How has technology altered how we show our work

Technology has alteredthe process of showing/exhibitioning a practitioners work dramatically in the recent years. Since peopl ehave been able to video-record live shows, you can now buy DVD's of concerts of live shows that you may otherwise be unable to see. A good example of this would be the Foo Fighters Live at Wembley DVD. As a rule, i would rather go to a gig than watch a DVD of it, because you don't get the same atmosphere in your living room, even if you turn the lights off and sit really close. Half the fun of going to a concert is waiting for the doors to open, getting in as fast as possible and as close to the stage as you can. You are then treated to a night of spectacular entertainment, providing the band isn't awful.

I went to see Foo Fighters at Wembley Stadium, and despite them letting far too many people into the standing area, everything about it was amazing. The thought that you are so close to someone so famous, or in my case someone you idolise, is like nothing else. Being crushed against the barrier with a camera, screaming the words to your favourite songs as loud as you can, just feet away from the band. The experience just cannot be beaten. I also watched the DVD of the show i was at, and it was alright. The music was good, the band was there, but it wasn't the same. Having the HD feel to it, the crane shots it was all too clean. While it would look good in a music video, it doesn't have the same feel to it that being at a show does.



Beastie Boys had a good idea with their live DVD 'Awesome, I F*****g Shot That', where they gave 50 handheld cameras to members of the audience and were instructed to keep the film rolling at all times. This gave the footage a more raw feel to it, as it is shot from the crowd, so you feel more like you are in the crowd.


Stand up comedy, however i think is just as good on DVD as it is live. Granted, you don't get the same atmosphere orthe experience that you do if you actually went, but there isn't as much going on at a comedy gig. Even people playing stadiums, it's still basically only one person on stage at any time, so it can all be captured on camera. A good example of this would be Ed Byrne's Different Class DVD. I went to that show, and thought it was fantastic, i then got the DVD for christmas, and despite heaving heard all the jokes, i still thought it was just as good as actually being there, because you didn't miss anything as he was the only thing to concentrate on, other than a few hecklers.

If you watch a bands live DVD, however, you are forced to watch whatever they want you to see, and concentrate more on who they feel is important. This usually means the frontman of a band is going to get far more screentime than the drummer, because generally they're who fans want to see. This, however isn't the case all the time so many people wouldn't want to watch that.

Some comedians have taken their act to even stranger places. Jimmy Carr did a performance that was also shown on the game 'Second Life'. This managed to get him to an even bigger audience, as you could watch him doing his stand up, while gaming. You don't even have to get up and put the DVD in. I don't think this has been done again, as several things went wrong with it. Rockstar have done similar things in their Grand Theft Auto series, with famous comedians appearing at the comedy club, including Ricky Gervais and Frankie Boyle.

They way practitioners broadcast their proucts now is very, very different from how it used to be. If you wanted to see a performance in the old days, you had to physically get up and go to a venue where the performer would perform in front of you. Nowadays, however you can watch live performances from you living room via TV, DVD and Videogames. Some performers even do shows on social networking sites like Facebook, where they set up in front of some cameras and the footage in streamed instantly to anyone watching. This can in some ways make the show more personal, because despite the whole world being able to click and watch it, you can send messages requesting songs and they might choose to play what you suggest. This doesn't happen in actual shows, unless you are REALLY lucky, but most of the time they just play their set list.

Many people think this is good, however ultimately it means that the practitioners stop making money. If you will do a performance for free online, some people are less likely to pay to see the same show live. Other people, however, might watch it and think "That was great, i wonder what it's like if it wasn't pixellated and lagging", so you might be able to entice more fans to come to your shows. It might also make people think your music is good enough to go out and buy, however most people will listen and go "Imma go torrent that". Torrenting is slowly becoming the normal way to get new music. Many people say it's ruining the industry, however some people see the silver lining to it. In an interview, MC Lars said he felt file sharing was just another way to get his music to a whole new audience. Ultimately, it's not much different to borrowing a CD off someone, it's just easier. If people send each other music online, then more people hear music they may have otherwise ignored.

No matter how many industry proffesionals say that piracy is ruining the industry, it really isn't. CD sales might be falling, but that's because they're expensive. I don't have £15 to spend on a CD, especially if i'm not sure the band will be any good. I will, however pay more money to go and see a abdn live, and buy a t-shirt or something while i'm there. Bands make a lot more money through touring and T-shirt sales than they ever will from CD's. Record companies won't make as much money, but if i'm buying a CD, it is to support the band, not necessarily the record company. I've never bought an Iron Maiden album, but my brother has and i borrowed his CD's, and listened to it, then spend about £80 on a ticket and a T-shirt at a gig. I don't think piracy is as big a deal as the record companies are making out, if they actually cared about the bands instead of how they are getting their next pay check, they would realize a lot of bands benefit greatly to piracy.

Some smaller bands have been known to release their music for free/torrent only downloads. Several bands i listen to release their music for free, and ask you to give a donation if you buy their music while they are starting up, because they realize people don't want to spend money unless they are sure they will like what they are getting. MC Lars released a CD of B-Sides as a torrent only file, because he felt people would be more likely to listen to it if they didn't have to pay, and it is one of the quickest ways to get your music out instead of going through the process of CD's.