VR @ i-Docs 2016

The emergence of VR and 360 video as non-fiction platforms has been the single most dramatic development since the last i-Docs Symposium in 2014. A wave of enthusiasm and experimentation has followed the appearance of the Oculus Rift and its competitor products – with creators fascinated by the documentary potential of 360 immersion and the visceral sense of presence that …

Meet the makers: 5 interactive documentaries at i-Docs 2016

The i-Docs symposium has always been built around a conversation between academics and industry, with delegates from both fields present. i-Docs 2016 is no different, except this year the symposium is spread over three days, meaning more talks to choose from. Check out a selection of the great projects that will be presented below. Good Luck Soup I first heard about …

Gaming the news: Juliana Ruhfus on pushing the boundaries of investigative journalism

Award-winning journalist Juliana Ruhfus has spent a decade working as a reporter and producer for British and international broadcasters, specialising in programme making and investigative work. I caught up with her ahead of  i-Docs 2016, where she will be talking about her interactive journalism projects with Al Jazeera: Could you describe yourselves and your work? I am a senior reporter and …

Interactive & immersive true stories for the body, as well as the mind

Anagram spent 2015 scooping the Storyscapes award at Tribeca Film Festival, staging immersive experiences at the Tower of London, forming part of the Performing Reality line-up at IDFA Doclab 2015 and creating an immersive documentary installation directed by Caroline Williams, at the Young Vic Theatre that sought to humanise the Syrian war. I caught up with Amy Rose and May Abdalla ahead of their participation at i-Docs …

Simplicity & storytelling: Catch up on IDFA DocLab 2015

VR is the big showstopper at the moment, with a lot of festivals and conferences focusing on grappling with the issues of making non-fiction work in this new medium. In this whirlwind of hype, it feels as though projects using other methods of interactive storytelling are sidelined – or at least don’t receive the attention they deserve because they aren’t this years big thing. …

Projects selected from the first interactive documentary call of Catalan Broadcasting Corporation

The Catalan Broadcasting Corporation (CCMA) opened last year the first call to coproduce interactive documentary. The projects selected were published a few weeks ago. Of the 28 projects presented in this first call, the Department of Digital Media and Documentary of the CCMA and New Television Formats of Television of Catalonia (TV3) selected six projects, in accordance with their current …

Digging deeper into the IDFA 2015 Doclab selection

Fifteen projects are competing for the IDFA 2016 DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling this November – some are playful experimentations, others explore complex situations and all employ new techniques to tell a story. Here’s a run-down of them all, with handy links to each project (if available): The Deeper They Bury Me by Ted Biggs/Angad Bhalla (Canada, 2015) An NFB project, The Deeper They …

i-Docs 2016: Call for Participation

The CALL for PARTICIPATION is now CLOSED Following the success of the i-Docs Symposia in 2011, 2012, and 2014 we are now seeking proposals for papers, case studies and projects for i-Docs 2016. To reflect the rapid expansion and evolution of the field, and growing interest within academia and creative practice, we are expanding the Symposium to take place across …

i-Docs 2016: First Speakers Announced

i-Docs 2016 is shaping up to be our best event yet, with three packed days of presentations, panels, hands-on workshops and discussions taking place at the Watershed in Bristol March 2nd-4th. To give you a taste of things to come, we’re excited to be able to confirm that we will be joined by keynote speakers May Abdalla and Amy Rose aka Anagram …

It’s Not You, it’s Me – The Fly-on-the-Wall Documentary and Virtual Reality

By Katy Morrison – Producer at VRTOV .  We talk a lot about Virtual Reality. What to make, how to make it, why we should be making this thing instead of that other thing. And yet while the promise of VR  —  be anywhere! Come face-to-face with anything or anyone!  —  is expansive, the conversation is not. Aside from the constant …

Interactive documentary, immersive journalism & the future of TV: 4 hacks looking for participants

The cross-discipline nature of interactive documentary production has led to the adoption and development of different production styles – one of which is the hackathon. For those who don’t know, the hackathon model has its’ roots firmly in the software world, but has been modified and adapted to work with interactive projects, bringing new benefits for participants. They draw together people from …

Funding, production & distribution: what happens when industry meets interactive documentary

There were a few panels at this year’s SunnySide of the Doc festival which focused on transmedia and interactive documentary developments in specific regions. I attended both the Nordic and German panels to get a sense of where Northern Europe – specifically industry – is, in terms developing, funding and distributing this type of content. The Nordic panel involved 3 transmedia producers with SWIM, seasoned Norwegian …