8/23/10
USC/ Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
CMGT 599
Hollywood 3.0 – the Future of the Entertainment Industry in the Convergence Age
Fall 2010
Room: ASC 228
Day/Time: Wed. 6:30-9:20pm
Professor: David Craig
Contact:
Phone: 213-281-1613
Office hours: Contact me via email to set up a time
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
We live in what’s been coined the Convergence Age or the Information Age, which describes the revolutionary effect of computerization, digitization and the invention of the Internet and worldwide web throughout society. The most profound example of convergence can be found in media, for example, with the convergence of cell phones with computers (PDAs) and the obsolescence of vcrs and analogue televisions.
But these changes have come with consequences, as reflected by the decline in the print and recording industries. Now, with the prospect of convergence between television and computers and the development of mobile, wireless and broadband technology, dire predictions have been made about the future of Hollywood, more specifically, the film and television industries.
Will convergence lead to the collapse of the broadcast and cable television industries? Will this be the end of Hollywood? Will the Dream Factory Die? For aspiring media professionals in the entertainment industry, how can you predict what may happen?
Hollywood 3.0 examines the future of the entertainment industry in the Convergence Age. To begin, we will be evaluating the history and current state of radio, recording, film, broadcast and cable television, and home video as separate industries within Hollywood. Then, as we enter the Digital Age, we will review the development of the Internet and new media and the start of media convergence.
Next, we will examine the cross-media (or convergence media) history of Hollywood, which will provide a very different picture of the past from what we’ve seen before. What we will discover are patterns of responses that may help us predict the future of Hollywood in the wake of the Convergence Age.
Finally, we will begin to explore the challenges that lie ahead for Hollywood, including concerns over control of the net, the collapse of business models, new challenges for producers from user-generated content, questions about the content and effects of new media and, finally, the prospects of the end of Hollywood (or at least as we know it).
ASSIGNED BOOKS:
· Hilmes, Michelle. Hollywood and Broadcasting (1990). University of Illinois Press.
· MassCommClass subscription, including e-book, video and course.
· Other reading will be posted online.
ASSIGNMENTS/GRADING:
10% Hollywood Snapshot
Each week, before the start of each class, every student is to post on Blackboard in the discussion section some news from the previous week that reflects on Hollywood 3.0 and media convergence. Also, the student should indicate why this news is relevant to the class and be prepared to discuss its relevance in class. Here’s a few tips:
- You can choose from a variety of topics from technology, entertainment industry, creative/content, economics/business, to social/cultural changes,
- Be sure to post your idea in the right week number on Blackboard.
- The sooner you post your idea, the less likely someone else will have already posted it.
Here are some recommended places to look for this information (all online):
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Themediaindustries.net
Hollywood Reporter
Deadline.com
Daily Variety
New York Times
Washington Post
Los Angeles Times
Wall Street Journal
Wired Magazine
Huffington Post Tech news
Technewsworld.com
Broadcastingcable.com
Cable360.net
Cnet.com
Newteevee.com
Videonuze.com
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Here are some samples:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/11/exclusive-sony-ericsson-to-introduce-android-3-0-gaming-platfor/
Sony is using Google's Android mobile platform to converge their upcoming new PS3 gaming platform with Sony Ericsson mobile phones. This appears to be a new form of convergence, further reinforcing the relationship between mobility and convergence as well as the collusion/cooperation between two major conglomerates.
From last Sunday’s New York Times.
Now Playing: Night of the Living Tech
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/weekinreview/22lohr.html
D.I.Y. music labels embrace D.I.Y. Film
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/movies/22indie.html
20% MassCommCourse and Discussion Questions
Each student is required to participate in the MassCommCourse companion course to the Mass Comm book. Details to follow. In the portion dealing with the cross-media history of Hollywood, students will be assigned a discussion question(s) to be answered and discussed with the class. The answer(s) must be posted online prior to the start of class and discussed during class. Here’s a hint: if you post your discussion answers at least one day in advance, Professor Craig can review and give feedback in advance of the class.
35% HOLLYWOOD 3.0 Research and Presentation
Each student will be assigned a topic regarding the future of Hollywood to research and present to the class. Working with the Professor, the student will conduct their own independent research and incorporate original arguments and conclusions into the presentation. The presentations should be in Powerpoint or Prezi featuring multimedia, e.g., video and images, and be interactive with questions to spark discussion. The final presentations must be presented to and approved by the Professor in advance. Further instructions will be provided later.
35% HOLLYWOOD 3.0 AND CROSS-MEDIA HISTORY Research Paper
In lieu of a final exam, each student will write a research paper that examines how the cross-media history of Hollywood may (or may not) help predict the future of Hollywood in the Convergence Age. More details will be provided. Make sure you are familiar with writing a research paper and the proper format. See the Writing Lab for help.
Late assignments/Emergencies: No late assignments will be accepted. If you have a legitimate and verifiable emergency that makes it impossible to turn in your assignment on time you must: (1) email me before the beginning of class the day the assignment is due to notify me of your emergency, (2) provide official proof (doctor’s note or other evidence) and (3) arrange to email the assignment at a time to be determined.
Statement for Students with Disabilities
Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me (or to TA) as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776.
Statement on Academic Integrity
USC seeks to maintain an optimal learning environment. General principles of academic honesty include the concept of respect for the intellectual property of others, the expectation that individual work will be submitted unless otherwise allowed by an instructor, and the obligations both to protect one’s own academic work from misuse by others as well as to avoid using another’s work as one’s own. All students are expected to understand and abide by these principles. Scampus, the Student Guidebook, contains the Student Conduct Code in Section 11.00, while the recommended sanctions are located in Appendix A: http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/SCAMPUS/gov/. Students will be referred to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards for further review, should there be any suspicion of academic dishonesty. The Review process can be found at: http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/SJACS/.
All work you submit must be your own and you may not inappropriately assist other students in their work beyond the confines of a particular assignment. There is a no-tolerance policy for academic misconduct in this course! The minimum penalty for academic misconduct will be a failing grade (F) for the course – further academic and disciplinary penalties may be assessed.
INTRODUCTION: Professor Craig is an Emmy-nominated Producer and Partner in Media Nation, a content provider currently developing feature films, scripted and unscripted television series and new media. Craig was previously a programming executive at A&E Television and Lifetime Television, where he supervised the production of over 40 television movies, mini-series and drama series. Craig has also worked as a film development executive, consulting editor in publishing and a stage producer. Craig is a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the British Academy of Film and Television. He has his Masters in Cinema Studies from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and has previously taught at Drexel University and other institutions.
Credits and further info may be found here: http://pro.imdb.com/name/nm0185829/
COURSE SCHEDULE
DATE TOPIC
READINGS
· ASSIGNMENTS
8/25 Introduction/ Course Overview/ Media Industry Studies Presentation
HOLLYWOOD PAST AND PRESENT
9/1 Radio and Recording Industries
Media & Culture, Chapters 3-4
9/8 Broadcast and Cable Television
Media and Culture, Chapter 5-6
Lotz, Amanda. “What is Television Now?”
9/15 Film
Media & Culture, Chapter 7
Epstein, Edward Jay. The Hollywood Economist. Part I and V.
9/22 Internet, New Media, Convergence and Culture
Media & Culture, Chapter 1-2
Griffin, Chip. “New Media Cocktail”
Jenkins, Henry. “The Cultural Logic of Media Convergence.”
Pardo, Alejandro. “Hollywood at the Digital Crossroad”
· ASSIGN HOLLYWOOD 3.0 PRESENTATIONS
CROSS-MEDIA HISTORY
9/29 Hollywood 1.0: Radio and Film
Hilmes. Hollywood and Broadcasting, Introduction and Chapters 1-3
10/6 Hollywood 2.0: Broadcast Television and Film
Hilmes. Hollywood and Broadcasting, Chapter 4--6
10/13 Hollywood 2.5: Cable Television and Home Video
Hilmes. Hollywood and Broadcasting, Chapter 7 and conclusion
Wasko, Janet. Hollywood in the Information Age. Chapters 5 and 6. (To be posted)
HOLLYWOOD 3.0 Challenges and Threats
10/20 Old Media Ownership
Media & Culture, Chapter 8-9
· Old Media’s Last Stand: Consolidation and Vertical Integration
· Post-Hollywood: Globalization and Television without Frontiers
· And now for your local weather and traffic. Cross-Media Ownership
10/27 New Media Ownership
Media & Culture, Chapter 10-11
· ICANN’T: The FCC, ICANN and multinational conglomeration
· A Private Internet: Net Neutrality
· Entertainment or Widget? IP and DRM
11/3 Business and Production
Media & Culture, Chapter 12-13
· Show Me the Money! New Media Business Models
· Who’s Watching? Audience Measurement and Analytics
· Participatory Culture or Cult of the Amateur? UGC v PGC
· Producers or Brand Managers? Transmedia and Hypertelevision
11/10 Content and Audiences
Media & Culture, Chapter 14-15
· Divergence: The Death of Storytelling and the End of History
· Communal Culture: The Rebirth of Live Entertainment
· Nobody knows anything...except that the Audience is King.
11/17 Technology
Media & Culture, Chapter 16
· A Byte of the Apple: Mobility and Wireless Technology
· What Convergence? IPTV or Multimedia
· The Innovator’s Dilemma: Technological Innovation and Disruption
11/24 Thanksgiving Break
12/1 The Big Blur: The Convergence Age and the Future of Media and Culture
Castells, Manuel. “Virtual Communities or Network Society?”
Couldry, Nick. “Does ‘the Media’ have a Future?”
Deuze, Mark. “Liquid Life, Convergence Culture and Media Work.”
Flew, Terry. “New Media Policies.”
Marshall, P. David. “New Media as Transformed Media Industry.”
Mitchell, William. “E-Topia”.
Nercissians, Emilia. “Social Anthropology of Convergence and Nomadic Computing.”
12/8 Final Research Papers due
Additional Reading/Research (either available online or in library)
Castells, Manuel. The Internet Galaxy. 2001, Oxford University Press. Chapter 7.
Castells, Manuel and Cardoso, Gustavo (Eds.). The Network Society: From
Knowledge to Policy. Center for Transatlantic Relations. 2005.
Dwyer, Tim. Media Convergence. 2010. Open University Press. England.
Hesmondhalgh, David. The Cultural Industries. 2007. Second Edition. Sage
Publications.
Hilmes, Michele. Only Connect: A Cultural History of Broadcasting in the United
States. 2008: Second Edition. Wadsworth.
Holt, Jennifer and Perren, Alissa (Eds.) Media Industries: History, Theory and
Method. 2009: Wiley-Blackwell.
“Interactive content and convergence: Implications for the information society.” A Study
for the European Commission by Screen Digest LTD, CMS Hasche Sigle,
Goldmedia GMBH, and Rightscom LTD. Final Report, October 2006.
Jenkins, Henry. Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. 2006.
New York University Press.
Jenkins, Henry. Fans, Bloggers and Gamers. 2006. New York University Press.
Keen, Andrew. The Cult of the Amateur. 2007. Doubleday.
Klinger, Barbara. Beyond the Multiplex: Cinema, New Technologies, and the Home.
2006. University of California Press.
Lotz, Amanda D. (Ed.) Beyond Prime Time: Television Programming in the Post-
Network Era. 2009: Routledge Press.
Sayre, Shay & Cynthia King. Entertainment and Society: Influences, Impacts and
Innovations. 2010. Routledge. Second Edition.
Spigel, Lynn (Ed.). Television After TV: Essays on a Medium in Transition. 2004,
Duke University Press.
Thorburn, David and Henry Jenkins (Eds.). Rethinking Media Change: The Aesthetics
Of Transition. 2003. MIT.
Tryon, Chuck. Reinventing Cinema: Movies in the Age of Media Convergence:
Rutger University Press. 2009.
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