panel report: New Media, New Forms--everyone is a curator
I really enjoyed this panel. Thanks to everyone who attended, and to Zvi and Naked Bee, who co-modded.
Basically, the idea was to talk about the fanworks that aren't fanfiction--how they're increasing in scope and variety, how they've informed and enlarged our experience of fandom. This report is pretty bare bones--I mostly wanted to get the links up to things that were discussed. Please do add anything you'd like--links I missed, interesting points that were raised, any questions you have.
General categories:
2D still graphic art (basically, two dimensional fanart--drawn, painted, manipped, etc., that can be rendered in a digital format and uploaded to the internet.) We talked about how fanart has changed over time with the proliferation of digital tools, and briefly about Tumblr as a platform.
Some links of interest in this category:
Fanart Recs, a recs community on the crack van model--different reccers in different fandoms that change monthly. Highly enjoyable and a great place to check out fanart in many styles from many fandoms.
Live stream time lapse video of the digital painting of this piece of Sherlock (BBC) fanart. About nine minutes long--an interesting look into the way art can be created in Photoshop.
Vids PwnYouTube was mentioned as a tool for downloading vids that you can only find on YouTube (and some other video sites are supported, too.) The URL (with an explanation of how to use the tool) is here: http://deturl.com/ It will work with any browser. Other tools that do the same thing can be found by searching "video scraper".
Podfic We talked about how podfic is a fanwork that stands separately from the written story, and how the choices, and the voice, of the podfic artist can change and expand the listener's experience of the story.
The audiofic archive is, sadly, apparently under siege by third party uploaders of malicious software (does anyone have any information about this?) I get a "warning, do not enter" page every time I go to the domain. Here's hoping that gets sorted quickly--the URL, for when the site is up and running again, is http://audiofic.jinjurly.com/ . The archive's Fanlore page is here.
A little further instruction on downloading podfic, which we didn't get into in detail during the panel: Podfic files are often compressed into zip files for downloading. They often are available in both MP3 and MP4 formats; MP3 are simple audio files, while MP4 files have some more functionality. You can listen to them on a computer with many types of audio players, or a handheld device (like a smart phone or an iPod), but check to make sure what kind of file your device can play.
Picspams We talked about the creation of a narrative using a picspam, and about the pleasures of macros and gifs. This retelling of The Eagle was mentioned as a good (hilarious) example of the use of macros.
Icons Mostly, we said icons yay!! And talked a bit about how we've seen icons go through styles and trends (tiny print, anyone?), since they were one of the first forms of widely proliferated digital fanart when fandom started shifting online, especially to journaling forums. The journals of icon communities and individual icon makers are 1) wildly numerous and 2) mostly not immediately known by me. But anyone who wants to link to their faves--I beg you to do so, please!
Fanmixes Some participants were more familiar with this form than others, and we had an interesting discussion about how it works, practically and as a fanwork to convey emotions. Also a useful way to discover new music.
We talked a bit about fanworks as objects--things that are sculpted, fabricated, knitted, cooked, sewn--and can't be experienced fully via an internet connection. At this point, we wandered into an area that can only be described as "the Star Trek-style future of fanworks" when we started to talk about the possibility of 3D printing from a fan's design. It will probably be a while before we can order up someone's fannish version of Rodney McKay's favorite cookies, replicator-style, but other kinds of works are just around the corner.
Basically, the idea was to talk about the fanworks that aren't fanfiction--how they're increasing in scope and variety, how they've informed and enlarged our experience of fandom. This report is pretty bare bones--I mostly wanted to get the links up to things that were discussed. Please do add anything you'd like--links I missed, interesting points that were raised, any questions you have.
General categories:
2D still graphic art (basically, two dimensional fanart--drawn, painted, manipped, etc., that can be rendered in a digital format and uploaded to the internet.) We talked about how fanart has changed over time with the proliferation of digital tools, and briefly about Tumblr as a platform.
Some links of interest in this category:
Fanart Recs, a recs community on the crack van model--different reccers in different fandoms that change monthly. Highly enjoyable and a great place to check out fanart in many styles from many fandoms.
Live stream time lapse video of the digital painting of this piece of Sherlock (BBC) fanart. About nine minutes long--an interesting look into the way art can be created in Photoshop.
Vids PwnYouTube was mentioned as a tool for downloading vids that you can only find on YouTube (and some other video sites are supported, too.) The URL (with an explanation of how to use the tool) is here: http://deturl.com/ It will work with any browser. Other tools that do the same thing can be found by searching "video scraper".
Podfic We talked about how podfic is a fanwork that stands separately from the written story, and how the choices, and the voice, of the podfic artist can change and expand the listener's experience of the story.
The audiofic archive is, sadly, apparently under siege by third party uploaders of malicious software (does anyone have any information about this?) I get a "warning, do not enter" page every time I go to the domain. Here's hoping that gets sorted quickly--the URL, for when the site is up and running again, is http://audiofic.jinjurly.com/ . The archive's Fanlore page is here.
A little further instruction on downloading podfic, which we didn't get into in detail during the panel: Podfic files are often compressed into zip files for downloading. They often are available in both MP3 and MP4 formats; MP3 are simple audio files, while MP4 files have some more functionality. You can listen to them on a computer with many types of audio players, or a handheld device (like a smart phone or an iPod), but check to make sure what kind of file your device can play.
Picspams We talked about the creation of a narrative using a picspam, and about the pleasures of macros and gifs. This retelling of The Eagle was mentioned as a good (hilarious) example of the use of macros.
Icons Mostly, we said icons yay!! And talked a bit about how we've seen icons go through styles and trends (tiny print, anyone?), since they were one of the first forms of widely proliferated digital fanart when fandom started shifting online, especially to journaling forums. The journals of icon communities and individual icon makers are 1) wildly numerous and 2) mostly not immediately known by me. But anyone who wants to link to their faves--I beg you to do so, please!
Fanmixes Some participants were more familiar with this form than others, and we had an interesting discussion about how it works, practically and as a fanwork to convey emotions. Also a useful way to discover new music.
We talked a bit about fanworks as objects--things that are sculpted, fabricated, knitted, cooked, sewn--and can't be experienced fully via an internet connection. At this point, we wandered into an area that can only be described as "the Star Trek-style future of fanworks" when we started to talk about the possibility of 3D printing from a fan's design. It will probably be a while before we can order up someone's fannish version of Rodney McKay's favorite cookies, replicator-style, but other kinds of works are just around the corner.