The Era of Interactive Experience

The era when people had to put up with the ‘passive experience’ has come to an end. Each day new ideas are developed into creations that keep everyone interacting, and make us approach the new era where the ‘active/real experience’ is starting to dominate and change the World as we know it.

Convergence is helping in the matter, because people now enjoy all this new technologies and trends that are agreeably trying to keep going. We all know the ‘Internet’, and most people spend much of their time disposing of it, for whatever reasons there may be. Social Networking has taken a greater step and now billions of people around the world use sites as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, and others, where one is being interactive. The new ‘touch’ devices that keep on being sold everyday to thousands, and the newest invention for Films, the ‘3D movies’, which are actually the result of people wanting to be more interactive and get more of the ‘real experience’. Such new games as the ‘Wii’ are bringing home the outdoors experience, where one can simulate a tennis match, exercise, dance, etc.

It is to be said that convergence is happening everywhere in the world and it is striking the Media Industries. More and more people are becoming used to the new ways of interaction, and it is not passive anymore. As technologies develop and generations grow up, soon the World will be surrounded by people who only recognize interaction as the usual. There shall be seen what the future beholds, but there is a certain change being seen since now, people like interactive, easy experiences.

- Check out some videos that give more facts about the shifting of technology and society!!

* Video #1 * Video #2 * Video #3

* www.alistapart.com

* www.papers.duringdesign.com

* www.nintendo.co.uk

FILM and PUBLISHING

The Film Industry is definitely taking a stand on having new future trends, as well as many industries in the media arena are changing due to convergence. This article will be mainly focused on the trends occurring right now on the well known industries of Film and Publishing, and also it is to be outlined how these two industries collide at some point.

The old-fashioned, well-recognized, industry of Films is changing its ways into an era where movies are now being more innovative, where 3D movies are the new sensation, and we now face the improvement of digital projection in order to grant the public more of the “real experience”. The growth of blue-ray high definition DVDs and its’ massive distribution and accessibility to the public has not stopped yet from being a trend. In this sense, technology is playing a main role in the changes occurring to the industries. Thus, the Publishing Industry, the one the public most likely associates with old-fashioned books, newspapers and magazines; is now going through a series of dramatic changes. Some of the new trends include the kindle, eBooks, pod casts, and such artifacts as the new Apple’s tablet the iPad. Also, there must be included the popular Internet downloads of content more people are doing everyday, no matter its illegality, and of course the also accessible newspapers’ and magazines’ web pages, as well as social sites like blogs, twitter, etc.

Basically, Internet downloads of movies and books are pretty much a trend that is significantly shaking both industries. On the side of the Publishing Industry, it is quite a turn towards facing difficult times, where the extinction of books, newspapers and magazines may happen, this being an extremely radical point of view. Whereas the Film Industry is gaining more profit; and expanding in massive directions.

Some similarities between these two industries are shown when people in the performing arts/film industry, and mostly authors use such things as blogs, YouTube and Twitter; in order to either get recognition, or present their work. Also, somehow these two industries I think will always keep a traditional part, where some movies will not just be made for profit and will actually stay normal (ex: not always 3D, also because this costs far more), and where books, newspapers and magazines will still be sold. On the other side, some differences are mainly seen by how the Film Industry is not being so shaken with convergence as the Publishing Industry is. The profits for the Film Industry keep increasing; also, not all movies rely on the Publishing Industry to have material. And while authors may become more independent, I think people working in the Film Industry will always keep sort of a co-relation that could never make them completely autonomous.

For the part where these two industries actually get to work together, we have some creative initiatives that we have already seen, as for example, when some books are made into movies, and after the movie is out; the book is re-sold and maybe made into a specific way that matches the movie’s version. This way the movie is advertised by the book, and also through newspapers, magazines, blogs, YouTube, Twitter and so on. An example nowadays is the books of the American author Nicholas Sparks (‘The Notebook’, ‘The Last Song’, and ‘Dear John’) which have been made into movies.

So for the most part, it is really interesting to see how these two industries collaborate with each other, and how they are being hit by convergence. It is difficult to tell which will be the final results of these industries, but one can only see the patterns and expect. Somehow both industries help each other, and it is to be sure that they will stick around for a while.

From: www.telegraph.co.uk/

References:

www.plunkettresearch.com

www.nymag.com

www.publishingtrends.com

www.literarypublishinguk.blogspot.com

Interesting Links:

www.youtube.com

www.mindfp.com.au

UK Major Film Studios!!

"A Young, Passionate Actress"

KEIRA KNIGHTLY

Keira Christina Knightly is among today’s most recognized British actresses around the globe. She was born on March 26th 1985 in Teddington, Greater London, England. Her parents, Will Knightley and Sharman MacDonald were also actors; but they never encouraged Keira to get enrolled in acting. And she has an elder brother named Caleb.

Surprisingly, Keira first asked for an agent at age three, but it was not until she was six that her parents found an agent for her in reward for her good grades at school. And this was mainly because Keira suffers from a learning disorder called dyslexia. Thus her parents were always preoccupied for her learning more than her acting.

Acting was Keira’s determination since she can remember. She started acting in several local amateur productions including ‘After Juliet’ written by her mother. Then in 1994, at the age of nine, Keira acquired a role in Moira Armstrong’s ‘A Village Affair’. After this, she began to play small roles in other productions. And in 1999 she got a role in ‘Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace’.

Keira’s first starring role came in 2001 when she played the daughter of Robin Hood in the Walt Disney Production ‘Princess of Thieves’. After this role, she continued to play different roles in various TV programs until 2002 arrived and Knightley experienced her break out as an actress in the film ‘Bend it like Beckham’. This film was an unexpected, huge international success and lead Keira to be casted in an upcoming film that became Keira’s move towards becoming the new “It” girl. It was ‘Pirates of The Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl’ on 2003, where she actually got the leading female role, and played along side well recognized actors Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom. Pirates of the Caribbean has so far produced three movies where Keira plays a very important role, and it is in negotiation the filming of a 4^th movie.

Meanwhile, being already introduced to the world of success in acting, Keira has been working on many other productions, and one of them in particular was the movie for the author Jane Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’, where Keira plays the most important character in the story, Elizabeth Bennet. Nonetheless, her role in ‘Pride and Prejudice’ earned Knightley a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination.

Far from being a pedant actress, Knightley enjoys theatre as she showed on December 2009 with her debut at the Comedy Theatre in London in the play ‘The Misanthrope’. Very passionate about her work, she has admitted in previous interviews she actually feels as a workaholic but has also stated that she could see herself leaving acting whenever she needs a break. On the other hand, Keira has a great passion for making people aware of certain humanitarian campaigns. She is the face for an Amnesty International campaign. Knightley also supports and helps with donations to Comic Relief, a British charity organization founded by comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis in 1985.

The actress has also traveled to Ethiopia to help and raise awareness on behalf of the Comic Relief charity organization. Also, in 2006 she donated her gown to Oxfam International, a non-governmental organization that fights against poverty and injustice. And in April 2009, Keira appeared in a very criticized video entitled ‘Cut’, where the actress raises awareness of domestic abuse.

Thus far, Keira Knightley has earned a good reputation between actors even though she is still young. Acting is something she loves since she can remember and luckily she is now at the top. But still, she is a very compassionate woman who stands up for what she believes and keeps on demonstrating it by her hard work in raising awareness and helping others.

Main Sources:

www.keiraknightley.com

www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keira_Knightley

www.comicrelief.com

www.oxfam.org

Why Can't I Do This?

REGULATORS? Yes! Those that controll content by a set of rules and restrictions.

Since the Industry of the Performing Arts is a CROSS-OVER, regulators will actually work upon FILM and TV, MEDIA to be precise!!

Some Regulators of the Media Industry such as Film and TV in the UK are:

* The BRITISH BOARD OF FILM CLASSIFICATION (BBFC), which is an independent body and an External Regulator for Film and Video, and it classifies films in the UK.

* OFCom, another independent regulator body which takes part in distribution, content and competition among telecommunications.

* The UK Film Council, a regulator body backed by the government, which ensures that many aspects of Films are transmitted properly.

* The Video Standards Council (VSC), a non-profit-making company that promotes high standards within the video industry and ensures distribution is being done in a good manner.

Lets Map The Industry!

The Performing Arts Industry is quite complex when it comes to mapping it!! Because actors themselves can not be mapped. They are mostly independent, but they work for Films, TV, Theatre and so on.

Basically, this Industry can be called a CROSS-OVER!!! Thus, it would be correct to map the main part of the Actor's fucos, and I chose to map the section of FILM and TV:

A Vision of Perfection

*The Idea*

The idea of a well organized and interactive Acting Company where people from different backgrounds entertain working in TV and Cinema with as much creativity and culture.

*The Image*

A Hollywood-like studio, cameras rolling and people acting!

*The Sound*

Mesmerizing applauses

*The words*

"That's a wrap!"