Page 135 - AC/E Digital Culture Annual Report 2014

AC/E digital culture ANNUAL REPORT 20142. The influence of the new technologies on the way people view the performing arts2.1. The use of the new technologies during performancesThe use of a second screen poses a challenge for the performing arts. Outside the theatre building this second screen is something habitual, as Sergio Jiménez Arenas says in his article for this Annual Report “Gamification, generating commitment to culture”. It is not unusual to find conversations on Twitter between spectators who are observing an event via streaming, either from their homes or at the cinema, in which they comment about it to each other. This community is growing and knowledge of the institution is going viral.In the performing arts the fundamental idea is that there is no substitute for being physically present to see a work performed live. Theatre as a magic place is still its main appeal for ticket sales. That is why it still remains to be seen how the second screen will form part of live productions. The history of the performing arts shows how it has always been necessary to isolate spectators from the exterior world so that they concentrate on what is happening on the stage. At first sight, it does not seem logical that a small screen should compete with the stage setting for the attention of the audience. But what is certainly true is that these screens are becoming an extension of their owners, a tool in the full sense of the word. TV viewers already watch programmes with their mobile phones or tablets nearby. Visitors to museums are starting to use their devices to findAC/Eout more about what it is that they are seeing, if the museum does not already have guides available that are designed for such devices. In theatres it is becoming ever more frequent to see somebody with a smartphone ready to tweet something in the middle of a performance. Quite often they are rebuked by other members of the audience nearby who find this sort of behaviour annoying. In fact, at the beginning of performances the request will have been heard to “disconnect” mobile phones, not to “silence” them. Any lover of concerts of classical music, theatre, opera or even cinema knows how irritating it is to hear someone’s mobile phone go off. It can even distract the attention of the actors or the musicians. Perhaps, therefore, it would not be preposterous to think that in the future mobile phones will have a function called “theatre mode”, similar to “airplane mode” that will completely silence the device, even incoming calls, and only allow Internet access for social networks and for searching for information. It is here that experiences such as tweet seats, bloggers’ nights and social media moments, which some artistic institutions have already developed, have their origin. The social media thus extend the reach of the cultural experience as José de la Peña Aznar notes in his article for this Annual Report, “Are the social networks any use to the culture industry?”.FOCUS 2014: THE USE OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PERFORMING ARTS2.1 THE USE OF THE NEW TECHNOLOGIES DURING PERFORMANCES CURRENT PAGE...135