case study quarter life

8/9/2019 Case Study Quarter Life

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The Quarterlife crisis is a term appliedto the period of life immediately

following the major changes of

adolescence, usually ranging from theearly twenties to the early thirties. The

term is named by analogy with mid-life

crisis.


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A Case Study

by

Jennifer Francis

Quarterlife: User Generated Television; Create Your Life

A place for artists thinkers and doers


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Background

Main Character Dylan Krieger is a self-proclaimed writer who works as an associate editor at

a fictional magazine called Attitude. She keeps a video blog on the social networking website

Quarterlife. The show revolves around her views of her friends, her work place and herself,

which she then tells us the viewers on the Quarterlife website.The show started on November 11th 2007, the first episode having 889,552 views on

Youtube. It ran for a total of 36 episodes averaging to around 8minutes each. Having no

consecutive timetable to their premiering, the last episode was broadcast online on March

9th 2008.

Quarterlife is a show about a group of twentysomethings coming of age in the digital

generation. It also happens to be a social network about what it means to be creative, to

pursue a passion, to make a difference in the world -- or just to find a place in it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSeazwhILo4


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InstitutionThough Quarterlife was created and produced by Marshall Herskovitz and

Edward Zwick. It was funded by Bedford Falls Productions who also produced

the TV series thirtysomething that was at its prime in the 1980s.

http://www.imdb.com/company/co0113596/

In my opinion the reason for producing the show is to do with finding a way to

connect to people living in the online age, those who dont spend time watching

television and do just about everything on there computers. The original platform

for the show was on the actual Quarterlife website, this in itself shows that it wasmade to target a niche audience, as not a lot of people, if any have heard of

Quarterlife the video blogging website. In a way you could say that the text is in

disguise as theyve made a show to target people who actually live their lives like

the characters.


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ProductionQuarterlife was enabled by Web 2.0 as the only place you can find the show is

online on the Quarterlife website and its online page. Without this the would not

have existed. The show was specifically made to be shown online as thats who

their target audience are, if it was shown on the television then they wont have

been able to reach their target audience so well

The production has been enhanced by web 2.0 by disproving that it would do as

well on Television as it had done online. The abrupt cancellation of the show on the

NBC channel enhanced its online popularity as it encouraged those that only sawthe one episode on NBC to go and find out more about the show at its online base.


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Distribution/Exhibition

The main platform for Quarterlife is the

internet.

It got aired on the Quarterlife website

as well as its MySpace page every

week.

Though thats where it started off, it

was then eventually put onto Youtube.

It and had its 60 seconds of fame on

NBC on February 26th 2008. Where it

got cancelled after one episode as its

debut was the worst performance

seen by an NBC show in at least 17

years.

Quarterlife being broadcast on an online

blog community meant that it was

exposed to a mass amount of comment

by lovers and haters alike.

Though the show was made to appeal to

the online age, I think that they wouldnt

have changed the content if they had

been given the chance as it would

completely defy the point of creativity and

individuality, which is what the Quarterlife

age is all about.

Perhaps they may have change it in the

television adaptation, but certainly not

online


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360 degree Saturation

Quarterlife has no form of 360 degree saturation.

It can be viewed on Youtube, Quarterlife and on MySpace.

You cant find any kind of merchandise whether it be a t-shirt or a mug.

The largest chance it got at, at least entering into the 180degree bracketwas when it got picked up briefly by NBC.

I think this could be the reason it was never able to generate enough

publicity to be aired on NBC, Granted that if at least a few people were

seen at school or uni in a Quarterlife T-shirt then others would have been

curious.

That way when NBC aired the teaser trailers they maybe would havethought

Bobina was wearing a Quarterlife tee the other day at school, might be

worth watching


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3.0 FutureThough there is no hope of Quarterlife returning, the Quarterlife websitealready have in the works a documentary series called I believe, about an

atheist with a qualification in religion.

There is also talk of a new series of Quarterlife with an entirely different cast.

They have begun to lay the foundations for by getting the audience to

upload a video of them self to the website.

They seem to be trying to expand their demographic by going in a different

direction with the documentary type show I believe.

http://seeika.ning.com/page/i-believe

I have to say that I personally am not sure whether they

will make it in the 3.0 future.

They never had an merchandise to support theQuarterlife series, it was broadcast semi-regularly for a

total of 36 episodes.

The viewers who loved it cant even get some kind of

memorabilia, they need 360 degree saturation in there

next project.


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Theory

Long Tail

WikinomicsIt is a mass collaboration of individuals to co-operate and solve problems

Quarterlife in the terms of wikinomics, uses free creativity and Global thinking.

As the Show itself is about being able to express yourself and thus sharing your

thoughts and Ideas with others like yourself on a global level. Though the show

itself doesnt give any leeway to allow watchers to change what they see, the

website allows users to communicated and critique others. Giving them room forimprovement, its a mass collaboration of ideas as people share opinions.

the internet allows for a vast variety of content.

The long tail theory is about how a niche audience will consumer more than a

group of mainstream. Quarterlife applied to this niche audience, shows that theywill watch Quarterlife then go and find similar shows online out of curiosity, may it

be Lonely Girl 15 or E20 which is a form of distribute, a long tail idea. As apposed

to if they watched it on television and they would have to wait for an

advertisement of a new show as apposed to looking for one to watch. The long

tail theory has made watching online only shows more popular.


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Theory

We normal everyday people can have our own input into media as before Media

2.0, media was a very one way thing, as media was created by professionals and

we had no choice to watch it the way they made it. Now that we know we have a

choice as to what we want to and what we dont want to watch, the professionals

have decided if you cant beat them, join them, thus shows like Quarterlife, Kate

Modern and Freak were invented.

It's a theory which is a persons response to a theory in a way which the

audience gives their own interpretation. In this case Quarterlife is a way theprofessionals gave an interpretation of how they view the online age and

how we interact with each other. A way to re-communicate with us as we

have stopped communicating with them

Reception Theory

Web 2.0


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Theory

Uses and Gratification TheoryThe different ways in how people can relate to the media, these being

Information

Personal Identity

Integration and social interaction

Entertainment

Quarterlife, is still categorised as a

drama, so that the audience can relate

to the fictional characters and in that

way its entertaining as people do tune

in or have an RSS feed for when the

next show is aired online

The ethos of Quarterlife is in fact A

place for artists thinkers and doers.

Making a show about a person who

posts about there life on the actual

Quarterlife site completely relates to the

audience

Those that watch the show on

Youtube orMySpace may have then

decided to set up a Quarterlifeaccount, as the show spread the word

of the website.

They have integrated the website into

the show, such as popular TV series

iCarly. People can post comment abouteach episode which others can read

and either agree or disagree to.


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Issues

It will be very difficult for Quarterlife to press charges for copyright

infringement because there are may similar online shows, and other could

argue that the basis of the show was copied form their own, as the idea of a

person telling the audience about theyre life through a V-log for

entertainment isnt so creative anymore, as all the professionals are trying it

out one way or another.

Characters like Dylan only exist because of the medias reach to try and get

a grasp in the online age

case study quarter life

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