In an era of pervasive computing, social media and a networked ‘information
society’, digital documentary is embracing new forms. Web-docs, docu-games,
photo-reportages, trans-media projects and locative narratives are developing
new languages of factual communication that challenge the established linear
narrative of documentary.
i-Docs is the first lab/symposium to be dedicated to the rapidly evolving field
of interactive documentary. The symposium will be a day-long event to showcase
new projects and to discuss the artistic, economic and political implications of
new forms of factual representation.
In the evening the programme City Symphonies will open with a screening of Jean
Vigo’s 1930 film A propos de Nice, followed by a live response from documentary
film-makers Keith Marley (Liverpool John Moores University) and Geoffrey Cox
(University of Huddersfield).Marley and Cox’s performance will explore the
contemporary relevance of the City Symphony genre, suggesting new audiences for
documentary through live performance, interactivity and VJ culture.
After this we’ll be turning up the tunes and showcasing some more VJ talent!
i-Docs is convened by Judith Aston, Sandra Gaudenzi and Jonathan Dovey on behalf
of the Digital Cultures Research Centre, University of the West of England,
Bristol. The event will be held at the Watershed Media Centre in central Bristol
on Friday, 25th of March 2011.
Participants are invited to present their current projects and research. There
will also be panel discussion, with a view to promoting debate between media
practitioners, commissioning editors, artists and academics.
Proposals for both paper and project presentations should be sent to:
idocs.symposium@gmail.com by Friday 26th of November 2010.
The proposal should clearly outline your intentions in no more than 300 words.
Links to further visual materials can be provided, if appropriate.
Confirmed keynote presentations from: Upian (Prison Valley, Gaza/Sderot,
Havana/Miami), Blast Theory (Rider Spoke, Desert Rain, A Machine To See With),
Nick Cohen – BBC Multiplatform Commissioning Executive for Documentary.
Suggested topics / themes:
* what is an interactive documentary?: possible classification methodologies
for a field in constant development
* collaborative media and documentary making: objectivity, activism and shared
authorship through the screens of mobile phones and web 2.0
* user-generated content in documentary practice: the new role of the producer
and possible models of collaboration
* crowd sourcing when documenting reality: possible ethical and political
consequences
* docu-games and mixed-reality games: can games document the real?
* database documentaries: navigational strategies and new possibilities for
representing multiple points of view
* the fine line between new media factual art, collaborative journalism and
interactive documentary
* what does the user think?: how do we user test, or evaluate user experience,
of an i-doc?
* possible financial models for i-docs: who are the financial players and what
do they want?
* case study presentation and/or analysis of specific i-doc projects
Selected papers will be considered for publication in the Journal of Media
Practice. Several other publication possibilities are also being considered.
Sandra Gaudenzi
Associate Lecturer, LCC, University of the Arts London
PhD Candidate, Goldsmiths, University of London