Convergence Television (Last blog post due anytime before final exam)
Discuss how you see two of John Caldwell’s five elements of convergence television (outlined on page 46 of his essay) applying to the television you consume today.
Televisual content is now easily accessible online and television company’s promote the usage of the internet in order to engage fans. Two very distinct things I have noticed increase in the past decade is marketing textuality and programming textuality. Often times, tv shows have their own merchandise that they market to the fans thru online sites. BBC has a wide selection of items for each of its hit tv series: Doctor Who, Sherlock, Downton Abbey, etc.
Programming textuality is seen through the usage of specific hashtags to tweet about a show or a certain tv event. When Doctor Who had its 50th anniversary episode screening, they specifically had ads that marketed the #savetheday hashtag. Not all shows market their hashtag, sometime when you’re watching tv there might just be a little thing at the bottom of the screen that says: join the conversation, tweet @...., or tell us your thoughts use #....These tactics actually work and engage the audience more than they were in previous eras.
The convergence of TV content on the internet allows fans to increase their interaction with the show and its characters; along with feeding their addiction for information.
I chose to pick a specific example of the television I consume today, the show Community, as a representation of Cadwell’s five elements of convergence television. The first element I see in the show comes in the form of “stunting”. It is common for the show to poke fun at the conventions of both its own form and those of television in general, but the show often pulls its content directly from the fan and media interactions with the program. One example comes from an episode in the second season where the main character have over-dramatized, slow-mo, flashbacks of their relationships set to the song “gravity”. This element of the episode is a direct reference to a fan practice of pairing up characters and setting their interactions to a slow song. Not only does it directly reference the fan practice of “shipping” but it also copies and utilizes the exact form of the fan videos. The second element comes in the form of “ancillary textuality”. Though the show has been cancelled by NBC, it has found new life and audience by making a migration to an online access point. Not only is the entire series available for streaming on Hulu, but Yahoo plans to produce a sixth season of the show to air exclusively under their brand. This practice allows for shows to live beyond the boundaries and limitations of broadcast television, and find new life on an online platform.
HBO has been an extremely popular network for quite some time now, partially because of the ancillary textuality of their shows. HBO's shows, whether currently or formerly airing, having unlimited longevity due to the accessibility on HBO Go. HBO Go is a feature provided by HBO that allows all subscribers to view any TV show or film that HBO has shown or is showing, through any device. This is particularly convenient for those that have a desire to view a show that HBO no longer airs on TV, or for those that had to miss a new episode for whatever reason (it’s available on HBO Go the next day). For people like me, who can’t watch a show just once, the availability of “Entourage” on my computer, TV, phone, and iPad is a great luxury to have.
Secondly, HBO has become quite well known for their programming textuality. HBO expertly divvies up their popular shows over the course of the year to consistently maintain heavy viewership. So, once viewers are done with “True Detective”, they can look forward to “Game of Thrones” arriving shortly afterward. HBO has most certainly taken advantage of its vast popularity, by incorporating new material to be shown after its popular material. For example, HBO piggybacked a new show “Silicon Valley” on their most popular one, “Game of Thrones”, with great success. These two features, coupled with the simple fact that HBO makes excellent shows, make it worth the subscription.
The love for superheroes has always been strong but lately it seems as thought the television and film industries have reached a particular high, something I quite enjoy. The “genre” of superhero has always been one that crossed platforms. The CW shows of Arrow and Flash are two examples of this and demonstrate Caldwell’s elements of convergence television. As these characters originated from comic books, the shows producers have worked to integrate that form back into the show’s reach, illustrating the idea of Conglomerate Textuality. Although not originally titled, DC comics released issues of the comic book “Arrow: Season 2.5” during the hiatus between the second and third season. This comic was an attempt to keep viewers engaged in the show and even develop the story line outside of the actual show’s broadcast. This tactic is not new to the CW, having released Smallville Season 11 via comic after the series concluded, as its abundance of comic book based superhero shows lend their formats to this type of transmedia storytelling. The CW has also shown a mastery of Programming Textuality with its recent crossover episodes of “Flash vs Arrow”. Characters from one show were brought in for an episode of the other show as an episodic stunt to combine their worlds. Each show maintained its normal style with the characters of the other show being slight repurposed for the new structure. This stunt clearly worked giving both shows their highest ratings of the series.
Conglomerate Textuality has only increased in modern techniques of television as producers have to compete with newer forms of entertainment. So now not only can a fan watch a show to enjoy it, he/she must also consume different forms of media to gain full access to the story. Agents of Shield is a great example, a television show that needs viewers to at least have a small understanding of the Marvel universe, both in film and in the comic books. And in fact, this allows for alternate viewership experiences. A person who has only seen the movies won't catch the references that avid comic readers will spot in each episode. Stunting is another method many newer shows use to engage audiences, not just in the show like many comedies such as 30 Rock, Community, etc, but in those alternate forms of media highlighted in the conglomerate textuality. For instance, in Arrow, mentioned above, the actors have active twitter accounts, where they discuss the show out-of-character with fans who tweet to them. Fans who follow Stephen Amell, the main star, get sneak peaks and little hints for upcoming episodes that blur the lines between what is advertising and what is another form of the show.
There are many ways that TV convergence influences the television programming that I consume today. For example, I'm a big fan of Jimmy Fallon, particularly his "slow jam the news" segments. These segments not only deliver significant news stories, but do so in a hilarious fashion. To be sure, NBC loves that segment as well, especially when Brian Williams, host of NBC Nightly News, is the special slow-jamming guest. This is an example of ancillary textuality, a migration of content across different NBC programs.
Two of my favorite shows on TV, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report, often partake in convergence practices as well. The Colbert Report only exists at all because of Colbert's genius as a correspondent for Jon Stewart. During the 2012 presidential campaign, the two Comedy Central hosts appeared on each other's shows many times during a long-running bit about Super PACs and campaign donations. As Colbert's show is scheduled to go off the air after tonight, Colbert has been "stunting" recently, as well. A week ago Colbert broadcasted his show live from Washington, D.C., instead of a pre-recording in his NYC studio, per usual. Adding the element of liveness attempts to recapture appointment-viewing magic, or at least create a special experience for the audience by switching up the formula.
Another show, which I don't watch, but is perhaps the most prominent example of a convergence text on television today, is Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. This show airs on ABC, owned by Disney. The show is meant to work in conjunction with the Marvel cinematic universe, an interconnecting series of films that exist in the same reality. The show gives background on characters that fans know from the films and comic books, as well as previews of key players that may appear in future films. The convergence works well for Disney, as they can promote their product (Disney owns Marvel Studios) on their own network, something they also do with their fairytale mashup, Once Upon a Time.
Televisual content is now easily accessible online and television company’s promote the usage of the internet in order to engage fans. Two very distinct things I have noticed increase in the past decade is marketing textuality and programming textuality. Often times, tv shows have their own merchandise that they market to the fans thru online sites. BBC has a wide selection of items for each of its hit tv series: Doctor Who, Sherlock, Downton Abbey, etc.
ReplyDeleteProgramming textuality is seen through the usage of specific hashtags to tweet about a show or a certain tv event. When Doctor Who had its 50th anniversary episode screening, they specifically had ads that marketed the #savetheday hashtag. Not all shows market their hashtag, sometime when you’re watching tv there might just be a little thing at the bottom of the screen that says: join the conversation, tweet @...., or tell us your thoughts use #....These tactics actually work and engage the audience more than they were in previous eras.
The convergence of TV content on the internet allows fans to increase their interaction with the show and its characters; along with feeding their addiction for information.
I chose to pick a specific example of the television I consume today, the show Community, as a representation of Cadwell’s five elements of convergence television. The first element I see in the show comes in the form of “stunting”. It is common for the show to poke fun at the conventions of both its own form and those of television in general, but the show often pulls its content directly from the fan and media interactions with the program. One example comes from an episode in the second season where the main character have over-dramatized, slow-mo, flashbacks of their relationships set to the song “gravity”. This element of the episode is a direct reference to a fan practice of pairing up characters and setting their interactions to a slow song. Not only does it directly reference the fan practice of “shipping” but it also copies and utilizes the exact form of the fan videos. The second element comes in the form of “ancillary textuality”. Though the show has been cancelled by NBC, it has found new life and audience by making a migration to an online access point. Not only is the entire series available for streaming on Hulu, but Yahoo plans to produce a sixth season of the show to air exclusively under their brand. This practice allows for shows to live beyond the boundaries and limitations of broadcast television, and find new life on an online platform.
ReplyDeleteHBO has been an extremely popular network for quite some time now, partially because of the ancillary textuality of their shows. HBO's shows, whether currently or formerly airing, having unlimited longevity due to the accessibility on HBO Go. HBO Go is a feature provided by HBO that allows all subscribers to view any TV show or film that HBO has shown or is showing, through any device. This is particularly convenient for those that have a desire to view a show that HBO no longer airs on TV, or for those that had to miss a new episode for whatever reason (it’s available on HBO Go the next day). For people like me, who can’t watch a show just once, the availability of “Entourage” on my computer, TV, phone, and iPad is a great luxury to have.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, HBO has become quite well known for their programming textuality. HBO expertly divvies up their popular shows over the course of the year to consistently maintain heavy viewership. So, once viewers are done with “True Detective”, they can look forward to “Game of Thrones” arriving shortly afterward. HBO has most certainly taken advantage of its vast popularity, by incorporating new material to be shown after its popular material. For example, HBO piggybacked a new show “Silicon Valley” on their most popular one, “Game of Thrones”, with great success. These two features, coupled with the simple fact that HBO makes excellent shows, make it worth the subscription.
The love for superheroes has always been strong but lately it seems as thought the television and film industries have reached a particular high, something I quite enjoy. The “genre” of superhero has always been one that crossed platforms. The CW shows of Arrow and Flash are two examples of this and demonstrate Caldwell’s elements of convergence television. As these characters originated from comic books, the shows producers have worked to integrate that form back into the show’s reach, illustrating the idea of Conglomerate Textuality. Although not originally titled, DC comics released issues of the comic book “Arrow: Season 2.5” during the hiatus between the second and third season. This comic was an attempt to keep viewers engaged in the show and even develop the story line outside of the actual show’s broadcast. This tactic is not new to the CW, having released Smallville Season 11 via comic after the series concluded, as its abundance of comic book based superhero shows lend their formats to this type of transmedia storytelling. The CW has also shown a mastery of Programming Textuality with its recent crossover episodes of “Flash vs Arrow”. Characters from one show were brought in for an episode of the other show as an episodic stunt to combine their worlds. Each show maintained its normal style with the characters of the other show being slight repurposed for the new structure. This stunt clearly worked giving both shows their highest ratings of the series.
ReplyDeleteConglomerate Textuality has only increased in modern techniques of television as producers have to compete with newer forms of entertainment. So now not only can a fan watch a show to enjoy it, he/she must also consume different forms of media to gain full access to the story. Agents of Shield is a great example, a television show that needs viewers to at least have a small understanding of the Marvel universe, both in film and in the comic books. And in fact, this allows for alternate viewership experiences. A person who has only seen the movies won't catch the references that avid comic readers will spot in each episode. Stunting is another method many newer shows use to engage audiences, not just in the show like many comedies such as 30 Rock, Community, etc, but in those alternate forms of media highlighted in the conglomerate textuality. For instance, in Arrow, mentioned above, the actors have active twitter accounts, where they discuss the show out-of-character with fans who tweet to them. Fans who follow Stephen Amell, the main star, get sneak peaks and little hints for upcoming episodes that blur the lines between what is advertising and what is another form of the show.
ReplyDeleteThere are many ways that TV convergence influences the television programming that I consume today. For example, I'm a big fan of Jimmy Fallon, particularly his "slow jam the news" segments. These segments not only deliver significant news stories, but do so in a hilarious fashion. To be sure, NBC loves that segment as well, especially when Brian Williams, host of NBC Nightly News, is the special slow-jamming guest. This is an example of ancillary textuality, a migration of content across different NBC programs.
ReplyDeleteTwo of my favorite shows on TV, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report, often partake in convergence practices as well. The Colbert Report only exists at all because of Colbert's genius as a correspondent for Jon Stewart. During the 2012 presidential campaign, the two Comedy Central hosts appeared on each other's shows many times during a long-running bit about Super PACs and campaign donations. As Colbert's show is scheduled to go off the air after tonight, Colbert has been "stunting" recently, as well. A week ago Colbert broadcasted his show live from Washington, D.C., instead of a pre-recording in his NYC studio, per usual. Adding the element of liveness attempts to recapture appointment-viewing magic, or at least create a special experience for the audience by switching up the formula.
Another show, which I don't watch, but is perhaps the most prominent example of a convergence text on television today, is Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. This show airs on ABC, owned by Disney. The show is meant to work in conjunction with the Marvel cinematic universe, an interconnecting series of films that exist in the same reality. The show gives background on characters that fans know from the films and comic books, as well as previews of key players that may appear in future films. The convergence works well for Disney, as they can promote their product (Disney owns Marvel Studios) on their own network, something they also do with their fairytale mashup, Once Upon a Time.