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Immersive Telejournalistic Narratives in the Covid-19 Pandemic: Reflections on 360-degree Language on TV and the Web
No full textTo build representations and meanings, telejournalism in the context of transmediation has relied on the interrelation of different languages, adapting itself according to the emergence of resources and interfaces. In this context, one can cite the exploration of 360-degree audiovisual narratives, an emerging image modality used by the press as a mechanism to bring spectators closer to events.
In Brazil, 360-degree journalistic productions made by communication companies, in general, go beyond the space of television and move towards online supports, in order to instigate the participation of the enunciatee through access to interactivity resources. The present investigation focuses on this process of articulation between TV and the Internet, with the aim of pointing out reflections on the language of 360-degree audiovisual content in journalism, proposing to analyze discursive strategies and technical specificities of productions disseminated through the television support and the online environment. To this end, the series of 360-degree reports “O Vírus na Favela” was examined, launched in 2020 by the program Balanço Geral RJ (Record TV Rio - Brazil) and which sought to portray challenges faced by residents of communities in Rio de Janeiro during the Covid-19 pandemic.
This exploratory study is guided by a methodological path formed by a bibliographic survey, based on discussions such as telejournalism, interactivity and 360-degree narratives, and on the analysis of the corpus-based on three principles of French semiotics presented by Barros (2005): narrative syntax, discursive syntax and discursive semantics. In addition, the semiotic analysis method for 360-degree films developed by Moreira (2020) was applied.
In conclusion, it can be recognized that the analyzed series evidences the enunciators\u27 search to follow the contemporary trend of telling stories in more than one media support, as well as creating interactivity with the viewer. Also, it was observed that TV productions have a hybrid proposal and are based on several languages, such as graphic elements, conventional videos and 360-degree videos. On the other hand, Web content, in part, is configured as interactive versions of 360-degree videos shown on TV. Such evidence may characterize that television content producers see this type of image as an accessory innovation in the composition of traditional reports
From Real to Virtual: Immersion and Interactivity for Understanding Socio-Environmental Conflicts
No full textThe article presents the initial steps of a research-creation project that has been developed within the scope of the Federal University of Espírito Santo, in Brazil, and whose main objective is to give visibility to socio-environmental conflicts in the metropolitan region of Grande Vitória, capital of Espírito Santo, from the development of interactive and immersive audiovisual works. At first, a field research was carried out in a specific territory of the capital – the Jesus de Nazareth neighborhood – in order to identify some of these local conflicts and the community\u27s ways of acting in an attempt to solve the problems. The problem proposed by the ongoing research can be summarized as follows: using research-creation as a methodology and work process, how to develop interactive, immersive and collaborative multimedia works that make it possible to increase the visibility of socio-environmental conflicts existing in a given territory – in this case, the metropolitan region of Greater Vitória – and, in parallel, promote scientific dissemination and the popularization of science? The research has a multidisciplinary character and brings together the following fields of study: i) research-creation and digital humanities; ii) new communication technologies, immersive (augmented/virtual reality) and interactive media; iii) socio-environmental conflicts in the metropolitan region of Greater Vitória (ES) and their impacts on the population; and iv) scientific dissemination. In addition to the objectives and expected results – to increase the visibility of socio-environmental conflicts and social injustices, research data on these issues and to disseminate possible solutions –, the research is also justified by the possibilities of learning and experimenting with technological resources on the part of of professors and students of a public university in Brazil. The article brings data about the main conflicts already mapped in the Greater Vitória region, information about the visited community and also theoretical notes on the concept of socio-environmental conflict, understood in a broad way, but which includes the articulation between the environment and social relations. The text also presents the principles of creation as research and its use as a methodological process. The current stage of the research consists of collecting and selecting data from scientific research banks and reviewing the literature
Extended Reality Interactive Documentary: Insights from Rhizome as a Navigation Structure Framework
No full textExtended Reality is the umbrella term used to describe immersive media and technologies consisting of Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality. It has witnessed increased usage in practice and scholarly works in the past decade. This article seeks to investigate the non-linear approach of the navigation structure within interactive documentaries. It proposes a conceptual framework for creating non-linear navigation through the rhizome to demonstrate the multiple, non-hierarchical entry and exit points of an interactive documentary navigation structure. The experiments presented in this article are part of an ongoing interactive documentary study with the Salako community from a village known as Pueh in Sarawak, Malaysia. While there are many ways how navigation structure can be represented in Extended Reality, the author adopted the rhizome to demonstrate the possible non-hierarchical and non-linear navigation in interactive documentary
New Narratives, Racialization, Global Crises, and Social Engagement: Editorial
No full textThese published proceedings draw from the various and impressive contributions to the III Interactive Film and Media Conference in August 2021. They are organized into five sections according to theme. In the first two sections, the papers concentrate on social engagement. The first set of papers focuses on racism in the time of COVID-19, indigenous identity and incarceration. The second involves interactive responses to social issues such as migration, sexual harassment, and refugees. Sections three and four foreground debates about the levels of interactivity experienced in films and games. In the third set of papers, the authors focus on the medium’s capacities to involve the player or the user in interactivity, while papers comprising the fourth set question the process of immersion and explore levels of interactivity more fully. Finally, in the fifth and final section, the papers focus on the environment of digital art, literature, and media, challenging our understanding of what is an “art” and “literature,” and what is “human” in a digital world. Here we invite you to explore the published papers in the proceedings from the #IFM2021 Virtual Conference
Cinemanhatta: A Speculative Investigation of Remix, Emergence and Recreative Practice
No full textBoth as a concept and a practice, remix has become enshrined in media theory and production. Using an existing creative expression as materials to produce a new creative expression, remix highlights how culture operates through a continual circulation of shared elements. Remix reincorporates this practice into the present culture as an alternative to the dominant logic of the culture industries.
However, as a useful principle applied in a general way, the specific cultural and historical conditions of remix’s origins become obscured and mythologized, obscuring how emergence and creativity function as part of culture in specific conditions. Moreover, although we frame remix as an alternative or oppositional practice, it remains compatible with the logic of creativity as the work of the genius or auteurs. It reinforces the idea of art as an expressive object that can be commodified for the consumption of an audience.
The time is right to rethink what the term ‘remix’ does and what it accomplishes. Remix presents an alternative to the dominant mode of production, but can it offer a transformative opposition that not only remakes culture, but remakes the ways we make culture? If not, what can?
This presentation offers a complementary concept I call “recreative practice”, meant in the sense of re-creative (re-new-ing through creativity) as well as in the sense of recreational (“to refresh oneself by some amusement”). It emerges from a synthesis of Dewey’s writing on the aesthetic experience (1934/2005), Williams’ theory of the residual, dominant and emergent (1977), and Barad’s call responsive/responsible theory (2012).
The production of something that has never been is influenced by what has come before, and reception is framed by understanding of what is familiar to us. Recreative practice recognizes that the production of aesthetic experience does not belong to a class apart – culture is ordinary, everyone is creative, and we are constantly generating and circulating culture. Nor are theorists and artists exempt – we are inextricably entangled in the world we seek to transform, and our work, too, is part of a process of the everyday and the ordinary.
To further demonstrate recreative practice, I draw from my forthcoming dissertation, An Effective Dream is a Reality, as well as several years’ experimentation with algorithmic cinema. I give this a focus through presentation of speculative project: Cinemanhatta.
Cinemanhatta is a speculative proposal building on Manhatta (1921) as a foundation. An antecedent of recreative practice, Manhatta drew on existing creative traditions in a way that created new possibilities for meaning-making and influenced the conditions for meaning-making itself. Cinemanhatta honors that tradition and exemplifies recreative practice by proposing three interrelated projects, each inspired by a significant creative effort: Heidi Rae Cooley’s Finding Augusta and the accompanying Augusta App (2014), Perry Bard’s Man With A Movie Camera: Global Remake (2007-present), and Barbara Lattanzi’s HF Critical Mass (2002). These projects work together to produce a material-semiotic performance of exchange and collaboration, using a set of recreative practices to construct a community of inquiry
Open Documentary Platforms Enabling Forms of Democratization and Community Experience: A Plea for More Nuanced Differentiations Between Forms of Participation
No full textIn recent years, there has been an increase in open documentary projects on the web providing platforms for those affected by social problems to tell their stories. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, they gained significance as collaborative projects responding to pressing questions. They offered virtual spaces for community interaction and the interactive negotiation of meanings and perceptions of reality as face-to-face interactions on the ground became unfeasible. As networks of mutual support in times of uncertainty, they responded to the various needs of many people worldwide and avoided a hierarchical approach in favor of participatory, partly dialogical practices and a polyphonic form of presentation. This makes them compelling examples for discussing the democratic potentials and social-communicative functions of interactivity on such documentary platforms.
This contribution analyzes two documentary projects: Corona Haikus (initiated by Sandra Gaudenzi and Sandra Tabares-Duque, 2020), launched as a Facebook group for visual poetry referring to the reality of the lockdowns and documenting the experiences during isolation, and Corona Diaries (initiated by Francesca Panetta et al., 2020), a database for voice recordings. The paper argues that interactivity in the two examples, first of all, fosters democratic processes on the level of production and decision-making processes as well as on the level of meaning construction; further – as an adjacent claim – the contribution suggests that the projects as complex assemblages allowed for the experience of virtual communities.
By combining material and praxeological analyses and drawing on approaches from political theory, philosophy, and social sciences in addition to the media studies-oriented analyses, the paper identifies the transformative dimension of collaborative interactive documentaries, especially in times of crisis. Despite different medial approaches with additional advantages – visual poetry that encourages reflection and intimate voice recordings that enable effectively attentive listening –both platforms function as a medial in-between that enables collective identification and solidarity forms. The difference between Corona Haikus and Corona Diaries is: that Corona Haikus uses the democratic potentials of the interactive communication network for collective negotiations of meanings, dialogue, and co-creation, while Corona Diaries focuses more on low participation thresholds for a – in terms of content – highly open space, which in turn does not allow for interactions among the participants.
What the projects have in common is that the active participation in the open space without the classical hierarchies between professional media makers and subjects, the collective narrative processes, and the sharing of emotions can lead to the feeling of being part of a developing community, which in turn can help individual participants to cope with their experiences. Additionally, the nonlinear, polyphonic platforms open up new perspectives and relations not seen before. Another result of the paper is that future research should differentiate more nuancedly between forms of participation rather than arguing based on an artificial distinction between interactivity and participation
Body Epistemes: First-Person Narration and Body Awareness in Nonfictional Virtual Reality
No full textThis research concerns the relationships among space, story, and body in nonfictional Virtual Reality (VR) projects with the user as a first-person protagonist. What was once called immersive journalism (i.e., attempting to offer users physical experiences of factual journalism) has become increasingly film-oriented over the last five years with the further development of head-mounted displays for the consumer market. As such, projects often tell stories that relate to reality and allow protagonists to enter realistic narratives.
Mel Slater has investigated VR projects since 2005, analyzing factors such as place illusion (PI) and plausibility illusion (Psi). In later writings, Slater expanded his research to include the body-oriented sense of embodiment (SoE) (Slater 2009; Slater et al. 2010; De La Pena et al. 2010; Kilteni et al. 2012). Since nonfictional VR mostly tells a story in the direction of the users, incorporating them into the story design, the effects of narration also should be considered. Domenic Arsénault (2005) noted three levels of narrative immersion in VR when dealing with narrative projects. Considering this, it is possible to develop a four-level matrix including place, plausibility, body perception, and narration.
Starting in 2020, a Graduate student research project at the University of Leipzig was set up using this matrix to analyse four current examples for a small, non-representative study of twenty-four participants. Our findings demonstrate that space and story in first-person VR experiences are very important, while the installation of plausibility and coherence is less significant. The connecting factor of these two levels is one\u27s own body. Users read, experience, and understand projects with their senses, perceptions, and cognition, making a discussion of an episteme of the body possible. Thus, stories from real life are not conveyed indirectly but experienced directly and personally
Interactive Documentary : Re-setting the Field
No full textThis article responds to the 4th Interactive Film and Media International Conference (IFM 2022) themes of eco-media, epistemologies and listening by focusing on the role that interactive documentary can play in addressing the existential and pressing issue of climate change. It re-visits the article Interactive Documentary: setting the field which I co-authored with Sandra Gaudenzi in 2012 in light of this now central concern and asks how the affordances of interactive documentary can be used to help re-frame our engagement with the human and the non-human. It places metamodern and polyphonic thinking at the centre of this discussion, as two key concepts that I consider to be particularly helpful when thinking about the contribution that interactive documentary can make to wider debates about eco-media. The paper argues that metamodernism and polyphony can contribute to the development of transformative approaches to interactive documentary and indeed to interactive narrative more generally. This is important as it offers us a set of cognitive tools through which to think about how to navigate the complexities and uncertainties of our collective futures which climate change is undoubtedly bringing. The paper engages with the theoretical arguments first and then applies these to a discussion of my work as a co-convenor of the Polyphonic Documentary project before bringing these thoughts together as tentative conclusions and unresolved issues
Analysis of the presentation of Nutritious Food Basket research on PHU websites in Ontario
No full textThe Nutritious Food Basket (NFB) is the only locally generated, standardized measure of the cost of a healthy diet gathered annually in Ontario (Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion (OMHP), 2010). This study analyzed if and how research using the Nutritious Food Basket (NFB) protocol is presented and mobilized on the websites of public health units (PHU) for health equity advocacy in Ontario. A coding scheme developed by the authors was used to conduct a content analysis of public health unit websites. In total, 35 PHU websites were analyzed. Thirty-two out of 35 websites included some information about local NFB research, while three had none. The ways in which Nutrition Food Basket research is included, framed, and leveraged for advocacy on public health unit websites varies widely along the categories assessed for this research. Despite fairly consistent messaging that defines food insecurity as an income-related issue alongside statements that food banks are inadequate solutions, a surprising number of PHU calls for action include urging the public to donate to or volunteer for local food banks and other food charities in response to food insecurity. In most cases, Ontario PHU websites are not used as effectively as they could be for sharing NFB results or for promoting advocacy activities based on NFB research
Agir pour la santé de la planète en intégrant une démarche écoresponsable dans les cabinets : Une expérimentation Française en cabinet dentaire/ Acting for planetary health by integrating an eco-responsible approach in practices : A French experiment in dental practice: RESEARCH PAPER
No full textIntroduction : Les activités humaines modernes entraînent des changements fondamentaux dans la biosphère et perturbent de nombreux systèmes naturels de la planète. Le dérèglement climatique, la pollution de tous les milieux - air, eau, sols -, le taux d’effondrement de la biodiversité ou encore les changements majeurs dans l\u27utilisation des terres menacent les conditions de santé et de bien-être humain et du vivant. Face à cette urgence écologique et sanitaire, les professionnels de santé ont un rôle prépondérant à jouer pour être promoteur de la santé planétaire. Intégrer une démarche écoresponsable au cœur de leurs pratiques est l’opportunité d’être acteur et ambassadeur de la transformation écologique aujourd’hui nécessaire. Celle-ci doit être réalisée tout en continuant à assurer la qualité et la sécurité des soins. Pour cela, il semble indispensable de créer et développer un outil intégré de qualité sécurité environnement qui réponde aux recommandations professionnelles et n’entrave en aucune manière la réalisation des soins et l’accueil des patients. C’est l’objectif de l’expérimentation pionnière qui a été menée auprès de praticiens français. Méthodes : Menée au sein de 8 cabinets dentaires volontaires en France de septembre 2019 à juillet 2020, l’action vise à accompagner les praticiens, et leur équipe éventuelle, à l’aide de plusieurs outils et ressources à intégrer une démarche écoresponsable en cabinet dentaire selon une approche systémique. Résultats : Le projet « Prévention Environnement Patients Soignants » a permis d’éprouver l’intégration d’un programme d’accompagnement à l’intégration de l’écoresponsabilité en santé avec pour moteur le bénéfice sanitaire, social, environnemental et économique d\u27une évolution des pratiques et d’observer les freins et leviers à son développement à plus grande échelle. Conclusion : Mener ce projet a permis aux praticiens accompagnés d’avancer dans la démarche de santé globale aujourd’hui nécessaire. Il appelle à un développement et à un soutien élargi de l’ensemble des parties prenantes du secteur médical. Des études pour évaluer quantitativement les avantages écologiques, sociaux, sanitaires et économiques d’une telle démarche sont nécessaires.
Introduction: Modern human activities are causing fundamental changes in the biosphere and disrupting many of the world\u27s natural systems. Climate disruption, pollution of all environments - air, water, soil -, the rate of collapse of biodiversity or major changes in land use threaten the conditions of human and living health and well-being. Faced with this ecological and health emergency, health professionals have a major role to play in promoting global health. Integrating an eco-responsible approach into the heart of their practices is an opportunity to be an actor and ambassador of the ecological transformation that is needed today. This transformation must be achieved while continuing to ensure the quality and safety of care. To do this, it seems essential to create and develop an integrated quality-safety-environment tool that meets professional recommendations and in no way hinders the delivery of care and the reception of patients. This is the objective of the pioneering experiment conducted with French practitioners. Methods: Conducted in 8 voluntary dental practices in France from September 2019 to July 2020, the action aims to support practitioners, and their eventual team, with the help of several tools and resources to integrate an eco-responsible approach in dental practice through a systemic approach. Results: The « Prevention Environment Patients Caregivers » project made it possible to test the integration of a support program for the integration of eco-responsibility in health care, with the health, social, environmental, and economic benefits of an evolution in practices and to observe the obstacles and levers for its development on a larger scale. Conclusion: Carrying out this project has enabled the practitioners accompanied to move forward in the global health approach that is necessary today. It calls for further development and support from stakeholders in the medical sector. Studies to quantitatively evaluate the ecological, economic, social and health benefits of such an approach are needed