The document outlines the concept and creation of interactive documentaries (i-docs), emphasizing their non-linear and user-driven nature. It details the stages of i-doc production, from pre-production planning to launch and post-launch life, along with necessary tools and financial resources available for projects. Additionally, it discusses the evolving landscape of i-docs and potential future business models.

1. by Sandra Gaudenzi
i-docs.org
i-docs: why, how and how much

2. A linear documentary is
a creative treatment of actuality
An i-doc is non linear interactive

3. Defining i-docs
Any project that intends to document the real,
and that does so by using digital interactive
technology, can be called an i-doc.

5. i-docs as a proposition to enter into a dynamic
world and to change it to a certain degree
(depending on the level of agency given to the user)
From: One millionth Tower, NFB, 2012

6. Agency
‘the satisfying power to take
meaningful action and see the
results of our decisions and choices’
(Janet H. Murray, Hamlet on the Holodeck,1997:126)

7. Agency
satisfying power
choices

8. Agency
power
+
choices = change
feed-back loop

9. the feed-back
loop of
interactivity
goes beyond the
user-computer
... and so does
your i-doc!

11. The Living documentary
1. effect/impact does not stop at user-
computer
2. not human centred approach, but
systemic
3. levels of aliveness = levels of doing
(impact)
4. aptitude to self-organize, to adapt to their
environment, and to change it
5. life and death of an i-doc

12. i-doc as a relational & living entity
Put the emphasis what it
makes you DO (rather than
what it SAYS to you)

13. How to create an i-doc?1/3
PRE-PRODUCTION:
1. Ponder if interactivity is necessary. What is it
adding? What is its purpose?
2. Include interactive strategy from start.
3. Minimum team:
 Film maker (content producer)
 interactive designer
 Coder
 MORE: social media manager, story architect
4. Brainstorming sessions (all included)
5. Feasibility study (technical & financial)

14. DEVELOPMENT:
1. Story architecture & platforms
2. Budget
3. Storyboarding & look and feel
4. Content mapping & production
schedule
5. Coding (tailor made or choice of tools)
6. Testing (iterative prototyping)
How to create an i-doc?2/3

15. LAUNCH:
1. Marketing strategy
2. Social media strategy
3. Launch strategy (beta, soft, progressive…)
LIFE:
- Moderation
- Social media communication
- Analytics
- Changes
DEATH:
- Designing for an end
How to create an i-doc?3/3

16. TOOLS
• Zeega
• PopcornJS
• 3WDoc, Klynt, Djehouti
• Storyplanet
• Wix
• Korsakow
• Conducttr
(see TMtoolkit or i-Docs)

17. FINANCE 1/3
THE BIG PLAYERS:
- EU Creative Europe 2014 (ex Media Fund) up to Euros
150,000
- TFI New Media Fund $50,000 to $100,000 (6 non-
fiction, social issue media projects which go beyond
traditional screens)
- Co-produce with NFB or Arte
- National entities: CNC (Fr), Arts Council (UK), Creative
England (UK) etc…

18. THE NEW PLAYERS:
- Online Magazines/papers (Le Monde, The Guardian
and Firestorm, NYTimes and Snowfall or Highrise)
- YouTube (see Life in a Day)
- Google (think Google glasses)
- Kickstarter & IndiGogo (see Tmtool kit for more on
crowdsourcing)
FINANCE 2/3

19. ALTERNATIVE ROUTES:
- NESTA Digital R&D Fund (up to £125,000 for International
academic research attached to a project)
- City Festivals & exhibitions (ex: Geneva)
- Partner with digital companies (ex: Defense d’Afficher)
- Sponsoring relatd to the topic (ex: Las voces de la memoria)
THE FUTURE:
- The i-Doc entrepreneur
- New business models (apps, I love your work booking model
etc…)
FINANCE 3/3

20. SMALL budget examples 1/4
done with Storyplanet

21. SMALL budget examples 2/4
done with tumblr

22. SMALL budget examples 3/4
made with Zeega

23. SMALL budget examples 4/4
made with Popcorn

24. Must check links:
- i-Docs and i-Docs Resources
- The Transmedia Resources Kit
• NFB/interactive - a portal through which to browse all of
National Film Board of Canada’s i-docs projects to date.
• DocShift – the most comprehensive archive of i-docs to date, by
the Documentary Organization of Canada.
• idfa DOCLAB - show-casting the amazing international range of
webdocs presented at idfa DOCLAB so far.
• TFI Sandbox – all the projects sustained by the Tribeca Film
Insitute… and more.
• Arte Webproductions - the entire collection of webdocs
produced by Franco-German television Arte.

25. Thank you
www.interactivedocumentary.net