The development of digital media has been influential in transforming the usage of media such as merging multiple information in social life. The existing contents in the form of types or images have been digitalized and it has facilitated simultaneou...
The development of digital media has been influential in transforming the usage of media such as merging multiple information in social life. The existing contents in the form of types or images have been digitalized and it has facilitated simultaneous one-to-one communication without restriction on time and space. Keeping up with the changing social environment, the wind of changes in the field of cultural arts has started to seek for transition along with the development of digital media. In particular, performing arts have been originally conducted with an involvement of audiences and stages which eventually form vividness on site and produce experiential products. Hence, watching the performance at the actual theater was the typical way of consuming the performing arts. However, the development of digital media has brought a new system of providing the video contents of performing arts, which made it possible for audiences to watch a performance without necessarily being physically in the theater. In addition, the rapid growth of the usage on social media which is based on mobile phones resulted in instantaneous exposure of video contents to the users, and stronger connection among the users through live broadcast service. The performing arts field responded to this trend and started to broadcast the performance live in real time. Through social media, those methods made it possible for performances to be transmitted live in real time. This has enabled the audience not only to break the boundaries of a theater but also to enjoy the performances without restrictions in space. It mean that shows the possibility that the performing arts can be consumed as video contents by the audience.
One of the representative examples of video content in performing arts is ‘Live in HD’ by Metropolitan Opera in the United States which took the initiative in the performing arts field with the successful introduction of Livecast Cinema Theater in 2006. Subsequently, the National Theatre in the United Kingdom presented ‘NT Live’ in 2009 which has largely influenced the video production of performing arts in the world. Seoul Art Center is striving to expand cultural rights of the public through ‘SAC On Screen’, which is the first domestic project of producing video in the performing arts. Furthermore, there is an increasing supply of live broadcast in performing arts through the live streaming service which is provided by social media such as Youtube, Facebook and Naver. Live streaming was originally utilized to broadcast a press conference or press call of a performance and has then gradually transformed to present the whole performance. Given that live broadcast in real time has made it possible to enjoy a performance individually at a separate place, it was assumed that it would serve to expand the sphere of the audience. In addition, it served to increase the general interest in the performing arts through continuous and real-time communication between the theater personnel and the audiences while sharing the information about the performance. The video production of performing arts breaks the physical limit and enhances universal access to the arts and thus, expands the cultural rights of the public.
Based on the assumption, three strategies to invigorate the use of video. First, the quality of the video contents needs to be improved. The video contents of performing arts should be produced to focus on self-produced creative performance in order to make better use of the contents. This has to contribute to the involvement of visually-impaired or hearing-impaired people in culture and art activities. Having these crucial attributes, the production quality of the video contents in performing arts needs to be improved technically in terms of sound quality and image quality. Second, a dedicated platform for performing arts video contents should be established during expanding the distribution channel. The environment which accesses to the contents is simplified needs to be formed by providing VOD (Video on Demand) service and subscription service. In addition, the provision of paid or free catch-up service utilizing the video records produced for live streaming at a designated platform is expected to create added value through the video contents of performing arts. Moreover, services that share the performance information or recommend certain video contents will also be possible through customized curatorial service. Last, a protection framework for copyrighted video contents needs to be established. The video contents of performing arts are considered derivative works and are protected as independent works. However, following to the precedent a performance is considered composite work which is combined to individual works. To produce video contents, producers has to make agreement about secondary copyright works with individual copyright holders and copyright rules which clears to make works is needed. In order to produce the video content of a performance, an amicable agreement should be reached among the copyright holders of the individual works and the details of the agreements should be clearly stated. To improve the awareness about the issue of copyright among the content users, proper education is imperative and visual guidelines on the use of copyrighted contents should be attached on the contents for the users to view. Especially, the video content of performing arts has potential as a means to create added value through VOD service and content subscription. Therefore, a framework for copyright protection must be established to prevent possible controversial matters that may arise.
It is perceived important that creating and using the video content of performing arts are invigorated in an effort to provide more opportunities for the public and enjoy them regardless of time and space through the strategies suggested above. The considered limitations of this research were the insufficient resources on the video contents of domestic performing arts and not being able to interview the experts in the related field. However, the propositions provided in this research would help vitalize the production of video content of performing arts and facilitate the enjoyment of performing arts in everyday life.