Biography
Stephanie joined the CMCI Department at King’s in September 2018, on a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship, researching immersive promotional media.
Previously, she held Research Assistant roles at Liverpool John Moores University and Royal Holloway, University of London. At RHUL she worked in the Centre for the History of Television Culture and Production, providing research support for projects including ADAPT TV History (ERC funded), Forgotten TV Drama (AHRC funded) and the AHRC’s Creative Economy Programme. She has also worked as a Visiting Tutor on BA and MA courses at RHUL and University of East London, covering modules on Digital Cultures, Creative Industries, Film Marketing and Film, TV & Digital Media History.
Stephanie has a BA in Film & Literature and an MA in Film & Television Studies from the University of Warwick. She completed her PhD in Media Arts at Royal Holloway, University of London in 2015, titled Players and Puppetmasters: Producer/Consumer Relationships in Hollywood's Promotional Alternate Reality Games.
Research Interests
- Immersive Promotional Media (inc. VR, AR, and 360° film)
- Digital Media Marketing: production and consumption
- Digital Cultures
- Alternate Reality Gaming
Stephanie’s fellowship research focuses on the emerging area of immersive promotional media (IPM). The project investigates the aesthetic, narrative and affective connections between IPM, brands and consumers, and seeks to clarify the role, impact and value of VR, AR and 360° film technologies within media marketing strategies and the Creative Economy in the UK.
Her PhD research focused on the production and consumption of Promotional Alternate Reality Games for Hollywood films. Using interviews with producers and audience research, this project investigates the unique nature of ARG producer/consumer relationships and the implications of that relationship on contemporary theories of fandom, including the ‘mainstreaming’ of fannish consumption practices or ‘fanification’, the potential for consumer empowerment in the contemporary media environment and understandings of fan communities’ relationship with consumer capitalism. The thesis finally questions how we might rework or reconceptualise some of those theories to better understand the diverse experiences available to media audiences.
For more details, please see her full research profile.
Teaching
Stephanie is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA).
Expertise and Public Engagement
Stephanie is happy to field media queries related to her fellowship project. She is particularly interested in collaborating with any industry professionals in the immersive sector, particularly those working with VR and AR in promotional contexts.
Selected Publications
- Janes, Stephanie. (2019) Alternate Reality Games: Promotion and Participatory Culture, Routledge (Forthcoming 2019)
- Janes, Stephanie. (2017) Promotional Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) and the TINAG Philosophy in Alternate Reality Games and the Cusp of Digital Gameplay, eds. Antero Garcia & Greg Niemeyer, Approaches to Digital Game Studies Series, Bloomsbury. https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/alternate-reality-games-and-the-cusp-of-digital-gameplay-9781501316241/
- Janes, Stephanie. (2016) “You had to be there” – ARGs and Multiple Durational Temporalities in The Politics of Ephemeral Digital Media: Permanence and Obsolescence in Paratexts eds. Sara Pesce and Paolo Noto, Routledge https://www.routledge.com/The-Politics-of-Ephemeral-Digital-Media-Permanence-and-Obsolescence-in/Pesce-Noto/p/book/9781138857926
- Janes, Stephanie. (2015) 01.18.08 – Viral Marketing Strategies in Hollywood Cinema in Besides the Screen: Moving Images through Distribution, Promotion and Curation eds. Virginia Crisp & Gabriel Menotti Gonring, Palgrave MacMillan https://www.palgrave.com/gb/book/9781137471017
- Janes, Stephanie. (2015) Promotional Alternate Reality Games – More Than ‘Just’ Marketing in Arts and the Market Special Issue: Teasers Titles and Trailers Issue 5.2 eds. Keith Johnston & Daniel Hesford (October 2015)