Research overview

Kate’s PhD research was a netnographic study of a diverse set of practices in Ukraine that centre around providing access to feature films and TV content, yet which exist partly or fully outside of formally regulated spaces. These practices are part of what can be defined as the informal screen media economy of Ukraine.

Aims of the project:

• develop an understanding of the policies and regulations that govern the Ukrainian screen media economy and how they are enforced;
• explore the current state of the Ukrainian informal screen media economy by identifying the main types of activities related to informal distribution or localisation of screen media content;
• provide a framework to research practices in an informal media economy.

• informal voice over;
• informal subtitling (subbing);
• pirate streaming sites, aka ‘illegal online cinemas’;
• torrent sites.

Methods:

• interviews with people engaged in the informal screen media practices (namely with informal voice-over actors and translators, informal subtitlers (subbers), administrators of pirate streaming sites, and moderators and the most actively contributing members of a torrent community);
• walkthrough of Ukrainian pirate streaming sites;
• participant observation of a major Ukrainian torrent community.