What is the attraction of alternate realities like Second life?

In the words of Godin Second life lets players “find their tribe”(TED2009 2009) be it vampires, sports fanatics or single people looking for dates, all kinds of groups exist in second life and players can communicate and form relationships within the virtual reality game. Unlike real life people in second life represent themselves through self-constructed avatars enabling then to project the image they wish people to see.

Second life has its own currency which can be exchanged for real money (Linden 2011) therefore people can get real paying jobs, buy clothes, houses, attend events, learn, invent, create etc through the virtual environment. Therefore it is possible to make money from second life to support your real life.

Therefore it could be said that alternate realities like second life allow people to transcend their physical location and embodiment and in order to live in an virtual world, although as Malpas points out this doesn’t “release from the limitations of embodiment” (Malpas 2009) in the real world. In order to contribute to this online society users still need to operate a form of ICT of some description, therefore second life doesn’t replace real life it just an alternative way for people to connect and to contribute to their tribe.

 Linden, R. 2011. How to sell Linden dollars. http://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/How-to-sell-Linden-dollars/ta-p/1018151 (accessed 16/11/11).

Malpas, J. 2009. On the Non-Autonomy of the Virtual. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies 15 (2): 135-139. http://con.sagepub.com (accessed

TED2009. 2009. Seth Godin on the tribes we lead. TED Ideas worth Spreading.

ASSMT 1: 2.5 Notes on games, ARGs and digital commons

The topic of Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) was an interesting one this week that I think fits well with my remediation project and essay. Although I have chosen to remediate and write an essay about the sub plot of a television series - the way in which the characters story intertwines with real life scenarios is similar to the way in which ARGs are operate.

Örnebring states: "Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) are a form of internet-based mystery game in which participants are immersed in a fictional world and engage in collective problem-solving" (Örnebring 2007 p. 445).

And they work by:

  "Events and things mentioned in the episodes of the TV series itself will also provide clues. Bit by bit, these clues form a separate narrative set in the fictional world" (Örnebring 2007 p. 446).

In the TV show Gavin and Stacey - Nessa's back story is never fully told and she remains somewhat of a mystery. A series of clues are dropped by Nessa in her stories that reflect upon past conquests involving famous people from the real world. If viewers choose to investigate these clues they will find that these stories not only reference real life people but also real life scenarios that have been reported in the press. Nessa turns out to be someone that has escaped the limelight while being involved in a great deal of scandal.

Therefore the TV show follows a similar line to ARGs in that:

• A mystery is created
• Clues are given
• Clues can be investigated by audiences
• Clues link to real world people and scenarios through press reports

My remediation project sets out to join these clues together through a blog that presents Nessa as if she is a real life person and further the idea that the stories are true. Unlike a game there is no puzzle solving winning at the end, it is merely a site for investigating clues and filling in the back story - a kind of virtual reality blog based on a virtual reality storyline in a TV show.

In this regard my blog could be seen as an example cultural labor  described by Fiske and quoted by  Örnebring as " ‘filling in the syntagmatic gaps in the original narrative’ (Örnebring 2007 p. 451 quoting Fiske, 1992). In other words the blog pieces together a back story that enriches the characters in TV show. Örnebring believes that this type of culture labor supports marketing for television shows (as does other fan created content) - as it stays within the storyline and concept of the show rather than changing it, and disseminates to a wider audience

This same idea was covered in our second reading about Digital Commons - especially in the sections about mods which are fan produced modifications for games. The point was made here too that modders stick to the boundaries of the originating text source as per the following quote:

"most mods are thematically conservative, undertaken by technically accomplished fans who love a particular game and want more of it – more weapons and monstrous opponents for shooters, different campaigns and battles for war games – in variants that don’t stray far from the spirit of the original" (Coleman and Dyer-Witheford 2007).

Both readings link fan culture, virtual reality and media institutions all of which relate to my remediation project. As the blog is aimed at fans and new watchers of the show Gavin and Stacey -  this topic would be good to cover in my essay.

Coleman, S., and N. Dyer-Witheford. 2007. Playing on the digital commons: collectivities, capital and contestation in videogame culture. Media Culture Society 29:  Sage publications. http://mcs.sagepub.com/content/29/6/934 (accessed 26/10/11).

Örnebring, H. 2007. Alternate reality gaming and convergence culture. International Journal of Cultural Studies 10: 445 - 462. Sage Publications. http://ics.sagepub.com/content/10/4/445 (accessed 20/10/11).

Audience research for Remediation Project

As stated in my earlier blog post on the audience for my remediation project, Nessa's little black book will be aimed at those watching or re-watching the TV series Gavin and Stacey either on repeat TV broadcasts or DVD box sets. Given that Gavin and Stacey is no longer in production the idea behind the remediation is create a link between the stories Nessa tells and the now old pop culture references she uses.

It is a given that fans of Gavin and Stacey will own the box sets and re-watch them from time to time, but I also wanted to find out who the new audience would be.

An article on TV tonight (a blog about Australian TV that also contains viewer statistics) states that the BBC have launched an iPad App called iPlayer which will give subscribers access to a back catalogue of BBC programs including Gavin and Stacey. If it goes well in Australia it will also be launched in the USA (Knox 2011). This means that the TV series will be available to US and Australian iPad owners and subscribers to watch whenever they wish, although niche this does bode well for my remediation project.

Gavin and Stacey is currently showing as re-runs in the UK and Ireland on the BBC owned TV Channel UK G.O.L.D which is available on pay television services such as Sky, Virgin TV and Top up TV (Comedy TV shows and video n GOLD TV  2011)

It is currently showing on Netflix (Shelby 2011) which is available in the USA and Canada and is currently expanding into other countries (Company Overview  2011)

Currently showing on TVNZ and TVNZ Ondemand in New Zealand (Gavin And Stacey  2011)

This is a list compiled of legal ways to watch the show that I have found through a Google search in the English language. My search has found that Gavin and Stacey has, in the past been aired in other countries such as Israel on VOD but I am unable to search the respective web-sites in order to backup this claim due to the language barrier. I feel it is also worthy to note that, although I am not condoning it - some of my audience base will be made up of people who watch pirated copies of the show. I am nothing if not a realist!

  Comedy TV shows and video n GOLD TV. 2011. http://uktv.co.uk/gold/homepage/sid/5001 (accessed 20/10/11).

  Company Overview. 2011. https://signup.netflix.com/MediaCenter/Overview (accessed 20/10/11).

  Gavin And Stacey. 2011. http://tvnz.co.nz/gavin-and-stacey/about-1414345 (accessed 20/10/11).

 Knox, D. 2011. BBC iPlayer launches on iPad. http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2011/09/bbc-iplayer-launches-on-ipad.html (accessed 20/10/11).

 Shelby. 2011. Netflix Instant Pick of the Week: Summer TV Part 3. http://uktv.co.uk/gold/homepage/sid/5001 (accessed 20/10/11).

ASSMNT 1 2.3: Audience and Context of Remediation Project

I have been thinking about this weeks readings Pop Cosmopolitanism: Mapping Cultural Flows in an Age of Media Convergence, Fans bloggers and gamers: exploring participatory culture and Indigenous, ethnic and cultural articulations of new media in terms of my remediation project. The TV series Gavin and Stacey was created in the UK for a UK audience so what is it about the show that had drawn me – an Australian, to the show? Who will my remediation project be aimed at? And are my interpretations of the shows themes, when viewed in the Australian context different from the intentions of the original producers?

Why am I drawn to the show?

In the terms of Jenkins – I guess you could say I was originally introduced to the show by a “Grassroots intermediatory” (Jenkins 2006)

 – My husband who was born and raised in Wales (which is where part of the show Gavin and Stacey is set) and now lives in Australia. He not only keeps up to date with the goings of friends and family at home, but also likes to keep up to date with music, TV shows and news. Gavin and Stacey was a hit in Wales and box sets promptly posted over to us upon release in the UK.

One of the themes of the show is based on the idiosyncrasies of different cultures – that being of the English and the Welsh or to be more precise of Barry in South Wales and Essex in England. I can in some ways relate to the humor based on these idiosyncrasies as I compare my own experiences of living in Wales, being married to a Welsh man and becoming part of a Welsh family and as such also recognize the character traits and stereotypes presented. This would then make me part of what Srinivasan describes as an “imagined community” (Srinivasan 2006) made up of not only U.K. viewers who inherently understand the humor, but also of other cultural outsiders who have joined families from these two parts of the world, and so too can relate the humor based on cultural difference.

I initially chose to remediate Nessa’s storyline due to time constraints but after this weeks topic I think it could also be because I understand the character. She is an over exaggerated welsh stereotype that I can recognize more easily than other stereotypes presented in the show such as Smithy from Essex. I have learnt about Smithy’s stereotype through others telling me about it but can see elements of Nessa’s persona in people that I have met or worked with in the past and as such feel I am better equipped to retell her story than other characters in the show. Nessa also in some ways appeals to my sense of “Pop Cosmopolitanism” (Jenkins 2006)

  - My ties to Wales now see me wanting to keep up with the current affairs of the country, and a lot of Nessa’s stories tie into current day events. Nessas stories are littered with UK pop culture references and to piece them together is something like a treasure hunt.

Who will my remediation project be aimed at?

As an understanding of Nessas stores and humor comes from an understanding of UK popular culture and current media events  - my remediation project will be aimed at those who are not up to speed on such things. Using blog to recreate Nessas little black book (a list of all the people Nessa claims to have had a relationship with throughout the show) allows me to link the real life media stories to the stories Nessa tells. In other words when she claims to have slept with John Prescott I can hyperlink his name to real life press articles about John Prescott – linking the story to the pop culture reference.

This media format also works within the current day context of viewing the show. Gavin and Stacey is no longer being produced – so if one was to watch the show today the pop culture references will all be old, and possibly forgotten even by those residing in the UK – they will be old news so to speak. Therefore the little black book will not only inform those who were out of the loop in the first place, but will refresh the memories of those who are watching or re-watching the series again – appealing to my entire “imagined community” (Srinivasan 2006).

Does this change of context change the meaning?

Having never met the writers and producers of the show I cannot say what the original intention of this part of the story line was, but in creating an online hyperlinked little black book I will not be changing it. I will merely be changing the way in which the story is presented. Time itself has changed the context of this storyline, but the recreation of it in an online media form will bring it back closer to its original time, preserving rather than altering the meaning.

 Jenkins, H. 2006. Pop Cosmopolitanism: Mapping Cultural Flows in an Age of Media Convergence, Fans bloggers and gamers: exploring participatory culture: New York University Press.

Srinivasan, R. 2006. Indigenous, ethnic and cultural articulations of new media. International Journal of Cultural Studies 9: 497. http://ics.sagepub.com/content/9/4/497 (accessed 15/10/11).

Images and Referencing the Remediation project

LINK TO NESSA'S LITTLE BLACK BOOK

In an effort to not infringe copyright, I have created some of my own images for Nessa's little black book

I have uploaded them here so I can link to them in the HTML code in Nessa's blog

THE BLOG DESIGN

 The blog design and the sticky tape frame for my images was created by  Templates Block and is Licenced under creative commons as follows:

"Blogger Template by:

Templates Block - Free Custom Blogger templates for Blogger/blogspot blogs.

http://www.templatesblock.com/

**********************************************************************

License:  This free Blogger template is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License, which permits both personal and commercial use.

However, to satisfy the 'attribution' clause of the license, you are required to keep the footer links intact which provides due credit to its authors. For more specific details about the license, you may visit the URL below:

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" (Evo)

This means that can use and alter the template without worrying about copyright so long as I reference the original creator. The acknowledgment is built into the blog design itself (on the bottom right corner) so this part is all done for me.

THE DRAGON IMAGE on NESSA'S A-Z PAGE

I created the image of the Welsh Dragon myself using Photoshop and my own photograph of the welsh flag. The hearts were created in illustrator and added to Photoshop image. The reason I have chosen the image is because it is the flag of Wales and is tattooed on Nessa's arm.

THE PHOTO OF NESSA on NESSA'S HOME PAGE

The photo of Nessa came from The British Comedy Guide website  and its attributed to "Baby Cow Productions". This image will need to be referenced to ensure it doesn't breach copyright law. I am also using a small part of it for the purposes of education so it should be covered under the US terms fair use , the Australian Fair Dealing exceptions and UK Fair Dealing exceptions.

REFERENCING TEXT

I will also need to cite and reference every entry in the blog. Instructions on how to reference episodes of a TV show APA style can be found on the Coats Library website

 

Baby Cow Productions. gavin_stacey_nessa.jpg. http://www.comedy.co.uk/images/library/people/180x200/g/gavin_stacey_nessa.jpg (accessed 10/10/11). 

 Evo, V. Personal Blog. http://btemplates.com/2010/blogger-template-personal-blog/ (accessed 10/10/11).

 

The Ecstasy of Influence: A Plagiarism by Jonathan Lethem

The Ecstasy of Influence might be a good academic text to use in my remediation essay. In in the Lethem discusses artists, authors, singers, songwriters, cartoonists etc who have borrowed from other sources to create their works. Examples given are TV shows like The Simpsons, the surrealist art movement, Shakespeare and Bob Dylan to name a few. Lethem's  point is that today these works would be considered and act of plagiarism and piracy yet are a massive part of our cultural identity. Where would we be without them?

Lethem also speaks of the loss of "public commons" and the "gift economy" meaning - that inspirational work is a gift to those who take inspiration from it - the value is in the thought it generates not in the money it could produce. 

The 10 page essay is then followed by a bout of extreme referencing - 3 pages where the Lethem has tried to reference every single thought he had while writing the article mocking yet abiding by the extreme rules that govern how we express our thoughts.

 Favorite Quotes

•  "If nostalgic cartoonists had never borrowed from Fritz the Cat, there would be no Ren & Stimpy Show; .... If those don't strike you as essential losses, then consider the remarkable series of "plagiarisms" that links Ovid's "Pyramus and Thisbe" with Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story, .... If these are examples of plagiarism, then we want
  more plagiarism" (Lethem 2007)

• "The distinctive feature of modern American copyright law is its almost limitless bloating-its expansion in both scope and duration. With no registration requirement, every creative act in a tangible medium is now subject to copyright protection: your email to your child or your child's finger painting, both are automatically protected." (Lethem 2007)

• "And artists, or their heirs, who fall into the trap of attacking the collagists and satirists and digital samplers of their work are attacking the next generation of creators for the crime of being influenced, for the crime of responding with the same mixture of intoxication, resentment, lust, and glee that characterizes all artistic successors. By doing so they make the world smaller, betraying what seems to me the primary motivation for participating in the world of culture in the first place: to make the world larger." (Lethem 2007)
  
  
  
  Lethem, J. 2007. The Ecstasy of Influence, A plagiarism by Jonathan Lethem. Harper's Magazine February 2007. http://harpers.org/archive/2007/02/0081387 (accessed 12/10/11).

2.2 Notes: Recovering fair use (Collins 2008)

This article looks at how the  blending of “media consumption with media production to create new works” (Collins 2008) and  subsequent internet mediated distribution is challenging current copyright laws in the US. The article focuses on “Fair Use”  - a doctrine that is part of the United States Copyright Act 1976 which allows for a certain amount of flexibility when using copyrighted material if it is deemed “fair”. This doctrine, Collins states, is being “systematically eroded” by harshly enforced copyright legislation -  and is something that Collins would like to see re-instated to ensure our cultural and creative expression is not stifled.

Collins begins by pointing out that copyright and distribution of text have always walked hand in hand - with the originating law being granted in order to allow for the exchange of money in return for access and use of texts. It was created in the interest of society, in the interest of learning and education, and to promote creativity and new thought by exposing people to new ideas through books (Collins 2008). 

The system of using another's work without permission but ensuring the originating source is always quoted or cited is a system still used today in writing, and I tend to wonder why it has not evolved to include other forms of media. Should I choose to write a book and publish a string words written by another author I can do so as long as its referenced. Should I choose to make song, and use a line of melody from another song it is illegal. As an example - take a look at the band Men at Work - sued for using a line of melody from "kookaburra sits in the old gum tree". I wonder if they sang the reference would they have avoided a court case? I also wonder is free speech limited now only to the written word? 

.... Hang on I haven't reference the title of that bird song! I'm probably looking down the barrel of a law suit right now. Here I am ... playing with fire - much like that other, less fortunate Kookaburra....

The article goes on to give two examples of when "fair use" has been successfully used to defend  people in court who have used songs without the copyright owners permission. One  - where a mother posted a video on YouTube of her baby dancing to a song by Prince, and the other where 15 seconds of a John Lennon song was used in a documentary. While both cases were acquitted I tend to wonder if fair use is the way forward - as it is a court appointed process that relies on the everyday person fighting against large media institutions who have greater financial resources, and therefore greater power in the courtroom. Court cases cost money, and the average person may find it easier to take down their content rather than trying to fight for their right to display it. The playing field here is not level, despite the laws created to make it so.

Australian copyright law does not contain a fair use clause but does have “fair dealing” exceptions which allow copyrighted material to be used for “research or study, criticism or review, parody or satire, reporting news, or professional advice by a lawyer, patent attorney or trade marks attorney”(Fair Dealing  2008). Yet even if a work is used for educational purposes it is still up to the courts to decide if the use was fair and it is this that worries me. What constitutes as a fair learning experience? Will work created in an effort to self educate be seen as any more or less fair than works created when attending an established education institution? Is one form of learning more legal than the other?

The idea of fair use and copyright may be a good thing to base my remediation project on as I am not sure that copyright law works in the best interest of the everyday person. If anything it seems copyright has the ability to make criminals out of just about everybody. Kookaburras included.

Collins, S. 2008. Recovering Fair Use. M/C Journal 11 (6). http://lms.curtin.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_id=_2_1&url=%2fwebapps%2fblackboard%2fexecute%2flauncher%3ftype%3dCourse%26id%3d_43148_1%26url%3d (accessed 28/9/11).

Fair Dealing. 2008. Australian Copyright Council Information Sheet G079v05: 6. http://www.copyright.org.au/find-an-answer/ (accessed 28/9/11).

2.1: Identify a text you consider to be particularly interactive:

Ive been looking for a Gavin and Stacey inspired interactive text and Ive got to say that the best ones are the ones created by fans. The official websites and Apps just don't cut it.

http://www.gavinandstacey.com/ is an independent fan site for the show and is a place of media convergence. Here fans can access news articles regarding the shows actors, access YouTube videos of their favorite clips, access the fan clubs twitter account and have discussions with other fans on the forum and even buy Gavin and Stacey DVDs from a direct link to amazon. They can also read episode synopses and interviews with cast members and watch character spin offs that have been created for charity.

I think one of the things that has kept the popularity of Gavin and Stacey going, even after its ending is that the fans are still being catered for through the appearance of the characters at awards nights and charity comedy galas such as comic relief for red nose day. The characters are continuing to evolve despite the lack of TV episode of which they were first created.

As a website this particular media text is able to be viewed and interacted with anywhere you can log onto the internet so it is is easy for fans to keep up to date with, and prevents them from having to scour varies websites for the latest news. On this site fans can actively contribute or just read / watch or listen to the content provided by others.

  Gavin and Stacey: Independent fansite for BBC One's most romantic comedy. http://www.gavinandstacey.com/page/2/#.TovqFHHhUio (accessed 5/10/11).

 rednoseday. 2011. Smithy saves Red Nose Day 2011. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdg7Tgv5lo0 (accessed 5/10/11).