This week in class we were given the time to go out and try live streaming for ourselves. As a group, we decided to use Twitch and Periscope and compare how user-friendly it was, and how both apps fared overall as a streaming platform.

Initially when we first went out, we were absolutely clueless on what we should live stream and it became something a little bit forced. We wanted the stream to be interesting and to capture the epitome of a ‘live moment’ but because it was somewhat forced, it started off a little awkward.

Eventually, we did manage to capture something in my opinion, interesting. On Breanna’s Periscope stream we had someone viewing and interacting with us. Effectively, we made a friend/fan! Here’s what we know of him, his name is Rahul and he’s from the US and he says jelly not jam. There was a valid point brought up in the discussion in class, which was also mentioned in the week’s reading by Marriot, mentions that an aspect of liveness includes the reactions and the uncertainties of what’s about to happen no matter how much you’ve prepared for each outcome. This can be related back to out encounter with our newfound friend Rahul because none of us knew what was about to happen when we live streamed which had an edge of uncertainty to it. Our reactions following the interaction with Rahul was therefore liveness because it was completely unexpected, genuine and ultimately live. When it came to a conversation about whether we think jam and jelly were the same thing- Rahul included his input and said that on behalf of everyone in the US, they are two different things. The immediacy of his response to ours and the fact that someone from miles away was included in a conversation that was happening in that moment therefore can be said as ‘liveness’ or a ‘live moment’.

As for the comparison of streaming platforms, Twitch was definitely much easier to navigate while were streaming however coming back to look at the streams again, I much prefer the layout and playback on Periscope. The main reason for this is that Periscope splits the screen, stream on the right and viewers on the left while Twitch allows you to scroll down to see more related streams. The ability to do this while watching a video often times distracts me and I’d much rather focus on the stream that I’m watching than to be allowed to ( in a sense ) ‘wander around’ the website.

Here are the links to our streams

Periscope stream: https://www.pscp.tv/w/1mnGeXPPqpWKX

Twitch stream: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/236430130

First week in class served as an introduction for all of us.

Of course, we started out with some brief introductions and an overview of the studio- standard stuff.

We then began to discuss the idea of live television; what it was, what kind of genres can be live, what we expect from live television so on and so forth.

A lot of us said things like, live broadcasting can be scheduled chaos, extremely scripted and something thats being broadcasted while it is happening. We perceive live television as something raw and unedited, full of candid mistakes. Talk shows, variety shows and even sporting events like the Olympics have always been associated with the idea of ‘live television’.

A topic that was also covered was the idea that when audiences are watching live television, it brings upon a sense of participation especially when we are watching monumental and historic events for instance the Olympics ( again ) or even award shows like the Oscars. We are here, together as a community, witnessing the first gold medal being won perhaps. Or even the first stuff up during a Grammy award. The sort of idea that ‘hey, I was there! ( sort of )’

The idea of ‘liveness’ according to Bourdon (2000, pg 534) can mean several things, three in which was mentioned in his article. Firstly, that for instance if a singer were to sing with lip synching then that would be considered as live music. Secondly, that the different locations of a program can prove to be a live connection. And thirdly, if a sporting event was being recorded and then played on television then one can argue that it is live because those images were shot live and unexpected.

Live television, simply put, encompasses a factor of each of those things. After all, Bourdon says, ‘ the belief in liveness, then, varies according to the text, to the characteristics of the viewer(…),to the situation of the viewer(…),and, last but not least, to the moment when one is viewing.’ ( 2000, pg 535 )

Overall it was a very enlightening first class of the semester and I am extremely excited to start creating!

References

Bourdon J, 2000, ‘ Live television is still alive: on television as an unfulfilled promise’, Media and Culture Society, vol 22, Sage Publications, pg 531-556.

All Australia has been talking about for the past month is everything MAFS! ( Married at first sight for anyone who’s been living under a rock ) so it would literally be such a waste if I didn’t talk about it for my first assignment.

Just like any other commercial TV program, MAFS milks everything out of the show like no tomorrow. They’ve got news coverage left right and centre and now even a live talk show, Talking Married. This is 9Honey’s first ever live tv talk show which covers all the gossip of MAFS as well as behind the scenes clips! On very juicy occasions, the brides and grooms of the show come on for exclusive interviews.

What’s great about this is that viewers can tweet the hosts their dying questions and yes, they will be answered! This is to promote audience engagement and boost viewership. It usually comes in real handy when the hosts are interviewing brides/grooms that have already left the show or seem to be in the hot seat for the specific week. All viewers have to do is post their questions on twitter with the hashtag #TalkingMarried.

9Honey doesn’t only interact with viewers through their hashtag but also posts regular gifs and tweets to promote their show or some exclusive gossip they might have on the TV couples.

Talking Married is not only available on free to air television but also comes as a podcast which you can download on ITunes, which might serve more convenient for audiences who missed the show or don’t have access to a television that’s just lying around…  Other than that the show is also, yep you guessed it, available on 9Now catch up TV! So yes, it’s pretty hard to miss.

Talking Married is exactly what it feels like to be in an all-girl chat group, except it’s a nationwide one. It’s a great way for Aussies all around to connect and discuss over one thing that everyone can agree on; Nassar is a complete a**hole! The hashtag is a great way to keep up with all the questions and for audiences to convey a message to the brides/grooms that they probably never would be able to through a platform that promotes program to audience interaction.

You must admit, it would be pretty cool to ask a question and then have it read out loud on national television! Kind of like a ‘ hey mum i’m on television!’ moment.