Kicking off week 3 of Thinking In Fragments, we had four people present their chosen MIT Docubase project and we had a discussion about each of their qualities.
All four projects had an interactive element, and the class discussion that evolved from these projects lead us to the question of, how does the element of interaction add meaning to the online documentary? Is it necessary?
In the case of the documentary mainly focusing on the Dutch undertaker, the interactive element of being able to switch between video tracks didn’t seem to make the experience any more meaningful. Upon further research, I found that this project was actually part of a much larger and expansive project detailing the impacts of Dutch colonialism. In the scheme of the larger documentary, this smaller project not only makes more sense but packs more punch. However, I believe that if it’s likely that people will access the project as an isolated documentary, there needs to be more context and more of a reason for people to interact with it.
We also asked the question of why is there more interactive non-fiction work online than there is fiction? Generally, non-fiction is easier to make in a non-linear and interactive format because the production does not need to be so meticulously planned and executed like the production of a fiction work often does. Non-fiction does not live in a carefully crafted and rigid world like fiction does. Non-fiction is more flexible and allows for more variance of form.
Jess and I discussed the different MIT Docubase projects that we had experienced. My chosen project was Deprogrammed, an interactive online documentary that is based on the spoken testimonies of three former cult and extremist group followers- an ex-jihadist, ex skin-head, and a former member of the Unification Church. It mainly covered why they joined, how it promised them power and an identity, and what they have done since leaving the cults/extremist groups. The user navigates a deserted landscape, with only the option to go forward and to look around. While the user is walking the voices of the three are heard, speaking of their experiences. You can also easily access a transcript of what they are saying, which is a lot longer than what is included in the documentary itself. There is also a history of the “brainwashing” and deprogramming, and a trailer of a feature-length documentary about deprogramming.
Jess’ chosen project was Highrise: Out My Window, an exhibition of people’s lives and homes inside high rises all over the world. The user can select a window from a highrise and is then given the chance to explore the home and its inhabitants through a 360 image. There is also extra content specifically about the inhabitants if you choose to view it.
We discussed and compared each of the projects qualities, ultimately leading us to the discovery that they were quite similar in many ways.
They are both interactive (user-controlled), immersive (sound and video, and you can control where you ‘look’ in the world), non-linear, multi-faceted (both include pictures, video, and text), and non-fiction. Deprogrammed worked as an interactive project because it emphasized the inescapable nature of the cult, ultimately making it a more immersive experience for the user. Out My Window was a non-linear project because the stories it told were separate stories, linked by the theme of the building but remained as separate parts that have no linear connection.
For both of these projects, the interactive element does not rely on the exchange of information or on the participation of the user- the ability to interact is inherently necessary for the project, but individual users interacting with the project do not contribute to the project.