The document proposes a model for analyzing the emerging genre of interactive documentaries. It defines interactive documentaries as combining traditional documentaries with new digital technologies and user interactivity. The model involves categorizing interactive documentaries based on their navigation and interaction modalities. It also discusses how interactive documentaries differ from traditional documentaries in their nonlinear structure, shared authorship between creator and user, and emphasis on interaction over representation. The document puts forth this analysis model and categorization system to better define and study the interactive documentary genre.

1. THE INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY. A PROPOSED
MODEL OF ANALYSIS
Arnau Gifreu - Universitat Pompeu Fabra
i-docs Symposium [Bristol, March 2011]

2. THE INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY. A PROPOSED MODEL OF ANALYSIS
Traditional Documentary + New Digital Technology
=
Interactive Documentary

3. THE INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY. A PROPOSED MODEL OF ANALYSIS
- Presenting a first state of affairs on the lines of convergence between
the two areas,
- Discussing a proposed definition and characterization of a new
interactive genre , and
- Working on a possible analysis model about interactive documentary.

4. THE INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY. A PROPOSED MODEL OF ANALYSIS
Documentary Genre + Digital Media + Net
=
Interactive (Multimedia) Documentary

5. THE INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY. A PROPOSED MODEL OF ANALYSIS
Objectives
- The main objective of this study is to analyze the state of development of
interactive documentary and discuss/debate the desirability of adopting a
new model of gender analysis.
- The aim of this research is to describe, classify and analyze interactive
online documentary applications.

6. THE INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY. A PROPOSED MODEL OF ANALYSIS
Methodology

7. THE INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY. A PROPOSED MODEL OF ANALYSIS
Methodology

8. THE INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY. A PROPOSED MODEL OF ANALYSIS
To establish a new genre categorization about the interactive documentary
we are developing a database where you can locate and order each
document, based on the following parameters:
1. The system expected a physical response that leads to a conscious choice
by the interactor
2. The document must show a desire for representation of reality with the
intention of documenting a situation in a particular way (which
characterizes the documentary part).
3. To be considered a proper interactive documentary, it must include at
least one form of navigation or interaction (which characterizes the
digital interactive part).

9. THE INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY. A PROPOSED MODEL OF ANALYSIS
Analysis Model

10. THE INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY. A PROPOSED MODEL OF ANALYSIS
Navigation Modalities

11. THE INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY. A PROPOSED MODEL OF ANALYSIS
Interaction Modalities

12. THE INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY. A PROPOSED MODEL OF ANALYSIS
Case Study 1

13. THE INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY. A PROPOSED MODEL OF ANALYSIS
Case Study 2

14. THE INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY. A PROPOSED MODEL OF ANALYSIS
Categories

15. THE INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY. A PROPOSED MODEL OF ANALYSIS
Categories

16. THE INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY. A PROPOSED MODEL OF ANALYSIS
PROPOSAL DEFINITION
- Interactive online/offline applications, carried out with the intention of
representing reality with their own mechanisms, which we will call
navigation and interaction modalities, depending on the grade of
participation that is required.
- The interactive documentaries try both to represent and to interact
with reality, for which a series of techniques or methods must be
considered and used (navigation and interaction modalities), which
become, in this new way of communication, the key element to achieve
the documentary objectives

17. THE INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY. A PROPOSED MODEL OF ANALYSIS
CONCLUSIONS:
- We cannot consider the interactive documentary as a mere evolution of
documentary films.
- The forms of representation cannot be considered sufficient indicators to
analyze the new genus, but new resulting forms of navigation and
interaction .
- The intrinsic nature of the conventional documentary suffers significant
changes since the advent of this new documentary form, derived from
actual new technological scenario:
- The author cannot be expected to create a single narrative
program, closed and subjective, and must assume that somehow they
will lose control of their work due to the new situation often goes
against their interests.

18. THE INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY. A PROPOSED MODEL OF ANALYSIS
CONCLUSIONS:
- The construction of the narrative and the discursive order moves from a
linear, sequential scheme to a new stage characterized by different
approaches, nodes and endpoints. The text of the work turns from
having a close structure to an open one.
- The interactor is configured as a contributor of content created by the
author: the new gender and new methods of navigation and interaction
include generic features resulting from the user. The classic spectator
(now interactor, participant and contributor), becomes the creator of a
personal documentary themselves because it directs the navigation
control (the order of speech) and uses the great power that enables
interaction (the defining characteristic that distinguishes digital
media, thanks to its interface and the possibility of relationship with
others).

19. THE INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY. A PROPOSED MODEL OF ANALYSIS
CONCLUSIONS:
- The genus as such does not evolve in a short term, so it is difficult to
establish and acquire a role as a new form of interactive nonfiction.
- A tendency to prevent this explosion may be related to consumption and
its individuals. The mental and physical effort that the interactor has to
put up with in a documentary application is much greater than in a
traditional viewing.
- The two forms of media can live and exist without the emergence of a
marginalization or disappearance of another.

20. THE INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY. A PROPOSED MODEL OF ANALYSIS
CONCLUSIONS:
- Filmmakers have little incentives to turn a movie into an interactive
project, as doing it would limit its distribution to the Internet, giving up
control over authorship and reduce the impact of the film due to the
experience of the small screen.
- Non-linear narrative (similar to the loss of control over the discourse by
the author), is seen as a problem within the traditional documentary
world, but in this new genre is considered a big opportunity.

21. THE INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY. A PROPOSED MODEL OF ANALYSIS
CONCLUSIONS:
- This kind of narrative allows audiovisual projects to provide elements to
complement and enrich it, providing several added values to the global
experience of the audience, so that it is more varied, complete and
immersive.
- The role of the documentary cinema director is to find the midpoint where
the meaning can be maximised and the audience is more committed, and
it is in this midpoint where the documentary film and interactive media
can coexist.
- By combining the power of the film to provide a perspective and the
ability to interact in order to improve the participation of the users with
the material, the interactive documentary film can offer more
significant documentaries.

22. THE INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY. A PROPOSED MODEL OF ANALYSIS
- One of the essential premises of the traditional documentary is the desire to
organise a story that is both informative and entertaining. And, in this sense, the
interactive format should continue with the tradition of trying to offer similar
experiences that mix a recreational (entertainment) proposal with an
educational one (knowledge), in the most efficient, original and attractive
possible way.
- And this is mainly possible thanks to the combination of different navigational and
interactive modalities, which enables a multiple exchange between the work
and the interactor.
- Firstly, navigating and visiting different proposals and structuring the contents
(information and knowledge) means the use of strategies and resources of the
games. This way, from the structure of the interactive, and through the navigation
modalities, the user, in a certain way, “plays” with the possibilities offered by
the work and can satisfy their first necessity: the one related to amusement and
entertainment.

23. THE INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY. A PROPOSED MODEL OF ANALYSIS
- Secondly, this strategy closer to the game experience usually gives the user a
sensation of deep immersion and stops their learning from being boring
and that their need of being informed or need of learning ends up fading.
Therefore, the didactic proposal offered is attractive and dynamic, beyond
that present in most classical hypertexts.
- Already at this stage, the interactor “learns through playing” and once they
have “learnt the lesson” in a fun, original and lighthearted way, they can
share it with other interactors, in real time or whenever they deems it
appropriate.
- Therefore, we see how an interactive documentary can satisfy three needs or
desires: the player’s one –recreational–, the one of the student or anyone
with cultural interests –educational or formative– and the relational –
communication level with other participants–. We believe that, through the
correct mixing of these three aspects, non-fictional multimedia applications
can be equated in attractiveness with proposals close to fiction.

24. THE INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY. A PROPOSED MODEL OF ANALYSIS
Hypothesis
1
There is a representative sample of significant examples of interactive
documentary to develop a differentiated framework, systematic and
coherent, that has some attributes justified through the analysis model
we developed.
2
In this new form of documentary, the nature of the three main roles of
the conventional documentary is affected: the author may not be hoped
to create a single narrative program, closed and subjective, and must
assume that somehowthey would lose control of their work .
Moreover, the construction of the narrative and the discursive order
move from a linear, sequential scheme to a new stage characterized by
diffrents ways of development approaches, nodes and endpoints.
Finally, the interactor is configured as a transmitter and a contributor of
content created by the author, and that the genre tends to give the user
a generating capacity.

25. THE INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY. A PROPOSED MODEL OF ANALYSIS
3
The online interactive documentary created new logical representation of
reality. The emphasis of these new logics lies in the way and the
relationship established between text and interactor when browsing and
interacting, rather than how the author develops a speech given in reality
to a passive spectator. The new discourse is constructed through the
methods of navigation and interaction recorded in the documentary
rather than from the modes of representation.
4
Gender study incorporates new strategies and formulas for
immersive, interactive documentary products and general non-fiction can
be as attractive as the products of fiction. That is, there is a set of input
and interactive communication innovations that the interactive
documentary and nonfiction offers in order to equate to the powerful
attraction to narrative forms of fiction.

26. THE INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY. A PROPOSED MODEL OF ANALYSIS
5
Interactive documentaries tend to be equated with open and generous
systems by the interactor, the structure and organization of which at any
given time, are no longer controlled by either the author or the recipient.
This arrangement means that the user-interactor-participating contributor
can generate content and, therefore, to acquire the role of issuer and
have the ability to enrich the documentary with his own personal vision
and content. This radically changes the concept of ownership of
traditional audiovisual documentary.
6
The digital media allows a type of interactive discourse, and its two main
characteristics are interactivity and multimodality. These two basic
aspects contribute decisively to the time to enrich the interactive
multimedia documentary and general nonfiction. Thus, the genre of
documentary begins to equate to powerful forms of fiction and short
film, feature film or video game.

27. THE INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY. A PROPOSED MODEL OF ANALYSIS
In summary, we outline the following research areas expected:
- Study how the transformation takes place from the logic of traditional
linear documentary production to the logic of interactive multimedia
documentary production.
- Conduct design, definition and justification of the proposed analysis model
interactive multimedia documentary.
- Implementation of the proposal to a significant group of case examples.
- Review and evaluation of the modalities concerning submodalities and
gender categories studied.
- Classification of the representative works systematically studied in the
context of a database open, interactive and searchable online.
- Implementation of a practical project: theoretical and technical production
(design and implementation) of a multimedia interactive documentary.

28. THE INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY. A PROPOSED MODEL OF ANALYSIS
Research perspectives on the PhD thesis
- Just presenting a summary of the possible lines of investigation that we realize in the future
doctoral thesis.
- First, and from the theoretical point of view, we shall design and present a definition of
the proposed model of interactive documentary analysis. Then apply the proposal to a
significant group of case examples. Once you have developed and implemented the
proposal, it will take a thorough review of the model and increase, decrease or modify, as
appropriate, modalities concerning submodalities and gender categories studied.
- Secondly, and once contrasted the analysis model, we proceed to the systematic
classification of the representative works of the genre, which will be seen through an open
database, interactive and searchable online.
- Thirdly, from the aspect of interactive production, there is the realization of a particular
project as an example of case study: it consists of the theoretical and technical (design and
implementation) of an interactive multimedia documentary.

29. THE INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTARY. A PROPOSED MODEL OF ANALYSIS
Finally, among the purposes of theoretical analysis and practical realization
of a project, we highlight the following:
- Review and analyze the importance of including the management of the
interactor's actions, and that this figure is a cornerstone of the new
paradigm.
- Identify new ways to converge various digital media on the speech from
the detection of new forms of navigation and interaction, or the
reformulation of existing ones.
- Analyze and illustrate how the fusion between structure and
content, detect, study and implement innovative uses of the languages
that come together in interactive digital communication.
- Check that the integration of structure and content encourages new
forms of user involvement and new forms of enjoyment based on
general strategies for the surprise and discovery.

30. THANKS!
Contact:
Arnau Gifreu Castells
Digital Interactive Communication
Audiovisual Communicaction
Universitat Pompeu Fabra
FEC – Universitat de Vic
arnau.gifreu@uvic.cat / agifreu@gmail.com
www.agifreu.com