Ryan, Marie-Laure. Avatars of Story. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2006

In this article, Marie-Laure Ryan describes what makes up a narrative. It is then summarized in a list form. The Summary explains how narrative is the textual realization of story, and that the story itself is a narrative in a virtual form. By seeing things from this perspective it pushes me to think more effectively about the relationship between the two and how narrative is different from other text types due to its power to tell stories to the mind. However, even given all of these option Ryan still raises the point the no one can ever be sure that the text is going to be read in the exact way that we wrote it, despite trying to implement and use every tool available.

Sørenssen, Bjørn. “Digital Video and Alexandre Astruc’s Caméra-Stylo: The New Avant-Garde in Documentary Realized?” Studies in Documentary Film 2.1 (2008): 47–59. EBSCOhost. Web. 19 Sept. 2013.

…with the development of 16mm and television, the day is not far off when everyone will possess a projector, will go to the local bookstore and hire films written on any subject, of any form, from literary criticism and novels to mathematics, history, and general science. From that moment on, it will no longer be possible to speak of the cinema. There will be several cinemas just as today there are several literatures, for the cinema, like literature, is not so much a particular art as a language which can express any sphere of thought.

(Astruc in Graham 1968: 19)

Being very interested in technology myself, I find it almost amazing how accurate Astruc’s prediction was. It’s as if I said “In 10 years, we will have microwaves that make food appear” (although I’m no specialist in microwaves) and not just to the point where we can hire movies like books from a library, the fact that cinema has reached a point where you can find a movie about anything, it’s not just limited to holywood movies anymore.

That said, I have a very split opinion on this.

The accessibility of movies has gone far beyond having to go to a cinema or even renting a dvd at any type of store, we now have access to films many more convenient ways. We can rent our movies off the internet, watch them on our portable supercomputer (smartphone) and even through rectangular black boxes hooked up to our TV made initially to play videogames on. Personally I love it, on a wet winter day I don’t even have to go out anymore, I have access to everything at arm’s reach. The negative side of this is that I believe more and more movies are being made purely for profits with no real story just a catchy title, interesting movie trailer and a million dollar advertising campaign.

Throughout the article Bjørn Sørenssen quotes and writes about how movie making equipment is reaching a stage where anyone can make a movie, from high en smartphones to decent camera’s most of us have good quality filming equipment at reach, and the same goes for distribution. I could make a movie and post it up on internet. But I am yet to see a cinema standard movie made by someone like me and you. There are many home made movies on the web, unfortunately none of which I have thought to myself “I should watch this on a larger screen, and maybe get some popcorn”.

So what’s missing? Better Acting, Filming, Script

“Interactive Documentary: Setting the Field.” Studies in Documentary Film 6.2 (2012): 125–139

An interactive document or I-Doc is a platform that allows information to flow between both the author of the document and the end user in an interactive way. This view of interactivity requires a physical action to take place between the user/participant and the digital artefact. It involves a human computer interface that creates a personalized document for the user to interact with creating a deeper and more memorable experience.

I-Doc’s are primarily presented with four different interactive modes, Conversational, Hypertext, Participative and Experimental.

The conversational, This type of I-doc, uses 3D worlds to create an apparently seamless interaction with the user, lends itself to the Conversational mode because it positions the user as if ‘in conversation’ with the computer. It is also often seen in video games, It gives the user the possibility to explore freely the created 3D world also called sandbox. The user is virtually thrown into a world which they can explore and interact with.

The hypertext type of I-Doc interacts with the end user in a “Click here, go There” way. This is organised though a closed database of video clips where the user can browse the suggested videos by clicking on different hyperlinks. This gives the user an exploratory role not as open as the “Conversational mode” as the end user can only chose between pre-existing options.

The participative mode is very well described in its name, It requires the user to take part in the development of the product. The user takes part in an open and evolving database giving their part though the I-Doc. As the participative mode is used during production the information gathered directly impact the end result. Users may be involved and help launch the product, translate it or even take part in the filming process.

The experiential mode combines both the virtual and physical world. These I-Doc’s are often location based feeding the end user information customised to where they are. This creates an experience that challenges the user’s senses and their enacted perception of the world.

I believe that both makers and audiences should use I-Doc’s to their full potential as it is an excellent way for the “Makers” to gather important information and for the “Audiences” to feel involved and a part of something. That said the Makers have to keep in mind that not all information gathered from these documents is exact as there are many things impacting the end users decisions depending on I-Doc Mode/Type. Commonly seen the end user may often choose a certain path not based on what they really want but on what they would like someone to choose (ie. For lunch chose to eat fast food, but if someone walked up to me and asked what should they eat I would suggest something healthier). Depending on which type of I-Doc is used, location and the end users awareness about the subject will also impact the decisions taken

As long as this is taken into consideration and the correct type of I-Doc is chosen I believe that the implementation of an interactive document is a must for many projects to reach the level of success desired.