Interactive Documentary » Documentary Now! http://www.interactivedocumentary.net If you want to find out more about interactive documentaries you will find here an archive of existing new media documentaries and a blog that will keep you up to date with what I find interesting while doing my PhD on this topic. You can also participate to the site by sending interactive documentary projects you know about and by joining the on line discussions. Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:25:57 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 Documentary Now!- the afterthoughts http://www.interactivedocumentary.net/2010/01/18/documentary-now-the-afterthoughts/ http://www.interactivedocumentary.net/2010/01/18/documentary-now-the-afterthoughts/#comments Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:02:11 +0000 Sandra http://www.interactivedocumentary.net/?p=521 I have a great news for you:  interactive documentary is starting to be a buzz word…
Like last year Documentary Now! was a nice two days conference where a mixture of academic, PhD students and documentary makers exchanged their views on the new directions and evolution of the documentary world.  It had the same informal and open athmosphere, but unlike last year I really got the feeling that interactive documentary is staring to be seen as an urgent strand to be understood. When I presented a paper last year (proposing a possible way to categorise interactive documentaries) people were looking at me like the freak that was into computer “stuff”…. This year people had a different attitude: they wanted to know what this “stuff” was. Also: there were so many people who sent papers for the interactive panel that they had to reject half of them (including mine!) .

So for me the big news is that even documentary makers are now puzzled by the options that new media might offer to their craft… For me, after 10 years researching this field and saying that new media is not a threat but an opportunity… this is quite refreshing!!!
Of course classic documentary makers are still sceptical. They wonder what the difference between a cut and a link might be, they fear that interactivity creates new problems of ethics, they question how the lack of a unique ending could ever create a strong narrative…. They basically resist this form as much as they can (and stay very critical about it)…. but – and here is the change- this year they massively turned up at the interactive sessions.  They even staid till the end of the conference to listen to Florian Thalhofer presentation! Not only:  the questions were so many that I really sensed a change of attitude towards digital documentary. This was obviously also due to Florian’s great presentation.  And, yes: Florian got invited as a Key Note speaker!!! Is this not a sign that interactive documentary  is becoming more main stream?

This was a great conference. For once I found people that spoke my language and were interested by my same topics and (most impressive of all) that knew all about my blog – and even read my phd writing!!! This was sooooo exciting… I often get disapointed because people do not commemt on my website, and I too often think that I am writing a monologue with little purpose – while my original aim was to create a community of people interested in my same topics…. But then I discover that some people do read the blog, even if they do not participate.   I suspect commenting on someone’s else blog is intimidating but, common, if you see it as a way to create a community of interactive documentary makers …  does that not make you feel better? I take this occasion to encourage you to debate more on my blog,  to find a voice and to help creating a community…

Anyhow, back to Documentary Now! : not only the atmosphere is nice and informal, not only “big” names as Brian Winston, John Dovey and Florian Thalhofer and many others do participate – but also interactivity is seen as a serious strend so… watch out! Once again thanks to the organizators Alisa Lebow, Michael Chanan and Holly Giesman for putting together such an interesting event!

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