Presentación i-Docs symposium 2011 (DCRC - University West of England)

Arnau Gifreu - Universitat Pompeu Fabra

THE INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY. A PROPOSED MODEL OF ANALYSIS

i-docs Symposium [Bristol, March 2011]


Traditional Documentary + New Digital Technology

= Interactive Documentary

- Presenting a first state of affairs on the lines of convergence between the two areas,

- Discussing a proposed definition and characterization of a new interactive genre , and

- Working on a possible analysis model about interactive documentary.


Documentary Genre + Digital Media + Net

= Interactive (Multimedia) Documentary


Objectives

- The main objective of this study is to analyze the state of development of interactive documentary and discuss/debate the desirability of adopting a new model of gender analysis.

- The aim of this research is to describe, classify and analyze interactive online documentary applications.



Methodology


Methodology

To establish a new genre categorization about the interactive documentary we are developing a database where you can locate and order each document, based on the following parameters:

1. The system expected a physical response that leads to a conscious choice by the interactor

2. The document must show a desire for representation of reality with the intention of documenting a situation in a particular way (which characterizes the documentary part).

3. To be considered a proper interactive documentary, it must include at least one form of navigation or interaction (which characterizes the digital interactive part).



Analysis Model


Navigation Modalities


Interaction Modalities


Case Study 1


Case Study 2


Categories


Categories

PROPOSAL DEFINITION

- Interactive online/offline applications, carried out with the intention of representing reality with their own mechanisms, which we will call navigation and interaction modalities, depending on the grade of participation that is required.

- The interactive documentaries try both to represent and to interact with reality, for which a series of techniques or methods must be considered and used (navigation and interaction modalities), which become, in this new way of communication, the key element to achieve the documentary objectives


CONCLUSIONS:

- We cannot consider the interactive documentary as a mere evolution of documentary films.

- The forms of representation cannot be considered sufficient indicators to analyze the new genus, but new resulting forms of navigation and interaction .

- The intrinsic nature of the conventional documentary suffers significant changes since the advent of this new documentary form, derived from actual new technological scenario:

- The author cannot be expected to create a single narrative program, closed and subjective, and must assume that somehow they will lose control of their work due to the new situation often goes against their interests.


CONCLUSIONS:

- The construction of the narrative and the discursive order moves from a linear, sequential scheme to a new stage characterized by different approaches, nodes and endpoints. The text of the work turns from having a close structure to an open one.

- The interactor is configured as a contributor of content created by the author: the new gender and new methods of navigation and interaction include generic features resulting from the user. The classic spectator (now interactor, participant and contributor), becomes the creator of a personal documentary themselves because it directs the navigation control (the order of speech) and uses the great power that enables interaction (the defining characteristic that distinguishes digital media, thanks to its interface and the possibility of relationship with others).


CONCLUSIONS:

- The genus as such does not evolve in a short term, so it is difficult to establish and acquire a role as a new form of interactive nonfiction.

- A tendency to prevent this explosion may be related to consumption and its individuals. The mental and physical effort that the interactor has to put up with in a documentary application is much greater than in a traditional viewing.

- The two forms of media can live and exist without the emergence of a marginalization or disappearance of another.


CONCLUSIONS:

- Filmmakers have little incentives to turn a movie into an interactive project, as doing it would limit its distribution to the Internet, giving up control over authorship and reduce the impact of the film due to the experience of the small screen.

- Non-linear narrative (similar to the loss of control over the discourse by the author), is seen as a problem within the traditional documentary world, but in this new genre is considered a big opportunity.


CONCLUSIONS:

- This kind of narrative allows audiovisual projects to provide elements to complement and enrich it, providing several added values to the global experience of the audience, so that it is more varied, complete and immersive.

- The role of the documentary cinema director is to find the midpoint where the meaning can be maximised and the audience is more committed, and it is in this midpoint where the documentary film and interactive media can coexist.

- By combining the power of the film to provide a perspective and the ability to interact in order to improve the participation of the users with the material, the interactive documentary film can offer more significant documentaries.


- One of the essential premises of the traditional documentary is the desire to organise a story that is both informative and entertaining. And, in this sense, the interactive format should continue with the tradition of trying to offer similar experiences that mix a recreational (entertainment) proposal with an educational one (knowledge), in the most efficient, original and attractive possible way.

- And this is mainly possible thanks to the combination of different navigational and interactive modalities, which enables a multiple exchange between the work and the interactor.

- Firstly, navigating and visiting different proposals and structuring the contents (information and knowledge) means the use of strategies and resources of the games. This way, from the structure of the interactive, and through the navigation modalities, the user, in a certain way, “plays” with the possibilities offered by the work and can satisfy their first necessity: the one related to amusement and entertainment.


- Secondly, this strategy closer to the game experience usually gives the user a sensation of deep immersion and stops their learning from being boring and that their need of being informed or need of learning ends up fading. Therefore, the didactic proposal offered is attractive and dynamic, beyond that present in most classical hypertexts.

- Already at this stage, the interactor “learns through playing” and once they have “learnt the lesson” in a fun, original and lighthearted way, they can share it with other interactors, in real time or whenever they deems it appropriate.

- Therefore, we see how an interactive documentary can satisfy three needs or desires: the player’s one –recreational–, the one of the student or anyone with cultural interests –educational or formative– and the relational –communication level with other participants–. We believe that, through the correct mixing of these three aspects, non-fictional multimedia applications can be equated in attractiveness with proposals close to fiction.


Hypothesis

1There is a representative sample of significant examples of interactive documentary to develop a differentiated framework, systematic and coherent, that has some attributes justified through the analysis model we developed.

2In this new form of documentary, the nature of the three main roles of the conventional documentary is affected: the author may not be hoped to create a single narrative program, closed and subjective, and must assume that somehowthey would lose control of their work . Moreover, the construction of the narrative and the discursive order move from a linear, sequential scheme to a new stage characterized by diffrents ways of development approaches, nodes and endpoints. Finally, the interactor is configured as a transmitter and a contributor of content created by the author, and that the genre tends to give the user a generating capacity.


3The online interactive documentary created new logical representation of reality. The emphasis of these new logics lies in the way and the relationship established between text and interactor when browsing and interacting, rather than how the author develops a speech given in reality to a passive spectator. The new discourse is constructed through the methods of navigation and interaction recorded in the documentary rather than from the modes of representation.

4Gender study incorporates new strategies and formulas for immersive, interactive documentary products and general non-fiction can be as attractive as the products of fiction. That is, there is a set of input and interactive communication innovations that the interactive documentary and nonfiction offers in order to equate to the powerful attraction to narrative forms of fiction.


5Interactive documentaries tend to be equated with open and generous systems by the interactor, the structure and organization of which at any given time, are no longer controlled by either the author or the recipient. This arrangement means that the user-interactor-participating contributor can generate content and, therefore, to acquire the role of issuer and have the ability to enrich the documentary with his own personal vision and content. This radically changes the concept of ownership of traditional audiovisual documentary.

6The digital media allows a type of interactive discourse, and its two main characteristics are interactivity and multimodality. These two basic aspects contribute decisively to the time to enrich the interactive multimedia documentary and general nonfiction. Thus, the genre of documentary begins to equate to powerful forms of fiction and short film, feature film or video game.


In summary, we outline the following research areas expected:

- Study how the transformation takes place from the logic of traditional linear documentary production to the logic of interactive multimedia documentary production.

- Conduct design, definition and justification of the proposed analysis model interactive multimedia documentary.

- Implementation of the proposal to a significant group of case examples.

- Review and evaluation of the modalities concerning submodalities and gender categories studied.

- Classification of the representative works systematically studied in the context of a database open, interactive and searchable online.

- Implementation of a practical project: theoretical and technical production (design and implementation) of a multimedia interactive documentary.


Research perspectives on the PhD thesis

- Just presenting a summary of the possible lines of investigation that we realize in the future doctoral thesis.

- First, and from the theoretical point of view, we shall design and present a definition of the proposed model of interactive documentary analysis. Then apply the proposal to a significant group of case examples. Once you have developed and implemented the proposal, it will take a thorough review of the model and increase, decrease or modify, as appropriate, modalities concerning submodalities and gender categories studied.

- Secondly, and once contrasted the analysis model, we proceed to the systematic classification of the representative works of the genre, which will be seen through an open database, interactive and searchable online.

- Thirdly, from the aspect of interactive production, there is the realization of a particular project as an example of case study: it consists of the theoretical and technical (design and implementation) of an interactive multimedia documentary.


Finally, among the purposes of theoretical analysis and practical realization of a project, we highlight the following:

- Review and analyze the importance of including the management of the interactor's actions, and that this figure is a cornerstone of the new paradigm.

- Identify new ways to converge various digital media on the speech from the detection of new forms of navigation and interaction, or the reformulation of existing ones.- Analyze and illustrate how the fusion between structure and content, detect, study and implement innovative uses of the languages that come together in interactive digital communication.- Check that the integration of structure and content encourages new forms of user involvement and new forms of enjoyment based on general strategies for the surprise and discovery.


Contact:

Arnau Gifreu Castells

Digital Interactive Communication

Audiovisual Communicaction

Universitat Pompeu Fabra

FEC – Universitat de Vic

[email protected] / [email protected]

www.agifreu.com

THANKS!

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Presentación i-Docs symposium 2011 (DCRC - University West of England)