RESEARCH: Interactive Media and Audience Theories

http://www.youtube.com/doritosuk

(above is the link for the full interactive version of the Pro Green video)

As piracy escalates and CD sales fall in favour of downloads, the whole music video experience is changing in favour of interactivity. Labels can no longer rely on passive audience theories, such as the hypodermic needle theory, instead they have to engage with fans and offer them something new to keep revenue streams high. Basically, the Hypodermic Needle Model suggests that the information from a text passes into the mass consciousness of the audience unmediated, ie the experience, intelligence and opinion of an individual are not relevant to the reception of the text. This theory suggests that, as an audience, we are manipulated by the creators of media texts, and that our behaviour and thinking might be easily changed by media-makers. It assumes that the audience are passive and heterogenous. If media organisations want to bring in new customers they can no longer produce for a passive audience, instead they have to engage with the fan base, and a large step in this direction is the advancement in interactive music videos. For example, Doritos Late Night produced interactive music videos for Professor Green and Rihanna, where the audience can choose in which direction the camera faces, thus allowing a 360 view of the surroundings. In a way the audience has the ability to fashion their own music video, based on the areas they wish to see at any one time. This approach prevents the audience from being passive, instead they have to physically get involved, increasing the likelihood of further investigation into the merchandise or music of the artists. Doritos Late Night are one of the few organisations to introduce this idea, so instead of releasing videos into the mainstream, they are only accessible if a customer has bought a packet of Doritos and gained the code. This creates a level of exclusivity to the videos, making them seem exciting and new, thus the videos act as a reward for Doritos customers and boost the sale of the product, and also the knowledge of the artist.

Given that music videos producers are heading in the direction of interactivity, and realise they need to engage their audience to keep up revenue, they are consequently using active audience theories as a model to follow when deciding how best to draw audiences in to the full music video experience. An example of an active audience theory is the 'Audience Reception Model'. This theory points out that meaning of any text is created by the audience - not the producer. Meaning is encoded into the text but it is up to the audience what they take from it depending how they decode the signs within the text. Broadly speaking the audience can arrive at one of three readings:

• The Preferred Reading - Audience understands and accepts the ideology offered.
• The Negotiated Reading - Audience understands the ideology offered, accepts some aspects of it but rejects other aspects.
• The Oppositional Reading - Audience interprets the ideology offered in the opposite way than it is intended.

This theory has not only been utilised by commercial video producers, online streaming sites have also taken in to account the audience's need for engagement with a video to maximise the involvement in the band/artist/subject of video. Consequently YouTube has created a feature whereby video producers can place clickable links on the screen, allowing the audience to follow the link trail to other videos or points of interest. This prevents audiences from watching passively as they have to get involved to get to the next part of the video. This is a vital step for amateur filmmakers who post their work online, as audiences can easily get from their video to other videos or websites they may be interested in, thus building a close relationship of mutual interest between the video maker and the audience. I imagine that this ideology will filter more heavily into the production of music videos, as it would allow bands/artists to tighten the link they have between them and their fan base. Undoubtedly if fans feel they have strong personal ties to the band/artist they will be willing to purchase their merchandise, or trust the band/artist's opinion on what they may be interested in (such as their other music videos or websites, or recent interviews).

Above is an example of an interactive YouTube video, whereby viewers can quiz themselves (in this instance on video games), by clicking on either of the options, which will then lead to another video that will tell the viewer if they are right or wrong and the next question.