While documentary ethics has been largely normative to date, there is growing interest in alterna... more While documentary ethics has been largely normative to date, there is growing interest in alternative forms of ethical thinking. The work of Emmanuel Levinas in particular is providing a way of thinking through both the ethics of documentary viewing and production. This article begins by drawing attention to the link between documentary ethics and aesthetics and then uses Levinas's work to consider the ethical relations established in observational documentary production. Of the different documentary modes, the observational has been ...
The past decade has seen the emergence of a new kind of documentary making that marries documenta... more The past decade has seen the emergence of a new kind of documentary making that marries documentary storytelling and the principles of strategic communication. Strategic impact documentary is a transmedia practice that aims to achieve specific social change by aligning documentary production with online and offline communications practices. The contemporary media environment is one in which a wide range of organizations work to achieve their political and social goals through the media. This article highlights key characteristics of an emerging form of professional documentary production, drawing attention to formal development and changing contexts of production and the implications of this for our understanding of the link between documentary and social change.
Asylum: Exit Australia is a first-person simulation game that puts the player in the shoes of an ... more Asylum: Exit Australia is a first-person simulation game that puts the player in the shoes of an asylum seeker. Produced to accompany the television series Go Back to Where You Came From it seeks to make a new kind of intervention in a divisive social debate. This paper considers simulation games in terms of their ability to foster civic engagement. Locating simulation games within the broad field of popular factual media, several strands of continuity are identified, while attention is also paid to the specific characteristics of simulation games, particularly the relationship they establish between player and text. Audience responses to Asylum provide insight into the experience of play and the ways in which audiences relate this experience to the asylum seeker debate.
In the 1970s, a wave of young Western hippies descended on the beaches of Goa in India. Forty yea... more In the 1970s, a wave of young Western hippies descended on the beaches of Goa in India. Forty years later, some of them reconnected on the social network site Facebook and planned a reunion. This event, and the Goan hippy community then and now, are the subjects of a documentary called Goa Hippy Tribe, produced by Australian documentary maker Darius Devas. Funded by Screen Australia, SBS and Screen New South Wales, Goa Hippy Tribe is the first Australian documentary to be produced for the social network site Facebook. In this article, I consider how documentary in a social network context might be theorised. While the concept of the database narrative is most often invoked to explain user interactivity in online documentary, social networks such as Facebook invite different forms of interaction, and therefore raise distinct theoretical questions. In particular, Goa Hippy Tribe demonstrates the potential for the audience to engage creatively and communally with documentary.
KATE NASH it is a cliché to say that the presence of a camera alters, in at least some way, the &... more KATE NASH it is a cliché to say that the presence of a camera alters, in at least some way, the 'truth'that a documentary sets out to record. sometimes the documentary text itself contains traces of the camera's impact, although often it does not. in the study of documentary, we have predominantly been concerned with the impact of the camera in terms of assertions of truth. but this is only part of the story.
What do audiences actually do with interactive documentary and how do their actions contribute to... more What do audiences actually do with interactive documentary and how do their actions contribute to the process of meaning making? This paper presents the results of a study of user responses to the web-documentary Bear 71. Arguing that interaction and interpretation are interconnected, a methodology for interactive documentary reception study is proposed. The research considers how users structure their interaction, producing a specific audio-visual sequence by deploying interactive/interpretive strategies. The activity of the user in structuring their interaction is considered, as is the role of the text/author in promoting specific patterns of engagement. Finally, the pleasures of interactive documentary are considered.
Ingrid Kopp started her documentary career working in acquisitions and commissions at Channel 4 i... more Ingrid Kopp started her documentary career working in acquisitions and commissions at Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. Disillusioned by the rise of reality TV in the 1990s she went to the United States where philanthropic funding of documentary seemed to offer more opportunity for socially driven storytelling. Working for the independent film network Shooting People, she began to explore social media as a way of supporting traditional filmmaking. Over time, she began to appreciate the web as a medium. Ingrid is currently Director of Digital Initiatives at the Tribeca Film Institute (TFI) to support innovative digital documentary production.
Beginning his career as a journalist and television producer Jigar Mehta became interested in eme... more Beginning his career as a journalist and television producer Jigar Mehta became interested in emerging media and the ability of the Internet to engage audiences. In 2011 he was awarded a Knight Journalism Fellowship at Stanford University to explore possibilities in collaborative journalism. While at Stanford, events in Egypt captured his attention and he began to think about how the blogs, images, tweets and status updates being created by Egyptians might become part of a collaborative documentary. 18 Days in Egypt is a living database holding a growing media collection relating to the 2011 Egyptian revolution. It collects and preserves a range of media documents (video, photos, texts and tweets) enouraging people to watch, curate and share stories with others.
Documentary has been so closely associated with the mediums of film and television that the emerg... more Documentary has been so closely associated with the mediums of film and television that the emergence of new forms of documentary, made for computerized mediums such as the Internet, mobile phones and tablets appear fundamentally transformative. The potential for audiences to interact with documentary in various ways is at the heart of what makes these new modes of documentary distinctive; audiences are potentially able to engage in a range of practices from navigating virtual environments, to choosing video content from a database, taking part in ‘chat’ sessions and creating content. Engaging theoretically with these emerging audience practices raises questions about authorship and the social impact of documentary. In this paper, interactivity and participation are considered from a social perspective. It is suggested that there is a need to distinguish between user actions that impact on the documentary text and the ability of users to engage with others through documentary. The concept of documentary voice is interrogated to reveal two distinct dimensions: voice-as-authorship and voice-as-social participation. Drawing on documentary and digital media scholarship, this paper explores the social functions of documentary interactivity and participation with reference to a range of web-documentary examples.
KATE NASH it is a cliché to say that the presence of a camera alters, in at least some way, the &... more KATE NASH it is a cliché to say that the presence of a camera alters, in at least some way, the 'truth'that a documentary sets out to record. sometimes the documentary text itself contains traces of the camera's impact, although often it does not. in the study of documentary, we have predominantly been concerned with the impact of the camera in terms of assertions of truth. but this is only part of the story.
Review(s) of: The Cinematic Life of the Gene, Stacey, Jackie, Duke University Press, Durham, NC, ... more Review(s) of: The Cinematic Life of the Gene, Stacey, Jackie, Duke University Press, Durham, NC, 2010, ISBN 9 7808 2234 5077 (pb), xvi + 326 pp., US$ 23.95.
This chapter describes the University of Tasmania’s Communities of Practice Initiative (CoPI), es... more This chapter describes the University of Tasmania’s Communities of Practice Initiative (CoPI), established in 2011 by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Students and Education). The purpose of the CoPI is to provide collaborative professional learning opportunities for staff around priority and special interest areas in learning and teaching. Importantly, the CoPI is supported with strategic funding, allocated to promote the development of emergent, evolving and broad-reaching Communities of Practice (CoP). Coordinated by the central learning and teaching unit of the University of Tasmania, the CoPI provides on-going professional development for participants to support them to establish, facilitate, disseminate and sustain their work. Since 2011, the CoPI has funded over 30 CoPs in three distinct programs. The initiative has raised the profile of learning and teaching across the institution and increased the number of staff actively participating in learning and teaching scholarship. The CoPI is recognised by staff to provide collegial learning opportunities and space to engage with colleagues from other parts of the University with similar interests. This chapter outlines the background, establishment, and on-going development of the CoPI, including the professional learning opportunities afforded to participants through the initiative. In doing so, this chapter showcases a whole-of-institution program that has delivered professional learning opportunities for individuals and groups leading to institutional change and the enhancement of the learning and teaching culture across the University of Tasmania.
While documentary ethics has been largely normative to date, there is growing interest in alterna... more While documentary ethics has been largely normative to date, there is growing interest in alternative forms of ethical thinking. The work of Emmanuel Levinas in particular is providing a way of thinking through both the ethics of documentary viewing and production. This article begins by drawing attention to the link between documentary ethics and aesthetics and then uses Levinas's work to consider the ethical relations established in observational documentary production. Of the different documentary modes, the observational has been ...
The past decade has seen the emergence of a new kind of documentary making that marries documenta... more The past decade has seen the emergence of a new kind of documentary making that marries documentary storytelling and the principles of strategic communication. Strategic impact documentary is a transmedia practice that aims to achieve specific social change by aligning documentary production with online and offline communications practices. The contemporary media environment is one in which a wide range of organizations work to achieve their political and social goals through the media. This article highlights key characteristics of an emerging form of professional documentary production, drawing attention to formal development and changing contexts of production and the implications of this for our understanding of the link between documentary and social change.
Asylum: Exit Australia is a first-person simulation game that puts the player in the shoes of an ... more Asylum: Exit Australia is a first-person simulation game that puts the player in the shoes of an asylum seeker. Produced to accompany the television series Go Back to Where You Came From it seeks to make a new kind of intervention in a divisive social debate. This paper considers simulation games in terms of their ability to foster civic engagement. Locating simulation games within the broad field of popular factual media, several strands of continuity are identified, while attention is also paid to the specific characteristics of simulation games, particularly the relationship they establish between player and text. Audience responses to Asylum provide insight into the experience of play and the ways in which audiences relate this experience to the asylum seeker debate.
In the 1970s, a wave of young Western hippies descended on the beaches of Goa in India. Forty yea... more In the 1970s, a wave of young Western hippies descended on the beaches of Goa in India. Forty years later, some of them reconnected on the social network site Facebook and planned a reunion. This event, and the Goan hippy community then and now, are the subjects of a documentary called Goa Hippy Tribe, produced by Australian documentary maker Darius Devas. Funded by Screen Australia, SBS and Screen New South Wales, Goa Hippy Tribe is the first Australian documentary to be produced for the social network site Facebook. In this article, I consider how documentary in a social network context might be theorised. While the concept of the database narrative is most often invoked to explain user interactivity in online documentary, social networks such as Facebook invite different forms of interaction, and therefore raise distinct theoretical questions. In particular, Goa Hippy Tribe demonstrates the potential for the audience to engage creatively and communally with documentary.
KATE NASH it is a cliché to say that the presence of a camera alters, in at least some way, the &... more KATE NASH it is a cliché to say that the presence of a camera alters, in at least some way, the 'truth'that a documentary sets out to record. sometimes the documentary text itself contains traces of the camera's impact, although often it does not. in the study of documentary, we have predominantly been concerned with the impact of the camera in terms of assertions of truth. but this is only part of the story.
What do audiences actually do with interactive documentary and how do their actions contribute to... more What do audiences actually do with interactive documentary and how do their actions contribute to the process of meaning making? This paper presents the results of a study of user responses to the web-documentary Bear 71. Arguing that interaction and interpretation are interconnected, a methodology for interactive documentary reception study is proposed. The research considers how users structure their interaction, producing a specific audio-visual sequence by deploying interactive/interpretive strategies. The activity of the user in structuring their interaction is considered, as is the role of the text/author in promoting specific patterns of engagement. Finally, the pleasures of interactive documentary are considered.
Ingrid Kopp started her documentary career working in acquisitions and commissions at Channel 4 i... more Ingrid Kopp started her documentary career working in acquisitions and commissions at Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. Disillusioned by the rise of reality TV in the 1990s she went to the United States where philanthropic funding of documentary seemed to offer more opportunity for socially driven storytelling. Working for the independent film network Shooting People, she began to explore social media as a way of supporting traditional filmmaking. Over time, she began to appreciate the web as a medium. Ingrid is currently Director of Digital Initiatives at the Tribeca Film Institute (TFI) to support innovative digital documentary production.
Beginning his career as a journalist and television producer Jigar Mehta became interested in eme... more Beginning his career as a journalist and television producer Jigar Mehta became interested in emerging media and the ability of the Internet to engage audiences. In 2011 he was awarded a Knight Journalism Fellowship at Stanford University to explore possibilities in collaborative journalism. While at Stanford, events in Egypt captured his attention and he began to think about how the blogs, images, tweets and status updates being created by Egyptians might become part of a collaborative documentary. 18 Days in Egypt is a living database holding a growing media collection relating to the 2011 Egyptian revolution. It collects and preserves a range of media documents (video, photos, texts and tweets) enouraging people to watch, curate and share stories with others.
Documentary has been so closely associated with the mediums of film and television that the emerg... more Documentary has been so closely associated with the mediums of film and television that the emergence of new forms of documentary, made for computerized mediums such as the Internet, mobile phones and tablets appear fundamentally transformative. The potential for audiences to interact with documentary in various ways is at the heart of what makes these new modes of documentary distinctive; audiences are potentially able to engage in a range of practices from navigating virtual environments, to choosing video content from a database, taking part in ‘chat’ sessions and creating content. Engaging theoretically with these emerging audience practices raises questions about authorship and the social impact of documentary. In this paper, interactivity and participation are considered from a social perspective. It is suggested that there is a need to distinguish between user actions that impact on the documentary text and the ability of users to engage with others through documentary. The concept of documentary voice is interrogated to reveal two distinct dimensions: voice-as-authorship and voice-as-social participation. Drawing on documentary and digital media scholarship, this paper explores the social functions of documentary interactivity and participation with reference to a range of web-documentary examples.
KATE NASH it is a cliché to say that the presence of a camera alters, in at least some way, the &... more KATE NASH it is a cliché to say that the presence of a camera alters, in at least some way, the 'truth'that a documentary sets out to record. sometimes the documentary text itself contains traces of the camera's impact, although often it does not. in the study of documentary, we have predominantly been concerned with the impact of the camera in terms of assertions of truth. but this is only part of the story.
Review(s) of: The Cinematic Life of the Gene, Stacey, Jackie, Duke University Press, Durham, NC, ... more Review(s) of: The Cinematic Life of the Gene, Stacey, Jackie, Duke University Press, Durham, NC, 2010, ISBN 9 7808 2234 5077 (pb), xvi + 326 pp., US$ 23.95.
This chapter describes the University of Tasmania’s Communities of Practice Initiative (CoPI), es... more This chapter describes the University of Tasmania’s Communities of Practice Initiative (CoPI), established in 2011 by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Students and Education). The purpose of the CoPI is to provide collaborative professional learning opportunities for staff around priority and special interest areas in learning and teaching. Importantly, the CoPI is supported with strategic funding, allocated to promote the development of emergent, evolving and broad-reaching Communities of Practice (CoP). Coordinated by the central learning and teaching unit of the University of Tasmania, the CoPI provides on-going professional development for participants to support them to establish, facilitate, disseminate and sustain their work. Since 2011, the CoPI has funded over 30 CoPs in three distinct programs. The initiative has raised the profile of learning and teaching across the institution and increased the number of staff actively participating in learning and teaching scholarship. The CoPI is recognised by staff to provide collegial learning opportunities and space to engage with colleagues from other parts of the University with similar interests. This chapter outlines the background, establishment, and on-going development of the CoPI, including the professional learning opportunities afforded to participants through the initiative. In doing so, this chapter showcases a whole-of-institution program that has delivered professional learning opportunities for individuals and groups leading to institutional change and the enhancement of the learning and teaching culture across the University of Tasmania.
Documentary remains a vital and dynamic media form, one that has persisted through decades of cha... more Documentary remains a vital and dynamic media form, one that has persisted through decades of change in patterns of media production, distribution and reception, from its early conception in silent filmmaking, through 'new' media such as television, to the current explosion of digital platforms. New generations of documentary filmmakers, multimedia designers, online curators and social media aggregators are exploring the challenges and opportunities of a digital environment characterised as collaborative, participatory, and interactive. This book provides a unique collection of recent research into the ways in which these digital producers are adopting the 'documentary project' across digital platforms, developing new documentary practices and providing distinctive new ways for audiences to engage with reality.
The notion of immersive witness underpins much of the exploration of VR by journalists and humani... more The notion of immersive witness underpins much of the exploration of VR by journalists and humanitarian organisations. Immersive witness links the experience of VR with a moral attitude of responsibility for distant others. In accounts of media witness, the ability of the media to sustain an experience of presence has played an important, albeit often implicit, role linking the spectator spatially and temporally to distant suffering. However, the concept of media witness has to date assumed that the media represent, that news stories and documentaries present to their audiences images and sounds that communicate something of an event. VR, in contrast, seeks to simulate, providing the audience with something of an experience that is linked in various ways to the experiences of others. It is this simulative function that is seen as fundamental to VR's moral address. This paper explores the moral potential of VR suggesting that while there is much to recommend VR as a platform for humanitarian communication there is an inherent moral risk attached: the risk of improper distance. The United Nation's VR work serves as a case study for exploring VR's moral potential and the risk of improper distance.
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