How is skate video transformed when it is produced in Periscope/Stre.am?

Link: https://vimeo.com/125673300

Also evident throughout current media affairs is mention of Periscope as the main competitor to Meerkat. This encouraged me to explore how skate video might be transformed differently across the two online video streaming services. Periscope is a live video broadcasting iOS application also associated with Twitter, which is designed to allow users to discover “the world through someone else’s eyes” (Periscope 2015).

Due to the unavailability of an apple iPhone with a compatible operating system for Periscope, I was restricted to using the Android equivalent (copy) of the application called Stre.am for this exploration. Stre.am is not a direct copy of Periscope, meaning the affordances and constraints are not necessarily consistent across both services. However Stre.am still represents a live video broadcasting service which can be experimented with in regards to the transformation of skate video. Also the similarities between Stre.am and Periscope associate this exploration with relevant current media affairs. Unlike Tarsii, Stre.am does not save a copy of a captured live stream and instead requires users to be connected in time for live viewing. Therefore, to create this sketch I positioned my DSLR camera on a tripod facing down at the screen of one phone that was viewing the live stream. Whilst simultaneously filming Errol performing the skate sequence on another phone, that was streaming the live content to the original phone, as well as any other potential public viewers. We faced many issues in terms of connectivity and network malfunctions. Due to a lack of data on the receiving phone, a hotspot also had to be used from the filming phone. Thus, the processing strain inflicted on the phone that was filming created glitches in the stream and poor quality frame rates. This required much trial and error before the end result was achieved. Also, this indicates that using Stre.am effects the narrative form of skate video in the way that an audience member may not receive contextualisation or important foundations within a narrative if they join the stream late.

Unlike Tarsii and Meerkat, Stre.am and Periscope allow the user to setup the recording before choosing to stream the content. This affordance allows the narrative to be structured by the camera person himself/herself, selecting when to begin streaming the video. This also removes a lot of potentially unwanted material from the narrative that might accidentally occur during an automatic live stream on Meerkat/Tarsii. This also portrays skate video to the audience as a more polished form than versions produced in Meerkat/Tarsii. In regards to a transformation of skate video itself, Stre.am is a live continuous broadcast of material, disallowing any form of digital editing and video manipulation. This portrays skate video to an audience as a more authentic and accurate example of the recorded material. However it also removes a large amount of the non-narrative aesthetic value present in the form of skate video as an online video practice. Music and digital transitions are symbolic elements of skate video and the absence of such techniques in the use of Stre.am removes a degree of the non-narrative aesthetic appeal of skate video.