Multimedia, Digital & New Media

• Multimedia is different forms of content, such as text, video, and audio, used to convey information.
• Digital media refers to content created, stored, and shared using digital technology like the internet or electronics.
• New media combines digital technology with forms of content, creating new experiences.

The New Media Must Have

• Meaning (what people do or believe in)
• Technology (the platform used)
• Content (the message and experience)

The Listening Post

• The Listening Post, created by Ben Rubin and Mark Hansen, is an immersive art installation from the early 2000s.
• The installation gathered real-time text data from public chatrooms and forum discussions, specifically sentences starting with "I am."
• This data was displayed using over 200 screens and a voice synthesizer.
• The purpose was to artistically represent online communication in physical space.

Sleep No More

• Sleep No More is a Shakespearian show, not a technological experience.
• The show breaks the Shakespearian Hamlet into small narratives within a building.
• The New Yorker building had multiple rooms for guests to explore.
• Some rooms were empty except for a desk, while others had actors performing scenes from Hamlet.
• Guests wore white masks for anonymity and could move around freely, interacting with the actors and the set.
• The unique interactive experience allowed guests to feel close and intimate with the actors.
• After the show, the actors disappeared.
• The aim was to allow guests to choose how they engaged with and watched the Hamlet show.
• The show relates to the course material because of its interactivity, allowing guests to choose rooms and engage with scenes, mirroring how users engage with the internet.

FIFA Example

• The FIFA game is a highly immersive simulation of soccer.
• It uses close-ups, reruns, and slow-motion, similar to media events.
• The game is interactive, allowing players to choose a team and specific players.
• Unlike a real-world game, it allows viewers to see close-ups, player's POV, and slow-motion replays.

The House Metaphor

• Technology (platform) is the walls, doors, infrastructure; the foundation enabling interaction.
• Content is the interior design (sofa, TV, paintings), which creates meaningful experiences for people.
• Both elements create meaning for users, emphasizing that a platform alone is not enough; content provides purpose.

Five Characteristics of New Media

• Interactivity: Inserting data and receiving a response, where one puts something in, and gets something out.
• Convergence: The application of multiple functions into one computerized device.
• Hypermedia: Constant connectivity, the user can jump between places.
• Immersion: Being immersed in content involving sensory experience that evokes emotions; users are active, receive information, and experience a realistic nature.
• Narrativity: Experiencing non-linear storytelling. The user controls the narrative by jumping between places, rather than the creator.