wreck a movie Cases overview

A Swarm Of Angels (UK): project initiated by Matt Hanson in 2006 with the aim of building a community for the collaborative development of an open source movie from its early stages. Redefinition of the production process as important as final product Cases overview

Families of practices observed
Organizing practices (at early stages of practice)
construction of normativity, hierarchy,legitimation (meta-practices)
Performative practices
motivations behind the practice

Families of practices observed
Production-oriented practices
conception and elaboration of ‘objects’
Finance-oriented practices
business models, engagement of communities (i.e. crowdfunding)
Circulation-oriented practices
flexibility of licenses, promotion strategies
Self-promotion oriented practices
visibility of brand and creative core
Participation-oriented practices
engagement and integration of followers as participants into project and processes

Conclusions: industries, audiences and practices
Practices as playful appropriation and reflection of industrial processes ‘play’ and ‘play with’ potential of transformation/ transgression of the rules of the cultural industries
Challenge on traditional notions of production and consumption
Complexity and interrelation between different families of practices
Cultural and industrial contexts as sources of legitimation constitutive rules

Organizations as participatory cultural expressions AND companies
Cultural production forms are not at odds with industry: more synergies than conflict
Recruitment by the industry vs. ‘assimilation’
Multiple motivations for participants
Alternative creative practices Alternative production model?
Double aperture , understood as the necessary combination of:
Open access to objects
Open participation in creative processes
Conclusions: change and continuity

… .2
Years
Later…

The original cases in 2009
X-ILE Pictures: still awaiting for Trenches’ online release, after two years since production Project sold to ‘another big studio’
Energia Productions: Iron Sky in development for 2010 release; intense promotional strategy and development of online platform Wreck a Movie
A Swarm of Angels: project on hold. Latest schedule for re-launch: early 2010. Currently accessible via Twitter

Emerging and consolidating trends
Popularization of participation practices related to media
Participation as commodity False empowerment?
Cross-narratives
Increase of barriers of entry
Mediating agents
Effects of economic crisis
Emerging networks for independent innovation
Emphasis on experience

Key issues for further research
Attention to local reality
Is there really an ‘ alternative ecosystem ’?
Need to categorize models and evaluate impact Need to refine what’s behind ‘ participation ’
Need to scrutinize working conditions, industry strategies and actual expectations for independent creation
Impact of the economic crisis (i.e. emphasis on funding)
Power relations between agents involved

Present cases
La Wikipeli (‘The wikimovie’) (2009): community-based short movie; part of an advertising campaign for Mahou, leading beer company in Spain
Digitalent Foundation: initiative aimed at fostering emergent creative talent through the development of innovative projects in the so-called Talent Factory (to be later sold to the industry
El cosmonauta (‘The cosmonaut’): independent feature project based in user participation, crowdfunding and remixable content. Shooting scheduled for 2010

Thanks for your attention [email_address]

Where mass media and social production meet

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