Digital Disruption and its Implications in Generating ‘Impact’ through Film and Television Practice-as-Research

John William Mateer, Samm Haillay

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Both research funding bodies and the Research Excellence Framework (REF) are increasingly looking at ‘impact’ as an important measure of project success. For those involved in film or television practice-as-research, demonstrating impact beyond the academy and measuring ‘reach’ has often been considered through the public visibility of their projects. Yet, even for industry professionals it is becoming more difficult to reach target audiences due to the disruption caused by the emergence of on-demand distribution. This has resulted in reduced access to theatrical and broadcast exhibition and led to new challenges in gaining visibility in an increasingly crowded market space that affects commercial and academic projects alike. This paper considers issues faced by professional independent producers in this disrupted environment and examines strategies that have been developed to succeed within it. We argue that lessons learned by independent producers can be adapted by academics involved in film or television practice-as-research to enhance visibility of their own projects and demonstrate ‘impact’.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)166-178
Number of pages13
JournalMedia Practice and Education
Volume20
Issue number2
Early online date24 Apr 2019
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 24 Apr 2019

Bibliographical note

© 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details.

Keywords

  • practice-as-research
  • research impact
  • digital disruption
  • independent film production
  • independent television production
  • research excellence framework

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