Week Eleven: Inge Sørensen

After reading through Sørensen's article "Crowdsourcing and outsourcing: the impact of online funding and distribution on the documentary film industry in the UK", I found myself a bit sceptical about the claim that "at this particular point in time, it is cooler to have one’s film on the BBC than on YouTube" (Sørensen, 2012, p. 730). At first, I intuitively agreed with the statement and thought that if I wanted a certain level of respect for a documentary video I created (were I documentary producer), I would want it featured by a reputable broadcaster, or possibly at a festival. However – and I feel that this was not touched on enough by the article – YouTube does have the potential to provide you more coverage and attention than any other traditional outlet possibly could. In that sense, as a director, I feel I would be much more motivated (and it would feel "cooler") to have my video up on YouTube generating millions of views and likes, rather than featured on national television. In this example, I would argue that the "cultural distinction" or "cultural capital" (Sørensen, 2012, p. 730) said by Sorensen to be sought after by producers, is trumped by international recognition attainable through online video sharing websites like YouTube or Vimeo. Would that type of recognition not also lead to the documentary eventually being shown at festivals and/or by reputable broadcasters?

References

Sørensen, Inge Ejbye (2012). Crowdsourcing and outsourcing: the impact of online funding and distribution on the documentary film industry in the UK. Media, Culture & Society 34(6): 726-743.