"Using your experiences on this project and relating your programmes to other webisodes you have researched, discuss how taking account of the online audience affects the process of showing creative work"
Taking account of an online audience affects the process of showing creative work in a variety of different ways, but the main factor being the length at which you can broadcast your work across the world. Web 2.0 has seen the arrival of video sharing websites such as Youtube and Vimeo, which are accessible almost worldwide and this therefore has a substantial impact as opposed to showing work in a different way, such as an exhibition or play - which consequently is only shown to a small audience. Previous to the internet and showing work online, the ways to show your creative work were scarcely limited, mainly consisting of plays, films, posters, galleries, live presentations, viral videos, books, street performance or local advertisement - which did not reach such a substantial audience as the internet now provides, any time, anywhere.
For example, webisode The Guild would have never risen to such a popular show if they were not able to show their work online, although their show is a web episode, so of course this was always inevitable. Nonetheless, it would not be known in more than one country and would lose fans, popularity, and audiences as a consequence if it was not shown online. Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter have also contributed to the process of showing work online, as you can advertise and promote the series, link to it, comment on it and watch it - all for free; a much different way of advertising compared to paying for an article in a newspaper or paying for some TV air time. The fact that distributing work online is free, is a big incentive for people to create work as now, (unlike previously) they did not have to pay to advertise or promote it.
In terms of working and showing work myself on the internet during this project for our web series Lines, I can say that the availability of showing our work online has helped us substantially. With only a £50 budget, we could not afford to promote in newspapers or TV etc as we simply did not have enough money, and therefore the internet was a great aid in terms of promotion and advertising for our project, and most importantly was free. It meant that our work could be seen worldwide if wanted, and this is highlighted by the fact we had fans from the U.S.A and Spain for our Lines web episode as opposed to simply the UK, a direct consequence of being able to show work online. Facebook, Twitter and Myspace have meant we are able to post direct links to our web episodes, and this has calculated our main percentage of views.
The availability of showing our work online has not only meant we are able to create views worldwide, but also reach an audience we would not have access to had it not been for the internet. Previous ways of showing and exhibiting work have no doubt been highly successful but very limited in terms of worldwide showings, but due to new technology the internet has now made this available. Web forums such as Facepunch have also made work shown on the internet easier to comment on and leave feedback, which previous to the internet the only main ways to obtain feedback was to hold a meeting or verbal discussion.
Another example of taking account of an online audience in terms of showing creative work is the limitations due to the internet, which could be the one bad consequence I can identify. For our web show, we were not allowed swearing, any branding of merchandise, songs, images or video we did not have permission for, and could not say or do anything that would openly offend any person, company etc. This did not limit our audience but may have led some of the audience away due to people’s interests, similarly it also meant we were limited in the work we produced, which is a bad consequence of showing work online. Although showing creative work before in exhibitions, plays etc also limited work, it was not to such an extent that the internet does. For example, if an exhibition was aimed at a certain age, then the content of your work could match the age target audience easily and exhibitions etc meant you could only invite people who fitted the target audience. However with the internet, there are hardly any age restrictions. For example, anybody of any age can go on video sharing website Youtube and select a video, some of which may contain swearing, sexual references etc and no limitations. Consequently, this had led to some restrictions in work produced, as I have found out while doing this project and showing creative work online. Limitations in work is a definite bad consequence to showing work online, despite the massive advantages available.
Overall, I believe now being able to show work online and on the internet is a massive advantage to the process of showing and exhibiting creative work, despite the advantage of limiting work to suit the audience. It has made showing work free, as opposed to paying for an exhibition, play or show. It has made advertising work free, as opposed to paying for an advertisement in a newspaper, TV or on the radio. It has also made being able to get feedback substantially easier, as anyone can leave comments on Youtube, Facebook or Twitter for example if they have an account. This has made feedback for creative work much more easily obtainable, as previously you would have to hold a meeting or discussion about work in order to get any feedback at all. Although feedback on work posted on the internet is mostly written feedback, this does not limit the amount of feedback given, as for example, we received a long comment about our web series on web forum Facepunch.
Showing work online has also influenced creative work in general as being able to see other peoples work across the globe is bound to have an influential aspect to it, and for example on Youtube there are related videos which allow you to see work similar to yours.
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