| dc.description.abstract | In February 2010 the Dutch newspaper Het Financieel Dagblad reported
that a Dutch '3D image'-company partnered with Google's YouTube. The
topic of the article was yellowBird (yB), an enterprise producing a rather
unconventional type of online video. YB uses a typical video camera,
similar to the cameras used to produce the still images for 'Google Street
View'. However, different from StreetView's still images, yB offers “...a
moveable 360° image in a spherical shape.” (yellowBird, 2011b) The
media technology used by yB presents itself as a new phenomenon and
the challenge that presents itself is how to conceptualize this 'new' type
of online video.
It is important to note that 'yellowBird' is the brand name of the
enterprise and not the category label for this kind of video. The
technology goes by different names, such as '360 degree video' and
'interactive video' (yellowBird, 2011b). These terms do not do justice to
the technology, because 1. interactivity is a fuzzy concept which does not
explain what this interactiveness means for the user experience, and 2.
yB goes beyond 360 degrees of video. Therefore, this term literally falls
short of accurately describing yB. The aim of this research is to advocate
that participatory video is a more adequate term by which to understand
the category of yB's video technology.
The research is both descriptive and comparative, where the research
method is textual analysis enriched with elements of interface analysis.
The object of the research is yB and where I address yB I refer to the
'showreel', which is a typical example of an online video by yB
(yellowBird, 2011c). The research will provide insight into the concept
participation as used in new media theory. First, I will introduce yB since
this kind of video might be unfamiliar for some readers. Thereafter I will
address the newness of yB by means of Huhtamo's article “Armchair
Traveler on the Ford of Jordan: The Home, the Stereoscope and the
Virtual Voyager” (1995).
I introduce the concept of 'formatted spaces of participation' proposed by
Eggo Muller (2008) because it promotes awareness of the design,
structure and affordance(s) of a (new) medium. In short, the way in
which its space of participation is formatted. Such awareness is
important because design has affordances which enables and even
suggests certain kinds of participation, while at the same time it prohibits
others. Another valuable contribution of Muller's theory is that it
circumvents the often unfruitful dichotomies in texts about new media,
usually described by the labels 'utopian' (positive) and 'dystopian'
(negative) discourses. In order to introduce the concept participation as used in new media
theory I will zoom in on interactivity, participation and participatory
culture, which is needed to understand the arguments for yB being called
participatory video. Furthermore, I intend to employ the three domains
of participation, as coined by Raessens (2006). These domains are
interpretation, construction and reconfiguration. I develop arguments in
favor of yB being called participatory video, providing that this term is
more informative, and better addresses yB's medium specificity
compared to 'interactive' and '360' video. In conclusion, I reflect on the
arguments put forth and intend to have shown the need for, and value of,
the concept participatory video. | |
