Understanding Interactive Documentary

The week one reading by Ashton and Gaudenzi explores how the non-linear medium opens up possibilities of story telling. The versatile and non-fictional form of documentary allows viewers to draw their own interpretations.

The four types of interactive documentary include:

Conversational: This style allows the viewer to engage with the computer by making their choices from an interactive video.

Hypertext: The viewer is able to create their own journey through selecting a series of existing options.

Participative: The digital authors engage in a reciprocated beneficial relationship with the users. The documentary evolves as viewers contribute to the creation at various stages.

Experiential Mode: This locative style of documentary combines the viewer’s virtual and physical existence.

These varied styles of interactive documentary result in different outcomes for the user, the author and the narrative.

The interactive documentary symposiums discussed in the readings allowed expert opinions and concerns regarding the future of interactive documentary to be shared. One of these included Nick Cohen (BBC) who “…referred to the 90-0-1 principle, as cited by Jacob Neilsen (2006), which suggests that there is a participation inequality on the Internet with only 1% of people creating content, 9% editing or modifying content, and 90% viewing content without actively contributing” (Ashton and Gaudenzi 2012, p. 131).

Interactive documentaries are tools for allowing users to understand our society in an engaging narrative format. They free the author from the restrictions of traditional story telling. The audience can be fulfilled knowing they have contributed to the creation of a narrative or perhaps by the idea that they have explored a documentary differently from all others. As a result of the expansion of possibilities within the area of interactive documentary there may be a need for a taxonomy to distinguish the conventions. The understanding of the genres would benefit the user and potentially the author by creating expectations and guidelines within these categories to help us understand the new format.

My First Experience with an Interactive Documentary

I viewed a Korsakow film ‘The Border Between Us’. The narrative explores the experiences of twelve individuals living in two boarder towns in the US and Canada after the tightening of boarder security post 9/11.

The documentary is composed purely of photographic visuals, audio from the interviews and sound effects. The elements used are technically simple, but the stories are effective. The honest interviews expose the discomfort the life-long residents of these towns now feel about their homes. These stories cover a variety of aspects of the individuals’ everyday lives that are now burdened by the legal procedures they must abide by to avoid punishment. The opinions voiced throughout the documentary share the common idea that they have lost their once united communities. The separation presented in the titles and between the towns is apparent throughout the interviews and in the images of the streets.

The set up of this Korsakow project consists of the SNU window with three preview widgets stacked up on the left hand side. This simplistic interface generally allowed me to concentrate on the images that were meant to be the main focus. The preview widgets for the other clips appeared prior to the clip in the SNU window finishing. I found this distracted from the content I was meant to be focusing on at the end. I will aim for the preview widgets to only appear at the very end of the main clip when I  create in Korsakow personally. I am yet to explore all of the possibilities of Korsakow and therefore do not know the variables of the interface at this stage. I hopeful that the issues I have with the interface at this stage will be adjustable.

Image from The Border Between Us

The purely photographic interactive documentary matched the ordering and length of visual content with the relevant speaker. With the addition of sound effects such as a camera shutter and the occasional repetition of images gave the sense of movement. The sound recording quality of the interview was of a high standard which I feel was important considering the minimal visuals. That combined with the photographs of these individuals around their workplace, home and neighbourhood made me feel as though I was in conversation with the interviewee personally. The observational voice over from Nicole Robicheau (the documentary maker) in regards to her line dancing experiences gave an insight into the characters and the community she was visiting. I feel like this particular documentary gave insightful snapshots of a community and their shared experiences with the issue facing their home town. Interacting with this narrative gave me the feeling I was reading a diary.

I am excited to explore co-creation of an interactive documentary and the possibility of implementing mixed media such as animation, photography, video, music and sound effects.