The symposium
Testing testing testing
i-docs opportunities: funding, pitching & workshops
There have been a few opportunities for interactive documentary makers over the last month, so incase you missed them, here’s a quick rundown. Most of the calls have already been posted on either our Facebook group or through Twitter – so make sure you’re following us! Future of Storytelling prize: The FoST Prize will be awarded to the most exceptional …
Webdocs for social change: a guest post from Carles Sora
Original text written by Carles Sora for CCCB LAB Blog (2014) and republished with permission. Over the past few years we’ve seen the emergence of online interactive documentaries, a documentary sub-genre that straddles documentary practice and interactive design. These webdocs are now attracting the interest of European authors, festivals, producers and television networks. In late May, the DocsBarcelona documentary festival organised a …
Netwars/out of CTRL: an interview with producer Michael Grotenhoff
Recommended at Sheffield DocFest by keynote Rob Tercek, Netwars/Out of Ctrl is an interactive web series that explores the possibilities of cyberwarfare and our own, personal relationship with the web. I spoke to the project producer Michael Grotenhoff about his inspirations for the project, the process of production and how it’s been received so far… What prompted you to make Netwars …
Doc/Fest 2014: an insider’s view of the Crossover Market
Every edition of Sheffield’s Doc/Fest is different, but for me this year was particularly special because I came with two hats: my usual i-doc observer one, and my new i-doc director/producer one. In other words: this year I presented a project to the Crossover Market and got selected. So, together with Mike Robbins from Helios Design Labs and Sarah Arruda, …
The Quipu Project: a framework for participatory interactive documentary
Chaka Studio demonstrated their Quipu Project at Sheffield Doc Fest yesterday morning during the continued interactive talks. The session was a great opportunity to catch up with the projects progress since the React Hub Future Documentary Sandbox and gauge the reaction from the wider documentary community. The interactive documentary focuses on the case of forced sterilisation in Peru, which affected …
Games Killed the Video Star: Five Ways That Play Is Beating TV at It’s Own Game
I connected to YouTube on a new device recently, so a device without the vast user history Google likes to collect. I noticed at the top of the screen were the top 5 ‘Most Popular Right Now’ videos for the UK. What struck me was that 4 out of 5 were video games. The only non video game offering was …
Transforming Bisbee: the role of the interactive documentary
Guest post by Allison Otto, “Bisbee” Project Director I grew up in the American Southwest and for two, amazing years I lived in a 26-foot, 1958 vintage Airstream in Bisbee, Arizona. It’s a beautiful, remote little town nestled deep in the Mule Mountains, nine miles from the Mexican border. Like many rural communities in the US, though, Bisbee is struggling. …
i-Docs presents Ingrid Kopp: A field guide to interactive storytelling
Technology has always changed how we tell stories but something extraordinary is happening at the moment. The speed of technological progress, coupled with the web and social media, has led to a host of new storytelling possibilities. The new storytelling paradigm has been described as participatory, cross-platform, immersive, transmedia, and interactive. But what kinds of stories are possible now? This …
The Awra Amba Experience: collaboration, crowd-funding and community
The Awra Amba Experience is an incredible project which I first encountered at i-Docs 2012, where Paulina Tervo (project producer/director/lead) presented the initial stages of the interactive documentary and introduced us to this inspiring community. Two years on and the project is nearing the end of a crowd-funding campaign that aims to get the interactive documentary finished and online. I …
i-Docs & beyond: 5 things to consider
At the end of March, i-Docs 2014 took place and although I documented the event through Storify, it’s been a struggle to pull together my key takeaways as Hot Docs, Webdox, i_doc Workshop and TFI Interactive seemed to continue so many of the themes and expand upon them in interesting ways. So this has now become a much longer, two-part …
Transmedia storytelling: An interview with the makers of Love Radio
Love Radio, a transmedia documentary with interactive elements, explores the process of reconciliation in post-genocide Rwanda in a unique format; a radio soap. I spoke with Anoek Steketee and Eefje Blankevoort, the pair behind the project: What compelled you to make Love Radio? Travelling and working in Rwanda in 2008 we met the team that created Musekeweya, a popular radio soap that is …
From iPad to installation: interactive documentary on multiple platforms
Avatar Secrets, the interactive documentary for the iPad has scaled up its ambitions, installing a large scale interactive installation at Hot Docs for the duration of the festival. This is the first time that an interactive documentary has been included in the programme of North America’s largest documentary festival and it’s great to see Ramona Pringle’s work has been picked up. …