Why bother with the numbers?

Blog two: Data

Is data usage something we should consider? if by doing so your using information that a company privately gathered on its consumers. Now even though i say privately, their is a disclosure agreement. Usually called a user agreement and has lots of fine print which is required to be read but gets skipped and you just jump to ticking that little agree box. This happens whenever an individual will join a sight such as Spotify or Netflix.

What was interesting to see was that while i was in class and learning about data usage, the idea was introduced to us through different images of billboards that had slabs of white text. That fed the data of individuals in a way to suit an advertisement. “dear person who played "sorry" 42 times on valentine day, what did you do?" ("spotify billboard - 2018"). It was kind of confronting to see this sitting on a billboard. So i decided to look further into Data usage and how it affects me in an animation orientated industry. Its something i was unaware of for a while because i was apart of the consumer side of Data, so i cared little on what the records of how many songs i streamed or shows on Netflix i watched. Because it didn't have an affect on me. or so i thought.

There are a lot of companies that will hoard their data and control it very strictly. As it gives them an advantage over a competitor. “Data is the kind of ubiquitous resource that we can shape to provide new innovations and new insights, and it’s all around us, and it can be mined very easily.” – David McCandless, Data journalist. But even with having these numbers that can guide you on what is 'trending', these statistics can become roadblocks or deterrents to creators, especially if the product your wanting to make has insufficient data to support the popularity potential and influx in sales which is always whats being strives for.

Data is incremental in the animation business growing in an office standpoint where numbers and statistics are readily available to be reflected on and used as tools of guidance. It can allow us to understand our market and predict trends.

How data is used to collect information:

Some examples of people affectingly using data a step further. ("The Fallen of World War II", 2018) the documentary animates the statistics of fallen soldiers and civilians over the world war II period (1918 - 1994). the use the data collected to drive and direct their message about the effects that the war had in terms of deaths. watching this video was effective because the statistics are hard facts that an audience can let influence their opinion and align with the creators aim, exposure to the effects of war.

so, to try summarise what I've learnt about data; its something that is collected by a lot of industries and in the creative field its what aids us in production. To try and create something that our consumers will have an interest in and watch/buy. ie; bright by Netflix. but by storing these numbers, what can happen is that if we don't have the data we want to see. we will let is became an excuse on not creating a show that isn't expected to have a popular outcome.

I now hold a different opinion on data, as i am going to be apart of a creative industry and researching how effective data can be. I am going to be more aware of its presence in my discipline and allow it to aid me but not constrict me in the types of animations or work i wish to make.

Thank you for reading!

Bibliography

Creative Institue, S. (2018). Week 6: Using Data to Market, Make Better Work, & For Creativity. Retrieved from https://medium.com/self-directed-practitioners/week-5-data-you-and-your-art-f75add99c56b

The Fallen of World War II. (2018). Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/128373915

obviousjim. (2018). Retrieved from http://www.jamesgeorge.org/CLOUDS

spotify billboard. - Google Search. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.google.com.au/search?q=spotify+billboard.&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjls6qn5e7cAhUPNrwKHd27ATAQ_AUICigB&biw=1090&bih=949#imgrc=JNOcU6d2oY2_eM: