Rough Edit

We started our edit today. Me Sophie and Sarah took part in creating the rough edit, I think we got a good structure laid out! We just need some effects, titles and polishing adding and we should be done. I've got a good feeling about this video, really pleased we went out that bit further to do the filming! Oscar

Living with the Amish

Living with the Amish is a programme on channel 4 that follows a group of 6 teens taking on the Amish way of life for 6 weeks. I thought that this was appropriate to media convergence as these teenagers have been brought up around social media and digital technology, and this show covers how they are dealing without these items with their new way of Amish life. The teens talk about how they would be at home blogging, texting, gaming or on social websites but instead they are barn raising and sewing. This show is an example of how much teenagers now rely on social media and technology in their everyday lives, and feel quiet lost without it. The show also has a website which i thought i would look at to get more info on the programme, and i found fact files on the teenagers, where viewers could log on and get to know their favorites better. This makes the programme format itself an example of media convergence with the use of multi platform content. The show is also available to watch online through the 4oD service so viewers can catch up anywhere and anytime. The website also has interviews and an archive of series and episodes.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/living-with-the-amish

Sarah :)
xXx

Filming

After a good two weeks of planning and filming on different locations, we have now finished the production side of things with the video. Filming went well and once all the out-takes are edited out I think we'll have a good video to represent media convergence in society and industry today! Onto the edit next week, hopefully that will go well too!

Convergence and our project

Media convergence has really benefitted our group for this assignment, as well as other ones because we have been able to connect through Facebook to arrange meetings and days to film videos etc. Also the use of this blog helps us to see what others have found and allow us to help each other out. I recently borrowed a book written by Henry Jenkins about convergence which helped me to learn much more about convergence and contexts which were affected by convergence, such as Harry potter books which now have websites that have sprung up allowing readers to write their own ideas for others around the world to read.

Methods of communication

Ok so heres the thing I haven't been too well over the last two weeks in fact Ive had to miss university lectures and work and well its been horrible ive literally been stuck in my bedroom in bed on my own without human contact. this made me very grateful for Media convergence as I was able to access many social networking sites to ease my boredom and keep in touch with friends this made me come to the conclusion that communication is one of best advantages and opportunities of Media convergence it is now easier and faster than every before to be able to talk to someone or write a blog and post it. or update your flicker with a click of a button.  giving people more power and opportunities can lead off into all kinds of exciting directions this is a what I feel one of  main goals of Media convergence. 

Media convergence summarised

Because media convergence is such a broad topic, with all the platforms it can be applied to, i thought i would find a source that could summarize the topic for me. This personally helped me understand the subject in its simplest form: http://moneyterms.co.uk/media-convergence/

Our lecturer also sent out an email with a link to the author Henry Jenkins website, who writes about the topic of media convergence. I found it pretty useful and thought i would share :)
http://web.mit.edu/cms/People/henry3/converge.html


He has also written the text book "Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Intersect"


I'll post more soon :) 
Sarah
x

My Electric Dream

After watching the Electric Dreams series which was broadcast on BBC 4 in 2009 it has made it clear how technology affects society in a huge way. If a computer, TV, cooker or fridge is taken away from a family it changes the way they work and live together.
I recently experienced this for myself as when moving house there was no internet connection, it made me realise how much everybody relies on the internet to entertain themselves in the evening. We only had one television set up, with the whole family sat around watching. This was a very strange experience, far away from the independence of our own rooms with our own technology to isolate us. Although it was quite cramped in the room, it made us all realise how dependant we are on technology, we even had a conversation with each other!

To watch the electric dreams series click this link here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUY4CLjNzQ8

Hectic week.

Hello so this is my first actual blog post on this blog its already turning out to be a hectic week monday night I went out for halloween as everyone did hopefully I honestly didn't have that much fun the drink were horrible and the places where packed. anyways i did receive a fun little video sent on my phone of one of my school friends dressed up in his costume in Amsterdam which was funny and nice just to see his face it made me think about these lectures and the actual effect media convergence has in our life without knowing it. without phones and multi media messaging this would not have been possible. on Tuesday also I got a little nice shock again from my blackberry its seems that when I downloaded the Facebook app it then took all my events and placed them into the calendar application of my phone sending me reminders that this event was happening to which i forgot that Carcer City ( a great underground band from Liverpool)  were playing in my city tonight so i ended up going to that with friends. I would of just forgotten about it if not for my blackberry reminding me really guess thats just another example of how media convergence helps enrich our life's. and now im about to go get a shower and then head off to uni. so if you have read this thanks for reading :)