HiBrow Launches its curated video platform, giving users a “backstage pass to the arts”
27TH JANUARY 2012 by PAUL SAWERS
A new platform called HiBrow has launched this week, tapping digital technology and the expertise of professional film producers and directors to bring HD video arts programming to the masses.
Curated by some well-known names from the UK creative industries, such as Gary Kemp, Ruby Wax, Sir Richard Eyre, Franc Roddam, Dave Calhoun and Simon Callow, HiBrow promises to give viewers a ‘back stage pass’ to the arts.
HiBrow kicked-off proceedings with 10 hours of original programming, streaming new plays, concerts, exhibitions, dance, literary events and festivals. A further 10 hours of new material will be available on the site from February 1.
Every month, at least 7 hours of fresh content will be added to the site, ranging from interviews with authors, actors, directors, artists, conductors and musicians, to films of rehearsals and behind the scenes documentaries which will complement the professionally produced primary content.
Founded by UK-based film-maker Don Boyd, and curated by a team of high-profile professionals from the creative Industries, HiBrow offers users a direct link to professional productions from across the arts world. Moreover, to extend its service beyond professionally curated work, HiBrow has also linked up with NODA (National Operatic and Dramatic Association) – Britain’s institution representing over 2,500 amateur companies.
“For many years I have been aware of a gap in the broadcasting environment for exceptional arts programming,” said Boyd. “The advent of the Internet and broadband provides the means by which this gap can be filled. Over the past three years I have worked single-mindedly, but not without help from a diverse and predominantly youthful group of talented experts in the fields of the arts and digital technology, to create Hibrow.tv, a comprehensive international platform giving audiences an intimate insight into the creative process they would never have seen anywhere else.”
HiBrow is like a YouTube for the arts, and given that it’s free to use and curated for quality, it could prove to be a hit amongst culture vultures. Amongst other features, the website will also offer an arts-focused social network – through which a community of so-called ‘HiBrowsers’ can talk about a performance they have seen, or discuss their favourite art form from a range of subjects.
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OK, before I comment any further, I just want to say that I really like this: anything that can bring high quality entertainment for free to the world can only be a good thing. However, I wonder if watching this kind of stuff online is counter-intuitive to the very idea of going to a play or an art exhibition?
ReplyDeleteFor me, most of the enjoyment of going to the theatre is the immediacy of the experience – there’s no screen separating me from the action. A few months ago I went to see one of the operas the movie theatres simulcasts with the theatre and the experience felt cheapened to me. I didn’t get a sense for the stage or the singers: it was all registering a little flat.
I guess what I’m wondering here is if all forms of art necessarily SHOULD have a digital form just because they can? I know a lot of people who are book purists, refusing to get a Kindle because it “cheapens the experience” but somehow live art feels fundamentally different? Text is infinitely reproducible – it doesn’t matter what format you read a book in, you’re still going to take the same things away from the experience. With a play however, it’s a full sensory experience that can’t necessarily be replicated onscreen.
Jarett, I like the distinction you draw between the reproducibility of text vs. other art forms, e.g. live performance. Live performance definitely suffers in digital reproduction. I agree with you about text: as long as its readability isn't affected by the medium, text can survive nicely in alternative formats. It's about the content, and not so much the form.
ReplyDeleteIn contrast, visual art that has been created in traditional media suffers in digital reproduction. Even though the viewing of art is primarily a visual experience, the form and content are inextricable, and digital media can't effectively reproduce the form. The physical presence of a piece of visual art can't, unfortunately, be translated.
Nonetheless, I'm glad that sites such as Hibrow exist. Could be a while before I make it to the Tate Gallery or the Met!
Totally agree with you Linda! We can't always get out to see the great works of art. I'm pretty sure I'll end up using the site despite my concerns about it!
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