Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Final Project Proposal

For my final project I will write a paper about the collection of interactive videos on youtube, and using our discussions of the definition of "interaction" I will explain whether or not they can actually be considered to be interactive, probably using one specific set of videos as an example. My focus will be to give a insight as to why these interactive videos are becoming popular and how they are affecting our society, if at all.

I also liked the idea of making your own interactive video to put on youtube so if I have enough time I might try to do that as well, relating to either House of Leaves or a national occurance, depending on whether or not something in the news or on tv peaks my interest.

2 comments:

Adam Johns said...

No revision/update?

This proposal is just a starting point - you're not proposing any particular argument or any particular video, but a very large question. The big thing that this will require to be successful project is focus and clarity. Why is this an interesting and important question? That's the first thing to ask yourself. Why should the reader care if these videos are interactive? What's at stake? If you can provide a specific thesis (where it's clear why we should care), then this topic could certainly work.

Charity said...

For some reason I was thinking this was due at 6pm instead of at noon, so my apologies for doing it late.



Interactive videos are becoming popular on youtube, but are they truly interactive? Interaction can be defined as "mutual or reciprocal action or influence." That definition allows us to render these videos interactive because when we choose one thing, the video shows us something new depending on what we chose. Why is this important? Because when viewers feel a sense of participation in what they're watching, they are more engaged in the story. Take, for instance, reading to children. They almost always interject their own ideas into the story, because it makes them feel like a part of what's going on instead of just a bystander. These new interactive videos have the potential to become popular in cinema and change the way we watch movies.

A video that I will look at specifically is one that I found called "Choose Your Own Path-Find Sparta." It is the same as a choose your own adventure book, where you enter a house only to notice that your cat is missing and you have to look for him. Just like the Cup of Death, you have to choose where to go next and what to do. All together there are 63 videos.

Of course, not only are videos becoming interactive, many websites are joining the trend, especially social networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace, which can be used to communicate with friends without actually seeing or hearing them. Social networking sites have impacted younger generations, more than they have the older generations. Now it common for people to become "friends" with others that they would not normally talk to if it weren't for these websites, such as people from other states or countries.

Interactive videos and websites will be my focus and they are important because of the way they are changing our society.