This document provides a summary of several interactive documentary projects created by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). It discusses key lessons learned from each project, including the importance of having a strong story, knowing the target audience, and conceiving the story and form before production starts. Linear stories combined with non-linear visual experiences seemed to be an effective approach for many of the projects. Strong marketing and developing projects for multiple platforms also helped ensure larger audiences were reached.

1. Links to real projects in presentation:
!
http://archive.cbcradio3.com
!
http://godslake.nfb.ca
!
http://thelasthunt.nfb.ca
Please download the free tablet app
!
http://pinepoint.nfb.ca
!
http://bear71.nfb.ca
!
http://circa1948.nfb.ca
Free iPad/iPhone app is the main project - link on website
!
Seven Digital Deadly Sins
http://sins.nfb.ca

3. Looking Back
Connecting the dots

4. CBC Radio 3 Digital Magazine
2002 - 2005

5. Early Days
Origins

8. 630 interactive stories

9. Good stories transcend platform
Users will read, listen and watch
all at once
We never play videos in little windows
Lessons learned

10. NFB/Interactive
Photo Essay

12. 2013 Challenge
Interactive Photo Essay
for Tablet first, then
smartphone and desktop

13. First Try. Fail.
oh yeah, and I want
Interactive Animation

15. The Last Hunt
New workflow
2014 Webby Award
FWA Mobile Site of the Day
FWA Site of the Day
Made the user cry
Linear written/audio story + semi-linear visual user experience

16. 1939
BirthofNFB
Canadiandocumentary

17. No pressure.
70 years of Documentary History

18. Welcome to Pine Point
NFB’s first original Interactive Documentary

19. PINEPOINT

20. Only 120,000 unique
visitors in 3 years
because of no marketing
or social media strategy

21. You need to have a good story
(don’t get stuck on form or tech)
Know your audience
(and why they will care)
The audience is the editor
(you’re no longer in control)
Lessons learned

22. Marketing and Content will never be separate again
Different audiences use different platforms,
it should have also been a tablet app
Story and form need to be conceived before
the project starts production
Linear written story + semi-linear visual user experience
It took 6 months to write and re-write the script
Lessons learned

23. With that,
enter Storyworlds

24. Bear 71 Story World
Sundance
January 19, 2012

25. Act I: Bear 71 is performed live.
Full Band: Live music version.
Acoustic version: Co-Creator
Jeremy Mendes and Cellist
Heather Macintosh.

26. Act II: Installation

28. Act III: Interactive Documentary

30. Epilogue: Social Narrative
Lance Weiler’s Community Team
+
Microsite + Postcards with QR
Story in Filmmaker Magazine
@iambear71
iambear71.tumblr.com

42. Interactive Doc - 300,000 people
Installation and Live - 25,000 people
FWA Site of the Year
Webby Award
Cannes Cyber Lion

43. “People have been discussing the
possibilities of interactive film for
decades, Bear 71 is one of the first
examples of someone[sic] getting it
right.”
!
- Corinna Falusi, Ogilvy & Mather

44. Sometimes your first idea is the best one
Story and Script are still the foundation of the
work. The right author JB McKinnon (100 mile
diet) brought the project to another level.
Have the right team. Do you trust your devs?
Lessons learned

45. Telling the story on different
platforms can work
The Storyworld was more than the
sum of its parts
Linear audio story + non-linear visual user experience
Lessons learned

46. Gods Lake, The Last Hunt, Main Street, This Land
Linear written/audio story + semi-linear visual user experience
Circa 1948
Non-linear audio fragments + non-linear visual user experience
Welcome to PinePoint
Linear written story + semi-linear visual user experience
Bear 71
Linear audio story + non-linear visual user experience
A new form: Interactive Documentary

47. Circa 1948 Storyworld 2.0
Tribeca Film Festival
April 22, 2014

49. Live Event

51. Interactive Installation

58. Story spreads

65. Apple features the app
25,000 downloads

66. Circa 1948 StoryWorld
Live artist talk
Play: Helen Lawrence(currently in Munich)
iPad/iPhone App
Interactive Installation
Circa website

67. Hybrid Agile between web and
game is tricky but does work
Each piece of the Storyworld can
exist standalone.
Non-Linear audio story + non-linear visual user experience
Lessons learned
We can’t stop learning. We learned how to
make a 3D render engine for tablets and the
physical environment.

68. NFB + Guardian
Seven Digital Deadly Sins
June 6, 2014

69. StoryWorld
Guardian Weekend Print Magazine
Guardian Print Newspaper
guardian.com and nfb.ca
Guardian 4 million twitter followers

70. Launch

75. We sent out a press release

76. 150 Media Stories

77. Fast
Co
GeekSided
Huffington
Post
France
DesignTAXI
Interac;ve
Narra;ves
Refinery
29
Playback
Studio
Masbo
University
of
PiHsburgh
IDG
Now!
Crea;ve
Planet
Network
CretaDrive
Patheos
Wonderzine
Gigamir
NPR piece:
http://www.nprberlin.de/post/digital-deadly-sins-morality-our-digital-obsessions
https://www.wnyc.org/story/digital-deadly-sins-the-morality-of-our-digital-obsessions/
http://wypr.org/post/digital-deadly-sins-morality-our-digital-obsessions
http://www.kplu.org/post/digital-deadly-sins-morality-our-digital-obsessions
http://www.alaskapublic.org/NPRstory/?320321221
http://nwpr.org/post/digital-deadly-sins-morality-our-digital-obsessions
http://www.capradio.org/news/npr/story?storyid=320321221
http://news.wfsu.org/post/digital-deadly-sins-morality-our-digital-obsessions
http://www.wpr.org/digital-deadly-sins-morality-our-digital-obsessions
http://www.ideastream.org/news/npr/320321221
http://wnku.org/post/digital-deadly-sins-morality-our-digital-obsessions
http://wamu.org/news/14/06/09/digital_deadly_sins_the_morality_of_our_digital_obsessions
http://ijpr.org/post/digital-deadly-sins-morality-our-digital-obsessions
http://wamc.org/post/digital-deadly-sins-morality-our-digital-obsessions
http://apr.org/post/digital-deadly-sins-morality-our-digital-obsessions
http://www.opb.org/news/article/npr-digital-deadly-sins-the-morality-of-our-digital-obsessions/
http://ripr.org/post/digital-deadly-sins-morality-our-digital-obsessions
http://wesa.fm/post/digital-deadly-sins-morality-our-digital-obsessions
http://kccu.org/post/digital-deadly-sins-morality-our-digital-obsessions
http://tpr.org/post/digital-deadly-sins-morality-our-digital-obsessions
http://www.kclu.org/npr/?id=320321221
http://www.wvpe.org/index.php?id=320321221&type=story
http://wgbhnews.org/post/digital-deadly-sins-morality-our-digital-obsessions
http://peoriapublicradio.org/post/digital-deadly-sins-morality-our-digital-obsessions
http://wuwm.com/post/digital-deadly-sins-morality-our-digital-obsessions
http://krwg.org/post/digital-deadly-sins-morality-our-digital-obsessions
http://kuer.org/post/digital-deadly-sins-morality-our-digital-obsessions
http://northernpublicradio.org/post/digital-deadly-sins-morality-our-digital-obsessions
http://wabe.drupal.publicbroadcasting.net/post/digital-deadly-sins-morality-our-digital-obsessions
http://kwbu.org/post/digital-deadly-sins-morality-our-digital-obsessions
http://news.prairiepublic.org/post/digital-deadly-sins-morality-our-digital-obsessions
http://wkar.org/post/digital-deadly-sins-morality-our-digital-obsessions
http://www.netnebraska.org/node/921306
http://kunm.org/post/digital-deadly-sins-morality-our-digital-obsessions
http://indianatalks.com/site/2014/06/digital-deadly-sins-the-morality-of-our-digital-obsessions/
http://wutc.org/post/digital-deadly-sins-morality-our-digital-obsessions
http://www.wvpe.org/index.php?id=320321221&type=story
http://www.gpb.org/news/2014/06/09/digital-deadly-sins-the-morality-of-our-digital-obsessions?utm_source=feed
Canadian Press (Wire Service) pieces:
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/movies/does-googling-lead-to-gluttony--doc-links-

78. 9,382 facebook shares
80,000 people referred

79. 300,000 people
90,000 votes
218 countries

80. nfb.ca/interactive
@locdao
Apple and Google Play app stores:
National Film Board of Canada