Week 6 - D.G. Lecture - Work Cultural Industry - truncated
April Week 6: Cultural, Creativity, & Knowledge Industries
Focus: Sleepy Mode
This Week’s Key Themes/Terms
Shift from industrial economy to knowledge and service economy.
Promotion of creativity by businesses and governments; impact of technology on creative processes and culture.
Management of creativity flow by businesses and its potential for new market opportunities.
Work dynamics in creative and knowledge economies.
Case studies: Toronto film/TV and Canadian video games.
Creativity - Concept
Definition and significance within the knowledge economies.
Existence of creative industries linked to knowledge economies.
Defining Creativity
Exploration of various definitions of creativity.
Creativity on the Rise
Richard Florida (2002): Creativity as the key source of competitive advantage in the 21st-century global economy.
Leadbeater (2007): The socio-economic system will increasingly rely on mass creativity.
Encouraging Creativity
Government initiatives to drive creativity through economic and social policy.
Dynamics shaping creativity in policy:
Varies across scientific, technological, economic, and cultural domains.
Information technologies foster collaboration among diverse creative practices.
Governments face challenges in facilitating cross-disciplinary interactions. (Source: US National Research Council)
Teaching Creativity
Educational paradox in teaching creativity amidst rapid socio-economic changes.
The need for individuals to be adaptive requires a rethink of curricula.
Creative outcomes cannot be guaranteed by fixed educational structures; need for flexible approaches.
Despite challenges, educational pursuits are subsidized to harness creativity.
Capturing Creativity (1/2)
The “second screen” concept: Interactivity enhances audience engagement during media consumption.
Media producers leverage interactivity to enhance social engagement and influence popular media forms:
Music production shapes around short-form viral content.
Reality TV participants focus on generating viral reactions.
Capturing Creativity (2/2): Game Modding
Game modding as a bottom-up creative endeavor.
Originating in the mid-1990s, game modding involves ordinary people expanding on games.
Gained acceptance in the industry, noted in the concept of “paid mods.”
Examples of games benefiting from modding communities include Skyrim and Baldur’s Gate 3.
The Importance of Creativity
The shift to the Knowledge Economy emphasizes the role of creativity in economic development.
The Shift to Knowledge Economies
Since the 1970s, service industries emerged as primary economic sources of employment and innovation.
Move of tangible capital to lower-wage economies explains the rise of intangible capital.
Manufacturing is increasingly associated with service industries.
The Knowledge Economy
Interrelation of information, knowledge, and creativity fosters technological and cultural innovations.
Knowledge push: Fueled by public/private investment in education and research.
Market pull: Influenced by globalization, competition, consumer sophistication, and value of intangible assets.
Government Roles in Creativity
States and policies drive human actions in creative industries, necessitating government support for activities like creativity.
Sustaining Creativity in Knowledge Economies
Challenges in building and maintaining a creative industry in a knowledge economy.
The Rise of Creative Industries
New media significantly influences the growth of creative industries in Canada, particularly in film and gaming.
Creativity and the Economy
In 2017, Government of Canada launched "Creative Canada Policy Framework" focusing on:
Investment in creators and cultural entrepreneurs.
Promoting Canadian content discovery and distribution.
Strengthening public broadcasting and supporting local news.
Supporting Policies for Creative Economy
Canada implements various policies to enhance creativity; discussion on their effectiveness for citizens versus wealth transfers.
Case Study: Toronto Film and Media Production
Toronto designated a Creative City of Media Arts by UNESCO in 2017; history of creative planning dates back to 1998.
The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) provides vast audiences and resources for media productions, with financial support from wealthy donors.
Creative Industries & Cultural Policy
Global momentum behind creative industries policy since the 1990s, with a continued growth trend despite economic downturns.
Ontario Tax Credit for Creative Industries
Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit (OFTTC) generally calculated at 35% of eligible labor expenditures, with bonuses for specific production locations.
Case Study: Canadian Gaming Industry
Canada hosts major game companies like Electronic Arts (EA) and Ubisoft, primarily in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal.
Some industry critiques regarding standardized development practices hindering intellectual property.
Gaming Industry Structure
Evolved from military-industrial-academic complex to embrace user-driven content and modding opportunities.
Analytics as an indirect way to involve users in game development.
Gaming Industry Profits
Shift from packaging to online/mobile games; new distribution models like Xbox Marketplace and Steam dominate.
Recent trends in financing through community funding and new revenue models such as freemiums.
Conclusion
Reflection on the rise and sustainability of creativity in industries.
Key Themes Recap
Re-emphasizes key themes regarding the shift from industrial to knowledge economies, focusing on creativity and its promotion across media industries.