BEAR71

First up, I watched/listened/explored Bear71, an interactive web documentary created by Leanne Allison and Jeremy Mendes. When I opened the webpage, I was a little confused to see a little pop-up box asking for permission for my webcam and microphone to be turned on, but after navigating myself around the modernly designed interactive map, and listening to the narration by Mia Kirshner as the bear, I began to grasp what this was getting at.

A screenshot from the Bear71 website.

Bear71 started with a realisation that Baniff National Park’s trail cameras had thousands of hours of footage of a bear that was tagged and collared since age three. The project for the National Film Board of Canada aims to explore the connection between the human and animal world, the cause-and-effect of when artificial meets natural.

On the website, you can see a map of the Banff National Park. From there users can follow the Bear71′s trail and movements, watch wildlife footage and even watch other users on webcam. Although the map isn’t straightforward and takes a little getting used to, I found the webpage to be pretty seamless and well-made.

I really liked the format of this digital story as the website/project is comprised of motion video, audio, a visual interactive map and, if you like, interaction with users. The story of the bear was emphasised by the first-person narrative and I found myself empathising with the poor bear, feeling guilty for the implications of civilisation, learnt a few facts here and there and spent roughly twenty minutes on the webpage. I think Bear71 managed to communicate a digital story really effectively.

SOUND OF MY VOICE

Next in the world of digital storytelling, I watched the interactive trailer for Sound of My Voice, a clever viral campaign to promote the Fox Searchlight film. This digital story is the first twelve minutes of the film. Written by Zal Batmanglij, the film itself is a drama/mystery about a documentary team investigating a cult with a supposed “leader from the future”.

Image taken from ilovethatfilm.blogspot.com

This viral campaign, however, is an extensive interactive multimedia platform. As you watch the trailer, a hyperlink appears on intervals, allowing viewers to either “educate themselves” or “discuss” the ‘monumental’ moment in the trailer.

For example, when a new member is being inducted into the cult during the first twelve minutes, they perform a handshake. A link here shows people performing this handshake all over the world. I think this is a really clever marketing and promotional campaign, especially for a film about a cult, as though the filmmakers are essentially creating their own cult by having their viewers ‘take part’ in the fictional cult.

269,283 have viewed the campaign for what was previously a small budget film production, and what is now a beacon for new ways of incorporating the internet for media. Although it can be disrupting clicking on all the links while watching the trailer, I think it was really effective in terms of sparking my curiosity and spurring me to watch the actual film itself.

Nikek ere bere lekua izan zuen jardunaldian, Tishnak, “I am playr” kanpaina azpimarratu zuen beste eredu bat bezala. Futbolari batek izan dezakeen ikuspuntua erakutsi nahi dio erabiltzaileari, bera protagonista eginez eta interakzioa erabiliz. Boterea ematen zaio ikusleari, erabiltzaile zuzena izan dadin jolasaren bitartez.

“Bear71” proiektuak Kanadako parke baten bizi den hartz bati jarraipena egiteko aukera ematen digu, teknologiaren erabilera zabal bat ikusten dugu,hau ingurune horretan kamarak ezarriz eta hartzari zenbaki bat eta jarraipenerako erabiliko den transmisorearekin lortzen da, eta guk plataforma interaktibo baten bitartez aztertu dezakegu.

Beste eredu bat “BZRK” liburuarena, ikus-entzunezko bertsioa eta aplikazioak aurkezten dira liburu honen inguruan, hemen ikusten da ideia bat kanal askotan zehar zabaldu daitekeela.

“Gaza Sderot” proiektuak, web batean dokumental ugari aurkezten ditu, Israel eta Palestinako hiri hauetan dauden pertsonen bizitzak jarrai ditzake erabiltzaileak. Antzerako zerbait “Prison valley” proiektuan, Coloradoko presondegien jarraipena egin dezake era interaktibo batean.

Azkenik “Cinema dell’arte”k egin duen apostua erakutsi zigun, antzerkiaren, bideojoko edo mugimendu  harrapatzailearen eta interakzioaren fusio interesgarria.

Bigarren zatiko beste gonbidatu batzuk Tabakalerakoak izan ziren, aurkezpena egiteko teknologiak porrot egin zitzaien baina halere Tranxlan proiektua azaltzera bideratu ziren. Lana Donostiako Beldurrezko zinema festibalarekin egindako elkarlanarekin burutu zen izan ere proiektua beldur kutsua oinarritzat daukan ikus-entzunezko eta interakziozko emaitza da. Era praktiko batean, taldearen dinamikotasuna erakutsi nahi izan zuten, kolaborazioa ideia garrantzitsuena izanik, izan ere taldekide bakoitza eremu askotan zehar mugitu behar izan zen. Transmedia produktua kanal eta edukiei dagokionez anitza denez, taldeak ere multidiziplinar bilakatu zen.

1. Star Wreck: in the pirkinning. Animazio produktu honetan, Tishnak esan zuenez hirurehun pertsona baino gehiagoko komunitate aktiboa sortu zen.  Sare-sozialen komunitatea, blogariak, denda bat (kamisetak, mahai jolasak, bideo-jokoak…) eta hamaika elementuk osatzen dute produktua.
2. I am Playr: kasu hau interaktibitatea lantzen duen futbol jolasa da, izugarrizko arrakasta izan du. Erabiltzaileak futbol jokalari baten papera hartzen du. Jokatzen ari den bitartean puntuak lortzen doa erabiltzailea. Puntu kopuru bat lortuta jokalariak opariak lortzen ditu, red bull edariak, kamixetak..esaterako. Jokalaria jolasten ari denean, futbol zelaian, marka komertzialak kontsumituz doa. Estrategia komertzial honekin eta oparien kontuarekin, marken komunitate bat sortzea lortzen dute ekoizleek; Hortxe produktu honen trasmediatasuna.
3. Bear 71: Hartzen ehiza eta euren egoeraren inguruko dokumental interaktiboa da. Asko harritu ninduen momentuan, munduko toki desberdinetan grabatu dira hartzei egiten zaizkien sarraskiak. Ondoren mapa interaktibo batean argitaratu dira eta hogei minutuko dokumental batean, erabiltzailea mapa horretan bidaiatuz doa, bideo bakoitza kasuz kasu kontsumituz. Erabiltzailearen parte-hartzeko beste modu bat da, teknikoki oso garatua baina erakargarria era berean.
4. Gaza Sderot: Bi herrialde hauetan gertatutako esperientzien bilduma bat bezala planteatzen da proiektu hau. Bertako biztanleek euren esperientziak kontatzen dituzte. Dokumental formatua hartzen duela esan genezake, baina formalki aurkezteko modua aldatzen da. Elkarrizketak gaiaren, pertsonaiaren edota dataren arabera banatzen dira eta erabiltzaileari aukera eskaintzen zaio gehien interesatzen zaiona kontsumitzeko. Benetan proposamen erakargarria eta baliagarria iruditu zait.
5. Cinema dell’arte: Proiektu honetan filmak, antzerkia eta antzerkia uztartzen dira benetan modu originalean. Aktore batzuk zuzenean aurkezten dute euren antzezlana, baina eszenatoki arrunt batean egon ordez, pertsonaia animatu edo marrazki bizidun bilakatzen dira, eta euren antzezlana une berean pantaila batean proiektatzen da.  Interaktibitatea zuzenean lantzen da: ikusle, antzezle eta bitarteko teknologikoen uztartzea garatzen da.

TRANXLAN PROIEKTUA

Urrunera joan gabe Tranxmedia jardunaldietan beste transmedia adibide batekin egin genuen topo. Tranxlan izeneko proiektua Tabakalerak San Telmo museoarenkin, Nekrogunearekin eta Donostiako Fantasiazko eta Beldurrezko Zinema Jaialdiarekin elkarlanean eginiko proiektu bat da. Bertan hainbat partaide bildu eta hamar egunean tailer moduko batzuk antolatu zituzten, euren produktuari transmedia ikuspegia eman nahian.

Profesional eta ez hain profesionalak bildu ziren bertan, hala azaldu ziguten jardunaldietara euren esperientzia kontatzera hurbildu ziren bertako partaideak. Ideia batetik abiatuz, proiektu multi-plataforma eta interaktibo bat sortzea zuten xedea. Ez omen ziren inoren ideiak baztertzen, modu kooperatiboan lan egin nahi zuten. Hasieran lan mardula omen zen, baina amaierako emaitza ikusita, gustura agertu zitzaizkigun Tranxlanen parte hartu zuten pertsonak.

Tailerra bost multzotan banatu zuten:  gidoia, arlo soziala, ikus-entzunezkoa, weba, eta bideo-jokoa. Interes desberdinetako pertsonak dagozkien taldetan bildu ziren eta bakoitzak bere arloa landu zuen.

Nahiz eta euren emaitza ezin izan genuen begiz ikusi (arazo teknikoak izan zituzten aurkezpenean),  bideo honen bitartez partaideek euren esperientziak eta asmoak ikus genitzake:

When I was researching existing documentaries, relevant to the concept of multiculturalism, I came across an SBS online documentary called Immigration Nation, which is about how Australia came to be a multicultural country. I was impressed by the interactiveness of this website and its power to engage users. This is achieved through the online forum, titled ‘Your Say’, which is split into threads as shown below. I believe the threads encourage social discourse, accumulate user-contributed stories and obtain potential free advertising for the documentary. For example, one user may share a story on the forum, and then link their friend to the forum so they can read, like or comment. Their friend may even share their own stories on the forum.

Due to the success of this forum, I also intend to incorporate a forum in my documentary, with threads such as ‘Why is your suburb culturally significant’ and ‘What are some foods culturally unique to your suburb?’

Immigration Nation Discussion Forum

The documentary Immigration Nation makes use of social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to share the site, however, I don’t think it has taken advantage of the full potential of social media. It would have been more effective if the documentary integrated social media streams into its website, showing what people have been saying about the documentary via hash tags.

One online documentary which makes good use of this is Bear 71. This project explores the effects that human settlements and infrastructure have on wildlife by collaring a grizzly bear in Banff National Park at the age of three, and watching its life via trail cameras in the park.

Bear 71 home page

Like Bear71, I will allocate a meaningful hash tag to my documentary, and encourage users to use this hash tag when they are discussing all things related to the documentary. However, instead of just displaying the most recent messages, all the messages that have appeared across the social networks will be played in a continuous loop to highlight the documentary as a hot topic of discussion. However, since my technological abilities are limited, this is only a thought.

In addition to this social media gadet, I also intend to incorporate the standard comment, twitter, facebook and sharing buttons on every webpage, so the users can share their thoughts on the documentary during anytime of their user experience.

Although online is the main platform, I am not excluding possibilities to also create a tablet version of the documentary.

You’re a journalist; investigating the working conditions of the miners who are fuelling China’s industrial growth. You follow leads, conduct interviews in the polluted, devastated landscape of Shanxi, where workers are living in grim conditions, risking their lives for the production of products that we consume. This is the experience of Journey to the End of Coal, a fine example of a new breed of documentary projects – web-based, interactive – emerging in the last few years. It’s a big contemporary issue, approached in an accessible, vivid way – a classic public service offering.

Immersive, participatory; digital platforms offer new opportunities to inform, educate and entertain. This is the BBC’s remit. Yet the BBC is not producing any of the recent documentary projects that take advantage of the interactive and exploratory potential of the web. Why not?

In the mid 2000s the BBC’s critics grew vocal, charging the Corporation with being too big and dominant on too many platforms. There were accusations that it was skewing the commercial market, and criticism of too much unfocussed investment online. The BBC came back with a new strategy. The BBC’s “unique selling point”, it was argued, were great programmes and news. Journalism would thus continue to have a big presence online. A few major TV brands – Human Planet, Doctor Who – would have significant interactive enhancements. BBC Radio too would have substantial web support.

Early BBC experiments in interaction and participation were abandoned. Interactive commissioners were gradually let go, and technology teams were consolidated in the Future Media & Technology Division, separate from editorial staff. On the positive side, that strategic and organisational refocus enabled the development of iPlayer. On the down side it relegated the emerging platforms to supporting roles and the BBC stopped learning about what their creative potential might be.

Since then, the BBC has pursued its focus on linear programmes. Meanwhile, in other major media organisations, production teams have been formed which draw together “old” media skills (video, storytelling) and “new” (experience design, interactivity), and a number of centres of excellence have been developing in the new arts of factual storytelling. Check out the interactive portfolio of the National Film Board of Canada – award winning projects like Highrise; a multi-year, global, participatory investigation into life in the most common form of housing on earth, the tower block, or Bear 71; an irresistible treatment of the deadly clash between humans and animals in the Banff National Park. Browse Arte TV, France’s interactive output. Explore Prison Valley, which uses a game-like approach to interrogate the US prison system, or Gaza/Sderot, a web doc through which the user is confronted with parallel lives in two villages within a few kilometers on either side of the Palestine/Israel border. These projects use compelling interactive formats to engage with pressing themes and questions.

You might say that the BBC already makes terrific documentary content; so why does this matter? There are a number of answers.  One of the BBC’s six public purposes requires that it take advantage of emerging technologies.  A BBC that doesn’t know how to deploy these new potentials risks becoming redundant to “the people formerly known as the audience” who take interactivity for granted. Looked at from a creative industries perspective, the BBC is the biggest UK commissioner and needs to be producing work in this emerging field – to develop skills and capacity in a sector that could be world-beating, as well as for the value that could offer its audience.

The BBC has been at the forefront of documentary innovation in the era of one-to-many media. With Charles Parker’s Radio Ballads in the 50s, Paul Watson’s The Family in the 70s, Video Diaries in the 90s, innovation delivered new shapes and types of programmes that showed us Britain and the world anew. There’s an opportunity now for a generation of BBC documentary that uses non-linear forms to throw light on the realities and challenges facing us now. Producing this work is part of the crucial project of re-inventing the BBC’s public service role in the participatory culture of the 21^st century. I urge the incoming DG to support that development.