The Persistence of Television: how the medium adapts to survive in the digital world. The project investigates the way television program content modulates over time to retain audiences, even when the audience itself fragments across different reception technologies. It explores the substantial degree of stability in both fiction and non-fiction programming by considering a range of British, Australian and American texts which have been altered to remain relevant, been sequentially adapted to re ....The Persistence of Television: how the medium adapts to survive in the digital world. The project investigates the way television program content modulates over time to retain audiences, even when the audience itself fragments across different reception technologies. It explores the substantial degree of stability in both fiction and non-fiction programming by considering a range of British, Australian and American texts which have been altered to remain relevant, been sequentially adapted to reflect contemporary preferences, and been made as local versions of international formats. It uses empirical and qualitative methods to compare programs from the beginning of mass broadcast television in Australia, the UK and the US. Outcomes will include a scholarly monograph and several articles.Read moreRead less
Superheroes: Creative Force, Cultural Zeitgeist and Transmedia Phenomenon. Since their emergence in 1938 comic book heroes have become imbedded in our popular culture, becoming part of our modern mythology. In each form and every generation these characters serve as cultural signposts, articulating our loftiest ideals and deep-seated anxieties. The project aims to explore the historic, creative and artistic development of the genre across multiple media and its political and social significance. ....Superheroes: Creative Force, Cultural Zeitgeist and Transmedia Phenomenon. Since their emergence in 1938 comic book heroes have become imbedded in our popular culture, becoming part of our modern mythology. In each form and every generation these characters serve as cultural signposts, articulating our loftiest ideals and deep-seated anxieties. The project aims to explore the historic, creative and artistic development of the genre across multiple media and its political and social significance. The genre has been enormously successful in film, with the top 100 films accounting for approximately $13 billion in profit for the companies that produced them. The project will explore how the successful transmedia crossover further offers insight into the strategies that drive creative industries such as film, television, video games and comics. The project will work with the Australian Centre for the Moving Image to develop a Melbourne Winter Masterpiece exhibition and a series of research projects, public events and an international conference to engage both the general public and academics.Read moreRead less
Willing collaborators: Negotiating Change in East Asian Media Production. This project examines how media producers and investors from China, Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong are moving into flexible and innovative forms of collaboration. Focusing on cinema, television, online video and mobile content in East Asia, the study enhances academic, industry and policy understandings of the dynamics of regional media production. In addition, the project investigates opportunities and challenges for Austra ....Willing collaborators: Negotiating Change in East Asian Media Production. This project examines how media producers and investors from China, Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong are moving into flexible and innovative forms of collaboration. Focusing on cinema, television, online video and mobile content in East Asia, the study enhances academic, industry and policy understandings of the dynamics of regional media production. In addition, the project investigates opportunities and challenges for Australian and other international media companies. It addresses the urgent need to foster understanding of the media industries and cultures of Australia's regional neighbours in order to better equip the nation and its screen sectors to participate in the forthcoming "Asian Century". Read moreRead less
Border Crossing: The Transnational Career of the Television Crime Drama. This project aims to shed new light on the evolving dynamics of the global television industry in an era of post-broadcast production and distribution with particular attention to the television crime drama. As one of television's most enduring and popular genres, the crime drama has routinely reflected local, regional and national concerns about law and order issues. Through a series of case studies, this project plans to ....Border Crossing: The Transnational Career of the Television Crime Drama. This project aims to shed new light on the evolving dynamics of the global television industry in an era of post-broadcast production and distribution with particular attention to the television crime drama. As one of television's most enduring and popular genres, the crime drama has routinely reflected local, regional and national concerns about law and order issues. Through a series of case studies, this project plans to explore how national frames of reference in terms of policy and content are being negotiated in different production contexts within the global market place. The television crime drama may thus provide an illuminating lens through which to examine the impact of globalisation on the rapidly evolving television industry as it enters a new era.Read moreRead less
Utilitarian Filmmaking in Australia 1945 - 1980. The project plans to discover, document, analyse and compile a lasting archive of utilitarian filmmaking in Australia. 'Utilitarian' describes client-sponsored, instructional and governmental filmmaking existing outside the conventional theatrical contexts by which cinema is usually defined. Focused on the post-World War Two decades before the proliferation of video in the late 1970s, the project aims to highlight previously-unstudied aspects of t ....Utilitarian Filmmaking in Australia 1945 - 1980. The project plans to discover, document, analyse and compile a lasting archive of utilitarian filmmaking in Australia. 'Utilitarian' describes client-sponsored, instructional and governmental filmmaking existing outside the conventional theatrical contexts by which cinema is usually defined. Focused on the post-World War Two decades before the proliferation of video in the late 1970s, the project aims to highlight previously-unstudied aspects of the media industries. This is designed to deliver new knowledge of the skills and subject matter that sustained filmmaking, communication and education in Australia during a time when conventional scholarship assumes there was almost no significant filmmaking.Read moreRead less
Archiving Australian Media Arts: Towards a method and national collection. The early years of Australian digital media arts heritage are at risk. Australians were significant contributors to the development of media arts internationally, as well as making and exhibiting work nationally, yet only a tiny portion of the digital artwork by Australian artists has made it into institutional collections. Deteriorating disks and reliance on obsolete hardware and software mean that innovative digital pre ....Archiving Australian Media Arts: Towards a method and national collection. The early years of Australian digital media arts heritage are at risk. Australians were significant contributors to the development of media arts internationally, as well as making and exhibiting work nationally, yet only a tiny portion of the digital artwork by Australian artists has made it into institutional collections. Deteriorating disks and reliance on obsolete hardware and software mean that innovative digital preservation and access solutions are needed if these artworks are to be saved. Working with key cultural institutions, this project will conserve key media art case studies from the archives of media arts organisations, and develop a best practice method for the preservation of our digital media arts heritage.Read moreRead less
Contemporary Indigenous film and television: new frames of understanding. Australian Indigenous film and television has exploded into the mainstream of the national media landscape over the last five years and is now a leading sector of the local industry. This research project, an interdisciplinary collaboration between an Indigenous and two non-indigenous scholars, aims to produce new frames for understanding this film and television in its local, national and international contexts. The resea ....Contemporary Indigenous film and television: new frames of understanding. Australian Indigenous film and television has exploded into the mainstream of the national media landscape over the last five years and is now a leading sector of the local industry. This research project, an interdisciplinary collaboration between an Indigenous and two non-indigenous scholars, aims to produce new frames for understanding this film and television in its local, national and international contexts. The research will result in a re-evaluation of the Australian audio-visual heritage that will result in greater recognition of and opportunities for Indigenous creative producers in the future.Read moreRead less
Play it again: creating a playable history of Australasian digital games, for industry, community and research purposes. This project provides a unique account of the role played by computer games in familiarising the public to new technologies. The computer game industry grosses billions of dollars each year, and yet game technology is quickly superseded. This project redresses this gap by writing histories of the early digital age, and preserving key artefacts.
Play it again: preserving Australian videogame history. This project aims to demonstrate and evaluate the emulation of obsolete operating systems and programs in a cloud-based environment to document, preserve, and exhibit digital cultural heritage. The challenge of preserving and accessing complex digital cultural heritage such as software is one that collecting institutions worldwide are facing. This project will address this challenge by recovering the history of Australian made videogames of ....Play it again: preserving Australian videogame history. This project aims to demonstrate and evaluate the emulation of obsolete operating systems and programs in a cloud-based environment to document, preserve, and exhibit digital cultural heritage. The challenge of preserving and accessing complex digital cultural heritage such as software is one that collecting institutions worldwide are facing. This project will address this challenge by recovering the history of Australian made videogames of the 1990s, preserving significant local digital game artefacts currently at risk, and investigating how these can be exhibited as playable software using the newest emulation techniques. The project expects to generate new knowledge needed by government, museums and industry to inform future strategy and infrastructure investment aimed at making a range of digital cultural heritage available to the public.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160100313
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$373,536.00
Summary
International Transformations in Children’s Television 2013-18. This project intends to analyse key trends in the production and distribution of contemporary children’s television. Contemporary Australian television is produced and distributed through complex processes in a globalised media environment characterised by convergence and multi-platform delivery. This project plans to map the shape and scale of rapidly evolving production territories and markets for children’s television opened up b ....International Transformations in Children’s Television 2013-18. This project intends to analyse key trends in the production and distribution of contemporary children’s television. Contemporary Australian television is produced and distributed through complex processes in a globalised media environment characterised by convergence and multi-platform delivery. This project plans to map the shape and scale of rapidly evolving production territories and markets for children’s television opened up by media globalisation, and explore their economic and cultural impact on television made for the child audience. Its findings may reveal the implications of new global settlements in children’s television for media industries, production practices and policy settlements in both the national and the transnational space.Read moreRead less