 In this video, we are going to look at locating the screen in terms of convergence culture. This video is just a launching point for the readings, activities and class discussions for this topic. The information used in this video is sourced from convergence culture, where old and new media collide by Henry Jenkins. The first thing to say is that all the screens that surround us, whether small, medium or large, are all dynamic models of convergence. But what is convergence? Henry Jenkins says, By convergence, I mean the flow of content across multiple media platforms, the cooperation between multiple media industries, and the migratory behavior of media audiences who will go almost anywhere in search of the kinds of entertainment experiences they want. He also says that convergence is a word that manages to describe technological, industrial, cultural and social changes depending on who's speaking and what they think they're speaking about. So already we need to be understanding convergence in the multiplicity of ways, which all interact with each other. For instance, we could think of WikiLeaks as an example of several models of convergence at work, which uses the screen and screen relations as a primary mode of communication. First, WikiLeaks illustrates the convergence of grassroots and commercial media. WikiLeaks is accessible via non-commercial sources, however is also firmly embedded in the consciousness of commercial media and is often covered by and through the media industrial complex. Second, WikiLeaks illustrates the convergence of internet and screen culture by way of using platforms such as YouTube, as in the case of the collateral murder video, to virally spread information that may not otherwise have space to be seen. By doing so, WikiLeaks illustrates the global convergence of media flows in which digital networks can spread data and information quickly and sometimes even covertly and in ways that might circumvent traditional or even legal avenues. As a result, we can see the way convergence has myriad implications on political, legal, mediatic, cultural, and social dynamics. However, as Jenkins explains, the idea of convergence is not a new phenomenon. Rather, convergence is an old concept taking on new meanings. For instance, when films first screened with sound, technologies were also converging and new cultural codes and cultural meanings became attached to those technologies, not to mention the new film culture born from the converging of sound and moving pictures. So one of your challenges is thinking about convergence in relation to screen culture as one of many trends in which technologies, industries, cultures, and other facets of our social fabric come together and produce shifts in our media consumption and production. For example, in his book, Jenkins gives the example of another snapshot of convergence culture at work. As Jenkins explains, in December 2004, a hotly anticipated Bollywood film, Rock Sarko to Rock Low, was screened in its entirety to movie buffs throughout parts of India through edge enabled mobile phones with live video streaming facility. This is believed to be the first time that a feature film had been fully accessible via mobile phones. With this example in mind, most importantly, perhaps, is recognizing what these shifts mean on broader levels. Think about how having screens in our pockets changes our dynamics of live events, of photography, of television, and of communications around the world. In our ocular centric culture, screens are the locus of great power and fascinating cultural experiences. Thank you for watching.