Creative ProductionChapter Authors: Patricia G. Lange and Mizuko Ito

Report by: Katherine Bernard

Participatory Culture

In what Henry Jenkins and his colleagues have described as “participatory culture,” budding creators can develop their voices and identities as media creators through ongoing interaction with engaged peers and audiences (Jenkins 1992; Jenkins et al. 2006).

Participatory Culture

To illustrate the idea of Participatory Culture, we will talk about Nicholle337, which is the username by which her fans know her, a popular Youtube sensation. She became known for being an awkward teen who loved to sing, and has used the clout she gained through Youtube as a path to becoming a mentor and motivational speaker in the autistic community.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BVvNE78lyc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uud3CtpMbEA

The focus of this chapter is on the social processes of interest driven genres of participation, but we also describe how kids get involved in messing around with new media through friendship-driven practices.

Creative Production in the Digital Age

In today’s day and age, it’s becoming more commonplace to create profiles and personal webpages than it was in the past. This shows that the term “creative work” is ever changing in definition.

The ease in which digital work can be created has shown an influx of media and creative work into daily life. This alters

our process for self-expression, learning and sociality.

Creative Production in the Digital Age

Access to media production tools is easy. Most computers come with stock software that allows for creation of videos, editing photos, music and more. This changes the game because most people have access to these types of production software thus their capabilities are changing.

Everyday Media ProductionMany young people are now well versed in the

media production world. They may not call themselves producers because things like

making accounts/profiles on social networking sites are now very common occurrences, but a lot of them are capable of advanced forms of

media.

Personal PhotosDigital photography and videotaping grow out of existing practices of self-archiving (such as journaling, scrapbooking, and keeping photograph albums) and are propelled by the growth in avenues to share these media with friends and family.

Sharing Personal MediaThe capabilities of sharing within new forms of social media give new meaning to the term social life.

Sharing is one of the primary drives

behind the power of social media.

Sharing photos blurs the line between creative production and personal

communication.

Profiles

These observations provide a window onto how youth

engage with profile creation as a form of creative production embedded in their everyday

social relations.

As teens create their profiles, and post and link on their own profiles and their friends’ profiles, they are engaged in acts of social

communication and everyday media sharing and “consumption” that also entail creating

their own digital media.

Getting StartedTinkering with new media

production can lead to a greater interest in the field.

Mother-daughter youtube sensation Lola and Ashley got

started because Ashley wanted to go to film school. It was a great way for her to practice her craft and a great way for her mother,

Lola, to grow closer with her daughter.

Improving the Craft Peer Evaluation: the ability

to give and get feedback on your work

These social practices of evaluation, standard setting, and reputation building, well established in professional art worlds, are now being taken up by a larger swath of amateurs engaged

in digital media production and online sharing.

Gaining AudienceThe desire for sharing,

visibility, and reputation is a powerful driver for

creative production in the online world.

While fellow creators provide the feedback that improves the

craft, audiences provide the recognition and validation of

the work that is highly motivational.

Aspirational Trajectories In most cases, young people who create

digital media are not aspiring to be professionals or to get famous through

their creative work.

They engage in digital media production as a social activity, a fun extracurricular hobby, or maybe even a serious lifelong one.

Young people can begin by modeling more accessible and amateur forms of creative production.

Even if they end there, with practices that never turn toward professionalism, they still can gain status, validation, and

reputation within specific creative communities and smaller audiences.

ConclusionAll of the topics we’ve discussed

demonstrate the growing centrality of media creation in the everyday social

communication of youth.

Whether it is everyday photography or machinima, youth are using media they create as a way of documenting their lives and as a means of self-expression. These cases also demonstrate the centrality of peer-based exchange in motivating creative work

and providing a learning context.