Yeni Medya ile Dönüşen Meslekler: Sinema Oyunculuğundan Video Oyunlarına
Aslı Begüm MeriçGeleneksel medya ile yeni medya arasındaki sınırların bulanıklaşması, medyaların değişen formlarının ve birbirine yakınlaşan yapılarının incelenmesi gereksinimini de beraberinde getirmiştir. Yakınsama kavramı ise bu gereksinim doğrultusunda çıkmış olan kavramlardan biridir. Günümüzde yakınsamanın kapsamına giren alanlardan önemli iki tanesi sinema ve video oyunlarıdır. Sinemanın yedinci sanat, video oyunlarının ise sekizinci sanat olarak kabul edildiği ve ikisinin de görsel medyalar olduğu düşünüldüğünde bu iki sanat dalı arasındaki kaçınılmaz etkileşim akademik araştırmalara konu olmaktadır. Video oyunlarının sinema filmlerine yakınlaşan senaryo ve görsel teknikleri, sinemanın ise özellikle pandemi dönemi sonrası dijital platformlara taşınan yapısı, iki sektörün ortak bir noktada, dijital ortamda buluşmasını sağlamıştır. Sinema izleyicisinin pasif, oyuncuların ise anlatıya aktif katılım sağlaması, yeni nesil anlatı arayışını da beraberinde getirmiştir. Transmedya anlatıları ve uyarlamaların hız kazanmasının yanı sıra film yıldızlarının video oyunlarına hareket yakalama teknikleri aracılığıyla kazandırılması güncel hamlelerden en sonuncusu olmuştur. Dijital ortamın gerçek aktörlere ev sahipliği yapmasının altyapısı oluşturan yakınsama kültürü, bu çalışmanın literatür kısmını oluşturmaktadır. Yapılan çalışmada film yıldızlarının video oyunlarında yer almalarının kişisel motivasyonları ve sektörel çıktıları, 3 Mart 2023 – 3 Mayıs 2023 tarihleri arasında arama motoru üzerinden ilgili anahtar kelimelerin kombinasyonu kullanılarak yapılan aramadan örneklem olarak seçilmiş 10 haber üzerinden incelenmiştir. Ulaşılan motivasyon ve çıktıların anlamlı bir biçimde yorumlanması ve farklı haberlerden derlenen bulguların ortak bir kategorizasyonun yapılabilmesi amacıyla çalışmada doküman analizi ve içerik analizi yöntemleri kullanılmıştır. İncelenen haberlerde ulaşılan ortak bulgular dört kategoriye ayrılarak “Yeni Kariyer Fırsatları”, “Görünürlük ve Uzun Vadeli Tanınırlık”, “Endüstri Geliri ve Karşılıklı Kazanç” ve “Medyatik Yansımalar” başlıkları altında derlenmiştir. Elde edilen bu bulguların film yıldızlarını video oyunlarda rol almaya iten temel motivasyonları ve yakınsama doğrultusunda iki sektörü de etkileyecek sektörel çıktıları açıklaması beklenmektedir. Literatürde halihazırda yer alan yakınsama çalışmalarına film yıldızları üzerinden yapılan araştırmayla yeni bir kazanım sağlamayı hedefleyen araştırmanın, kendisinden sonra yapılacak araştırmalara kaynak oluşturabilmesi amaçlanmıştır.
How Traditional Professions Have Transformed with New Media: From Cinema Acting to Video Games
Aslı Begüm MeriçNew technologies have blurred the line between traditional media and new media, and convergence culture examines the changing form of media content. These days, cinema and video games are two important areas of convergence. When considering cinema as the seventh art, video games as the eighth art, and both as visual media, the inevitable interaction between these two branches of art becomes the subject of academic research. The script and visual techniques of video games, which have come to resemble movies more and more, and the structure of cinema, which has moved to digital platforms especially since the pandemic, have allowed them to meet in the digital environment. The passive participation of the cinema audience and the active participation of video game players have brought about the need for a new generation of narrative. Transmedia narratives and adaptations mark the first step in the collaboration between the two media forms. Motion capture technology has brought more realistic action to video games, and this marks the second important step. These days, motion capture actors are actual Hollywood stars. Convergence culture and the technical/ technological background form part of the literature of this study, which examines the personal motivations and sectoral outputs of movie stars’ participation in video games over 10 news stories selected as a sample from a search conducted using the combination of related keywords on a search engine between March 3 to May 3, 2023. The study uses the document analysis and content analysis methods to meaningfully interpret the motivations and outputs and to make a common categorization of the findings compiled from different news sources. The common findings from the news clips are divided into four categories and compiled under the headings of new career opportunities, fame and long-term recognition, industry revenue and the win-win situation, and media reflections. These findings are expected to be able to explain the main motivations for movie stars to take part in video games and the sectoral outputs that will affect both sectors in line with convergence. The research aims to provide new gains to the convergence studies already included in the literature with its research on film stars and to be a source for future research to be carried out.
Cinema and video games are forms of visual media. Therefore, their similarity is inevitable. Journalist Roger Fidler (1997) explained this with the term “mediamorphosis,” while Henry Jenkins (2019) called this “convergence.” The most basic common point of the definitions is the cooperation between the two forms. During the COVID-19 pandemic in particular, the closure of movie theaters and the need for individuals to interact have led to the popularity of video games that offer the opportunity for active participation. Video games have approached cinema not only from a visual point of view, but also in terms of script. Global cinema box office revenues were $26 billion in 2022. While this represents a 27% increase compared to 2021, this amount is far behind pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, Newzoo, a provider of statistical data on the gaming industry, published a report (Wijman, 2022) on July 26, 2022, predicting that there will be 3.2 billion players worldwide by the end of 2022 and that these players will help the global gaming market earn $196.8 billion in 2022, an annual increase of 2.1%. Cinema’s inability to provide audiences with active participation and its audience passivity has raised certain criticisms. Some of these criticisms and comparisons include the Chief Executive of CCP Games Hilmar Pétursson’s statement (Baraniuk, 2020), “Netflix and all that is good for passing time, but that doesn’t really give you a social context. And people are craving a social context” and creative director Sam Lake’s statement (Tsukayama, 2016), “It gives you a very different experience… because there is a player agenda that you can choose to ignore some of the content or even explore further.” These critiques have led to the emergence and increase in the number of adaptations and transmedia narratives. Jenkins (2019, p. 19) similarly defined convergence, saying, “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.”Video games strive to offer a real experience with real scenarios and are visually enriched with a reality that is increasing daily. Visually, all the scenes in a video game can always be recreated in its movie version, and all the scenes in a movie can be recreated in its video game version. Some techniques are used to convey action and emotion as close as possible to reality. Lately, motion capture has become the most important of these techniques. Motion capture enables the process of transforming a live performance into a digital performance through sensors, strategically placed reflective dots, and more than 30 cameras. The success of motion capture technology is equivalent to an actor’s performance, and an actor’s professional experience is important for filming. Thus, motion capture actors these days have been replaced by familiar faces from the big screen. Hollywood stars have already appeared as voice actors in video games. Lately, video games have also had equal or bigger budgets than the cinema industry. Video games were also accepted as an art form after cinema. An artist who serves any form of art should first contribute to the growth and development of their own art and then do the same for other forms. This is why Hollywood stars have taken a step into video games. Names like Keanu Reeves, Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, Rami Malek, and many more have already played roles in the gaming world.
This study explains the other motivations well-known actors have had for taking place in video games under four categories: new career opportunities, fame and longterm recognition, industry revenue and the win-win situation, and media reflections. Keeping up with changing media platforms is important for intergenerational recognition, and an actor needs to be in the right place at the right time. When examined within the framework of sectors, producers, and actors, blurring the lines between media forms can be said to be profitable for everyone. The same goes for the events in both sectors. For example, BAFTA for the first time gave a game award in 2004. Likewise, the Game Awards have hosted Keanu Reeves, Christopher Nolan, and Gal Gadot as presenters. To paraphrase Jenkins (2019, p. 19), fans in this intermedia environment go almost anywhere to play a game in which their favorite actor appears or to watch a movie with an actor from a game they know. The research this study has examined within the framework of convergence culture is important in terms of sectoral enrichment. However, enrichment should not be considered only in material terms. The enrichment and diversification of content lead the way to potential productions, and the increasing number of productions should be considered to also lead the way for possible collaborations both within and between sectors.
