The term new media covers an extensive range of media on multiple platforms.
This group can include digital television, DVD, computer games, the internet
and other electronic access to information. Information being either pushed
(the viewer/browser views whatever is transmitted) or pulled (the viewer/browser)
is able to choose either a section or the whole entity of the digital information.
Researchers in 2001
[197]
imply that 44 percent of interviewee’s selected programmes
‘because I like them and there are always on at the same time’. “75 per-cent’
of all those interviewed watch the same programme for the same reason.
Methods of selection imply 23 percent choose from the interactive menu
and 15 percent skipped
[198]
‘between channels until they found something’. Another section
of the research relating to programme planning states ‘The most commonly used
source for planning viewing: 33 per cent said they mostly used the weekly television
guide from a newspaper. And 30 per cent cited a specialist lists magazine like
the Radio Times.’ The use of hard copy material
[199]
as a research tool is qualified further on page six
[200]
‘Arts and Humanities’ 15 per-cent printed preferred journals,
16 per-cent books and current publications, 9 per-cent use rare books and manuscripts,
7 per-cent photographs and still images. The percentage is calculated across
the section heading and Arts and Humanities. The third highest percentage (10)
is the use of bibliographic tools, abstracting and indexing services. The combined
total of electronic services and information only represent 21 per-cent of the
section. The use of artefacts at 4 per-cent matches that of electronic full
text and electronic journals.
The profusion of online information in excess of ‘3 billion pages’
[201]
added to the dynamic data available. The British Library
[202]
and Library of Congress
[203]
promote massive figures of printed works in excess of 128
million. The interesting statement from the British Library: “If you see 5 items
today, it would take you 80,000 years to see the whole of the collection.” The
information revolution takes around 0.22 seconds to locate the phrase ‘British
Library’ and provides 815,000 occurrences
[204]
for further research. This would result in reducing the reading
time to 447 years based on the libraries calculation on the assumption the reader
will take 5 books a day.
‘Also researchers in Arts and Humanities and Area Studies and Languages
are clearly more worried about the quality and provenance of the research information
they find online’
[205]
.
The findings in the 2001 research imply that of the Electronic sources
used for search and recovery that Online catalogues for your own institutions
library was the primary sources at 54 per cent and ‘Gernic’ web search engines
at 44 per cent came second above a number of previously mention research tools.
The rise in house prices and the assumption that decorative improvements
will further increase the value, has brought about a growth in the number of
television programmes aimed at this new audience. The analogue television of
1990 provided a small number of channels supplement by satellite stations now
known, as Sky Digital
[xxix]
required a smaller duration amount of programme production.
The number of channels now in excess of 400 pushed to the same number of viewers
would require a massive amount of new material to be produced
[206]
. Budget programmes
[207]
being made to fill the space and inadvertently production
companies created the low cost
[208]
home, garden programmes in line with the popular realty series
of today.
The success of the Antiques Roadshow'
[209]
following that of Going for a Song both pushed out
early on a Sunday evening,
[210]
has had many imitations. Production teams could be very excited
on a viewer ratio to cost of production with single or dual presenters have
seen 8 million viewers of David Dickinson
[211]
programmes. None of these programmes
[xxx]
provide interaction and are limited to the information they
can deliver on the screen
[212]
. The related websites do provide additional
information about the subject matter, the largest part of the content relates
to the presenters and irrelevant fact and figures.
The Artsworld Channel covers the majority of the Arts subjects
[213]
incorporating specialist programmes on artist, buildings
and antiquity. Specialist programmes such as ‘The Colour of Light - Vermeer
and the Delft School.’
[214]
Provides a link for cinema goers to the Girl with the
Pearl Earring released in 2003. Though this film like many others
[xxxi]
does not provide a direct relationship between the title
of the film or props used it does passively provide an awareness of art, antiques
and their related histories.
Discussions with a handful of Roadshow presenters [215] implied that ‘Eric Knowles’ inadvertently created a Clarice Cliff market Eric strongly denies this. However small or large the education and awareness that the presenter created had some affect on the market, showing the power of the medium.
The television News especially now that a number of stations promote 24-hour
news programmes, their quest for any story to fill the dead space. Now include
reference to ‘high art’ and issues such as artefacts from the Baghdad museums
that now fill the dead space on the odd occasion reaching main story elevation.
Advertising is becoming more sophisticated and includes the use of popular
iconography or relationships to well known art personalities. Citroen use the
name Picasso for a car model name and display robots apparently painting in
a similar style to the artist. Putti and cherubs, similar to in the Sistine
chapel are used in cartoons and advertising boards. Tourism uses a country’s
recognisable cultural artefact to portray wealth and quality
[216]
.
Computer gaming
[217]
is one of the larger pastimes of the modern technology world.
These entertainment systems often display stately homes and artefacts. Games
such as Lara Croft include actions such as collecting artefacts to move
onto another level, the appearance of some have questionable connection with
antiquities or history. Conversations on message boards and in gaming magazines
relating to these games raise the awareness and the association of these pieces
in museums and other historical places.
The main pull activity is the users interface with the internet either
by browsing the web or for email. Interactive television in the UK provides
the viewer with ability to view some selective information relating to the programme,
to see a sports event from a different angle and be informed about goods being
advertised. True interaction such as instant online bidding still has a number
of technology boundaries to cross, due to time delays and other issues.
In 1998 a pilot was run to test live on line bidding for Antiques and other
interaction, the response was poor and the cost to high to continue.
The reduced cost of DVD players and the ability to choose scenes provides
the ability for the user to select the presentation order or individual information
from the comfort of the armchair remotely. The use of 3D visual presentations,
similar to those used in the gaming industry, are used to present representation
of historic monuments from around the world. The governments ImpaCT2 project
has shown that the use of technology increases the grades of children at various
National Curriculum stages
[218]
.
The use of technology will continue to expand and these developments may
be taken up by the trading market to assist in selling or buying. The power
of the internet as a quality research tool can be seen on the BBC Antiques Roadshow
website
[219]
.
The internet and the affects of this technology on the fine art and antiques market has been the subject to huge amounts market research. The overview of most follows the informal interviews with dealers. These informal discussions found that even though a number of dealers used services on the internet to sell stock. Most use the medium for advertising or to display a larger array of stock than can be done by traditional paper advertising. The main view was that it did not bring many new clients [220] to the business as the best way was by word of mouth. [221] Interviews by email of a small number of sellers based on eBay showed the reverse. LAPADA membership survey reflects four percent of sales where made on the internet.
Examples of the use of technology by Interactive games in combination with the National Gallery and other museums provides an array of activities fun learning and is targeted at Key Stages 1 and 2, this includes understanding art, costume and design.
National Portrait museum www.show.me.uk, From the natural history; www.nhm.ac.uk/interactive/kids/missionexplore/
www.nhm.ac.uk/interactive/kids/index.html