Ethnographic Study: active audiences
Digital collage: Cafe Culture and the Public Sphere
Digital collage: Virtual and Augmented spaces
New Media Research :3CP070
Mark Davison: 29474
Audience Research
3CP070 New Media Research > Ethnographic Study
: An Ethnographic Study of the Active Audience Due to the advancements of technology, particularly in the last decade and the introduction of new media technologies such as social networking there has been a shift in the roles of audiences and how we research audiences.
One of the major implications of new media on audiences is the ability to access media on demand on a wide variety of devices such as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, mp3 players etc. This changes the way audiences access such media from what Professor David Gauntlett terms a ‘sit back and be told culture’ to more of an open, self-controlled form of consumption. The changing media landscape removes the heavy influence and control from the traditional dominant media companies and the ability to control consumption alters how we as an audience access it therefore, we no longer ‘sit back and be told’ what to consume. New media technologies also encourage and enable the audience to not only access media when/ how they choose but can also become the producers of such media. Sites such as YouTube for example allow audiences to upload their own videos in order to themselves, attract a viewing audience. These new forms of media also mean that there has to be a shift in the way we also research audiences as the ways in which they consume media have altered. For example television production companies in the past have been interested in the ratings their shows receive and how they alter during different times of the day.
However, new media has changed the validity of these ratings, as technologies such as ondemand enable audiences to view media how and when they choose resulting in fewer people watching them during their broadcast. The fragmentation of media audiences damages the effectiveness of researching audiences in the traditional way, as audiences no longer view as much media in a traditional (such as before digital television). However, new media has changed the validity of these ratings, as technologies such as on-demand enable audiences to view media how and when they choose resulting in fewer people watching them during their broadcast. The fragmentation of media audiences damages the effectiveness of researching audiences in the traditional way, as audiences no longer view as much media in a traditional way (such as before digital television). Therefore, we must find alternate, more effective techniques of measuring and researching audiences. Such techniques could be through social networking techniques such as ‘likes’ on Facebook, online forums, views on YouTube, trends on Twitter etc.
However, problems can also arise from using these more technologically modern technqiues of researching audience as people/businesses are able to ‘fake’the amount of followers/ likes/ shares which they recieve in order to gain a higher following. The use of ‘click farms’ can be an issue as low cost workforces are hired to like/ share certain forms of media which boost the online popularity of certain forms of online media to a higher amount providing an unfair advantage over competing internet users. It is important that we research audiences in all aspects of media to analyse how effective these forms of media are and how they shape the behaviours/ personalities of audiences. For example if a particular form of media showcases/ promotes violence we must ensure this does not negatively effect the audiences behaviour, particularly children. The ‘immersion’ technique is used as a way of measuring the impacts and concentration levels of media audiences by recording their facial expressions over a long period of time.
Above: An example image from Robbie Cooper’s: The Immersion Project
Robbie Cooper: The Immersion Project Robbie Cooper is contemporary artist/ photographer and film-maker from the UK and is widely known for his work on new media audiences. Robbie Cooper is renowned for using this technique for measuring audience reactions to media with the ‘immersion project’. Cooper used this technique by recording his participants ‘through the screen’ whilst interacting with different forms of media such as video games, television and the internet. By recording his participants with a high resolution camera, Cooper extracted some of the stills from the footage which showcase how immerged and fixated the audience were on such content through the facial expressions and body language from a face to face point of view. The images which Cooper produced show the power these media forms have on the audience and how the audiences expressions are shaped by the content which they are involved with, which is something I wanted to capture during my audience research project. For my research project, I decided to focus on the emotions of video gaming audiences and how the content of the video games shape
their behaviours/ expressions. I aimed to achieve this by photographing my participants’ in their home setting, whilst playing various video games to see whether the content/genre of game would influence their behaviours/ facial expressions. In a similar style to Robbie Coopers work, I photographed my participants whilst they were engaging with the video games and aiming at their facial expressions to see how they changed/ were shaped by the content. However, I chose to focus on two participants at the same time, of who knew each other closely and had played such video games together before in order capture a realistic playing experience and one which was familiar to them. This would enable me to identify whether the participants of my study would show similar facial expressions/ body languages to the contentwhich was being delivered to them. Robbie Cooper’s research focused on one participant at at time, and showed similar attributes through the screenshots however, video gaming provides a different gaming
experience each time as opposed to a movie (which delivers the same content each time) therefore I thought it was necessary to capture the shared experience during my research. Cooper also performed his research under a controlled lab setting, which would have been an unfamiliar environment for his participants and one which they were not accustomed to. During my research however, I aimed to create a natural, typical experience for the participants of the research which I feel I achieved by conducting it in their home setting. The research I conducted also featured a range of gaming genres in order to identify if the genre determined the concentration/ immersion levels of the audience (e.g. a sports game may provide a more relaxed experience to a first person shooter) and if the level of violence etc. would alter or shape the results of the photographs.
3CP070 New Media Research > Ethnographic Study
I began with the popular game franchise ‘Call of Duty’ for this research as I felt the action/ shooter genre would bring out many emotions, particularly those of anger/ frustration. The image shown above was taken during the beginning of an online match and shows a sense of rush on concentration to begin the game. The participants were transfixed on the screen searching for opponents to kill and rarely took their eyes of the screen.
3CP070 New Media Research > Ethnographic Study
The above image was also taken during a compeitive game between the two participants. The participant on the right snarled his teeth whilst shooting the other participant which was similar to the face depicted in action films and games when the participant his showcasing his power and anger during war, such as the character shown on the image.
The image above was taken during a competitive game between the two participants whose expressions signify their concentration and focus on the game. It was noticable how the participants did not show much body language during their gaming, and their eyes and fingers were the only moving body parts.
3CP070 New Media Research > Ethnographic Study
The above image was taken during a game of the popular football gaming franchise ‘FIFA 14’. The participant on the right is shown cheering and celebrating after scoring a goal. This behaviour is similar to that shown of proffesional footballers, capturing the participants feeling of acheivement and proud. The participant on the left however, shows a look of dissapointment, looking away from the screen in disbelief.
3CP070 New Media Research > Ethnographic Study
The image above shows the participant on the right with his mouth ajar, which was taken during a vital goal to win the game. Both participants are shown transfixed on the outcome of the shot.
The image shown on the right was taken whilst the particpant was dribbling past the opponetns team. His tongue was slighty showing which signified his concentration and hope of scoring past his opponent.
3CP070 New Media Research > Ethnographic Study
The final game I observed the participants playing was the driving game ‘Dirt 3’. During this game I noticed the participants moving their bodies left and right whilst turning corners as if they were in the driving seat of the game which I aimed to capture with the above image.
3CP070 New Media Research > Ethnographic Study
The image on the right was taken during a race between the two participants. Their eyes were fixed on the screen, particulalry towards the end of the race and seemed to stop talking towards the final laps of the race.
The final image shown on the right was taken during a crash between the participants of the game. Their faces changed from concentration to laughter during a collision removing the seriousness and competitiveness between the players.
Cafe Culture : An Ethnographic Study the Cafe Culture;
The purpose of this study is to investigate the use of new media technologies in the café environment and how these technologies have shaped café culture and its purpose in today’s society. By performing an ethnographic study I have gathered research into how café customers behave in the café and monitored certain behaviour patterns shaped by the usage of new media technologies.
Charles Soukup, a researcher from Colorado was particularly interested in the use of ethnographic research of mediated spaces and recognised that ethnographic researchers must develop alternate methods of social research to deal with the changes brought by new media.
Soukup recognises that we are living in a hyper-mediated culture, with new media technologies forming a huge part of social life and cannot be ignored (particularly in Western Culture). He was particularly interested in ethnographic studies in coffee-houses as they are ‘familiar public spaces saturated with media devices’. Soukup also performed these observations in both large global franchises as well as local, smaller businesses. Soukup sat in these coffee-houses, and recorded various behaviours such as human interactions, customers usage of technologies etc. to discover how café culture has become hyper mediated and the importance of studying such events. I have adapted Soukup’s studies and created by own ethnographic study within café culture.
My aim for this task was to focus on the concept of the public sphere surrounding cafe culture. To achieve this, I performed ethnographic studies in two different cafes with two different social environments. I chose to create a study in a small, local cafe called ‘Contrast’ and one in ‘Costa’, a more established, chain franchise. The ethnographic study involved me as a non-participant observer going into each cafe as a customer and covertly monitoring and noting various behaviours, interactions etc. of the customers. This method enabled me to gather a first hand, more reliable source of information from my primary research. The fact that the customers were unaware they were being monitored further increased the reliability and validity of my data as they acted as they naturally would in such environments. I chose to perform a study in two different cafes as I wanted to analyse how the social environment of the cafe has altered and its function has changed. ‘Contrast’ cafe provided a ‘local’ cafe experience, and seemed to focus on much more traditional ideals as a cafe whereas ‘Costa’ is a more established, well known chain franchise and appeared to attract a younger, wealthier audience due to it’s pricing and interior design. I noted various data types during my ethnographic study such as the design of the cafés, the products, the age/ gender/ clothing of customers, the behaviours of the customers and the staff etc.
My non-participant studies revealed various findings which in some ways showcase the variations in roles of local cafés and franchise cafés. From my time spent in ‘contrast’ café during my study I found a lot of evidence of face-to-face social interaction between the customers as well as the employees. A majority of the customers during my time at the café appeared to be from a labouring background, wearing their work clothes appearing to be having a break. The way in which the café was laid out somewhat encouraged customers to socially interact with one another as a majority of the seating was in booths, whereas in ‘costa’ their was a large amount of individual seating. I also noticed a lack of interaction with media technologies in ‘contrast’ café, as the customers were more reliant on social interaction rather than technological interaction. Aside from a few customers checking mobile phones, their wasn’t any new media technologies being used in the café as they appeared to be more reliant on traditional media, with some customers reading newspapers and a radio being played by the staff.
3CP070 New Media Research > Ethnographic Study
This seemed to be representative of the age of the customers, as their appeared to be a higher age sample in the local café than the franchised café. Their was evidence of a relationship between the age of the customers and their interaction with media devices. I noticed that a majority of the newspapers being read by the customers were of a local origin which also suggests a traditional imagehub’ and and focusing primarily on technology than other customers/ staff. I found that a lot of the customers were also using headphones/earphones, appearing to block any noise which would distract them from their laptops/ tablets etc. I also found that some customers appeared to be working whilst in the café, combining leisure with work as they typed documents whilst in the café. The décor was of a much higher, more modern standard as well as the packaging etc. the products came in. The costa logo was evident on various aspects of the café such as on the cups, menus, aprons of staff etc. and the particular use of style of decoration and colour usage showcased the modernity of the brand and replaced the naturalism of the ‘café experience’ that was seen in the local café, with a somewhat Americanised, recognisable modern image. The collage I have designed aims to showcase this shift from the traditional café, which was more focused on face-to-face social interaction and provided a place for people to meet and discuss certain topics/ideas to a more modern, individual café experience. Modern cafés appear to be more centred around technology and providing a space to use such technologies and in some cases a working environment. Charles Soukup’s recognises that ethnographic researchers need to alter how they study post-modern culture in order to understand the mass implications digital technology has on various cultures. These alterations give the researcher a deeper insight into the vital implications new media has on post-modern culture, which is what shaped the design of my ethnographic study.
3CP070 New Media Research > Ethnographic Study
Media,Space & Place
3CP070 New Media Research > Ethnographic Study
: A digital collage representing the future of space, place and mobility in the mediated environment
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between space, place and mobility within the retail environment. The advancements of new media technologies, particularly within the last few decades have brought many changes in the ways in which it functions and the ways in which the customers interact with and use its services.
The shopping centre/mall environment is no longer just a place for customers to simply purchase goods, as screen based media has made it possible for advertisers to promote their new products to active consumers throughout the stores as well as providing interactive forms of media such as games through touch screen technologies. These services can also be of a helpful use for the customers, with maps of the stores detailing where things are and on which floors.
New media technologies have also enabled the use of augmented realities on devices such as smart phones. The use of this technology encourages customers to interact with their applications which can be particularly useful in terms of marketing. Smart phones have the ability to project images on their screens which are not visible to the naked eye which expands the space in which the user is based.
These services assist customers in terms of manoeuvring around the store and locating specific shops and services. Smart phone technologies also shape the ways in which customers interact within the retail environment as businesses can develop applications designed around the functionalities of the stores such as maps, special offers, opening times etc. Social media can also attract customers to a specific store/ area of a store. The application Foursquare for example uses social media which awards customers by giving points and badges for visiting or buying from a specific store. This turns their visit into somewhat of a game, allowing them to share their badges and points to their friends and online which can reward them with special offers/ discounts. This competition between users to visit a certain store can attract a wide range of people and provide a little extra benefit of their visit.
Jean Baudrillard recognises the importance of signs and codes used in advertising to the retail environment and the implications these signs have on both the consumer and marketers. Baudrillard identifies that people not only consume the physical products of a certain brand but also the signs and images which these brands create. The use of screen based media enable retail companies to show their specific brand name/ products throughout the retail environment. Signs such as brand logos on screens become part of the media place disguised in flooring, walls, windows etc. to enable a more natural technique of advertising a certain brand name as well as the product on offer.
Apple, as well as many other prestigious brands are recognised not by the title of their company but the sign/ logo used which can be widely recognised throughout the world. The logo has become the significance and individuality of the brand and is what represents its desired image. During a trip to Leeds Trinity Shopping centre the use of screen based media was widely apparent throughout the building. Each individual brand manipulated how their brand was presented on the screens to project their image in a certain way. Hollister for example replaced windows of the store with huge screens showing waves moving in the sea.
Companies are able to project images of their products, information, directions and various other images on the screen of their smart phones using this technology. This exciting new technology is becoming more and more popular and encourages the customers to be creative and interactive as well as providing useful services. This technology can also be used to track the activity and behaviours of customers to see the busiest areas of the stores and the routes which they take. This can help shape the layout of the building and more importantly where the screen advertising is placed in order to attract the right amount/ type of people to these adverts.
The collage I have developed focuses on the potential future of the retail environment due to the changes brought by new media technologies and is somewhat a prediction of the future of the retail environment. The collage is a first person view of how technologies enhance the shopping environment through a visual form of new technology. With technologies such as ‘Google Glass’ being developed enabling the environment to be altered through a clear, wearable form of media, the collage is a prediction of how this form of technology may function within the retail environment.
with an augmented space to showcase where and how far stores are away from the user. Through the use of speech the customer is able to receive directions, advertisements, offers, opening times etc. through this handsfree technology. The advent of screen based media in the collage highlights the recent mass usage of this media in the current modern retail environment. From the trip to Leeds Trinity Shopping centre I identified a large number of screens placed around the entirety of the shopping centre with various purposes and styles.
Just as smart phones are able to receive updated, live information about a specific shopping location using applications, technologies such as ‘Google Glass’ can enhance this usage with a hands-free more interactive form of technology. The development of augmented realities also enhance its usage in the retail environment allowing projections of advertisements, directions etc. in a visual form. The collage showcases a prediction of how this technology may function within a retail environment,
The screens were situated strategically around the building to match the area of screens’ location and even replaced the use of windows in some cases. However, the usage of physical interaction was not apparent on a majority of the screens throughout the building which is what I feel will develop in the near future.