Thursday 13 December 2012

Cross platform



www.radiohannibal.com
For part of our professional studies unit at University we had an intensive day of lectures by media professionals from different aspects of the industry.  I found the lecture by Tim wright the most inspiring and interesting. Tim is a digital writer and cross platform producer. He has won two BAFTA’s from interactive projects, and written cross media projects for Channel 4 and BBC.  Tim works around creating audience participation for media institutions and products. In todays world of multiplatform technology it is becoming evermore important to think cross platform. The social culture is becoming more interactive and audiences want participation involvement in what they consume. Tim Wright talked about how we should be the next step ahead in thinking not only Television but how we are going to open that up over multiplatform to enhance audience interest. Watching television just isn’t enough for audiences now. For example, there is a smart phone application (app) for the television programme, ‘The million pound drop’ (Channel 4, 2010). It allows you to play along to the quiz show as it is broadcasted live. This app makes the programme more interesting as the audience can actively play along at home and can get prizes right from their own lounge. As Henry Jenkins explains,
 "Convergence occurs within the brains of individual consumers. Yet, each of us constructs our own personal mythology from bits and fragments of information we have extracted from the ongoing flow of media around us and transformed into resources through which we make sense of our everyday lives." (Jenkins, 2006)

www.radiohannibal.com
It does bring to mind what does the future hold for the delivery of television content? How will it fit into the new emerging technologies such as, mobile TV, tethering, tablet TV, Internet, and Internet TV Boxes? What is for sure is that as a student going into the world of television it is important that I am knowledgeable and up to date with current cross platform technologies, which I feel I am. However for an interview perspective it is important to be able to show where I have used cross platforms in my own work. For example I have already been involved in creating a cross platform advertising campaign for a given product and then pitched the idea to a large group of people. Yet it would be good if I could show myself using this in my individual work too. I might look into creating an application or creating an advertising campaign for one of my film projects over social networking websites such as Facebook, Linked In and Twitter. Showing this acknowledgement of platforms beyond television will hopefully be helpful when trying to get a job.

Notes 
Henry Jenkins, Mark Deuze (2006). The Convergence Culture. New York & London: New York University Press.