User:ProfLA

BELOW ARE 8 DESCRIPTIONS OF THE WAY FILM “USED” TO BE. THESE CHARACTERISTICS OF FILM APPLY BOTH TO WAY FILM WAS PRODUCED AND DISTRIBUTED AND TO THE WAYS WE EXPERIENCED FILMS.

EXPLAIN HOW CONVERGENCE CULTURE FUNDAMENTALLY CHALLENGES OR CHANGES EACH OF THESE CHARACTERISTICS OF FILM. (There may be some overlap, but each answer should be different (12 points each)

1. Gaps in the plot were not good.

Jenkins discusses about the gaps in The Matrix and says no film franchise has ever made such demands on its consumers. Before gaps in movies, plots were not good because critics didn't like gaps in films. If the plot wasn't something simple that made sense then they weren't happy. Convergence culture changed that by transmedia storytelling because participants are expected to do their homework in a sense and fill in these gaps. This is now seen as something good because it engages people to participate and it gets them excited to know they're a pro at the movie and they may know more than the average viewer. A good example of this is in the sequel, The Matrix Reloaded which opens without a recap and it also ends abruptly. For viewers who are Matrix fans, they will wait for the third installment of the movie to complete the second part. Also the sequel won't need a recap if you have done your homework of the movie. The filmmakers plant clues that won't make snese until you have played the computer game. There are hidden meanings that may be able to make sense by unlocking different levels in the Matrix game. This converges the movie experience with the internet. There are back stories in this movie that had to be downloaded off the web or from watching a seperate DVD. Fans love dissecting every piece of information and then debate about it. The Matrixis also entertainment for the era of collective intelligence (Jenkins pg. 97) Viewers get more out of the experience if they compare notes and share their resources. Gaps in the plot today can be useful for movies; they provide holes that need to be filled in order to satisfy consumers. They are windows of opportunity for merchandising, that hopefully the consumer will consume, thus creating a commitment to the overall franchise. As with The Matrix sequels, many fans were left with many questions, some of which even lost interest because of the gaps in the plot. 2. Excesses confused the viewer.

3. The film-going experience was contained to one sitting whether at the theater or at the tv/vcr.

In the traditional film industry which was the classical age of cinema people would watch movies in theaters. Gatekeepers had more control over viewers through "Film 1.0" by controlling what was watched along with how and when the product was watched. Now in "Film 2.0" through this age of convergence things have changed. There has been a rise of digital technologies and people are no longer constricted by industry demands on how, when, why or what is viewed. Viewers are now watching movies via mediums other than the traditional movie theatre. Now things like IPods, cell phones, the internet, etc. all act as personal and or mobile theaters. This is beneficial to viewers because instead of waiting for a movie to come out in theaters they can watch a film at their convenience. People can sit in the comfort of their own homes and multi-task while watching a movie on a computer. With transmedia storytelling stories are being told differently and in a non-linear way. In this new age of convergence movie-goers are experiencing storytelling through multiple media formats and users are becoming co-creaters. Users are making contributions and expanding the stories in their own way. There is now a fan world being created outside the theater rather than just a two hour experience like in "Film 1.0" The Matrix is a great example of transmedia storytelling. According to Jenkins, the consumer who has played the game or watched the short clips will get a different experience from the movies than one who had just the theatrical film experience. The whole is worth more than the sum of the parts (Jenkins pg. 104). Convergence is challenging gatekeepers, box office ticket sales, and how the film industry makes money.

4. “At first you pitched a good story, because without a good story you didn’t have a film. Then with sequels, you pitched a good character, because a good character could support multiple stories.

5. The product remained the same across platforms (theater, tv, vhs)

In the past, film companies had the final word in a single film. The Production company ruled, as it provided the money, people, theaters etc. that gave a film a platform to exist. Due to the Producer's stronghold of the final say, what was released to the theater may not have always been what a director envisioned; a wide range of reasons, from artistic differences between director and producer to budgetary concerns, could have caused a film to not be truly finished in the eyes of the director upon its release. This dilema can still occur, but with the advent of dvd, and television release for films it is a problem that can be overcome. Many times films need to be cut down from their original envisioning due to time constraints, with a dvd we don't have that problem. We are inundated with newer, better versions of films all the time. Director's cuts, extended scenes, and special features make it possible for the viewer to experience a film the way the auteur' intended for it to be seen without the constraints of the typical theatre going experience.

6. Merchandising was used to promote films. Redundancy was ok.

7. Film making was a practice left to professionals.

8. Film studios were more “prohibitionist,” they limited the ways we could participate with the film experience.