[ISEA2019] Paper: Chanjun Mu — Lightening the Hiatuses of Story: A Discussion on Intervals in Story-telling of Interactive Documentary

Abstract

Keywords: Intervals; Interactive storytelling; Interactive documentary

The conception of interval refers to an approach to narrative experimentation: the use of empty gaps that are regarded as unimportant to the plot, which is extensively practiced in the narrative of traditional painting, architecture, literature and cinema art. Interactive documentary, as a new genre that narrates the real and enables audience interact with reality through interactive digital technologies, its physical interactivity and non-linear narrative form generates inevitable pause, gap and intervention of storytelling. These intervals in storytelling of interactive documentary become significant reason of the contradiction between immersion and interaction. Through the investigation and two selected cases studies: Prison Valley (2009), The Space We Hold (2017), this paper aims to address following questions: 1) What’s the specific manifestation and effect of intervals in interactive documentary storytelling? 2) Can interval become a promising technique to solve the contradiction between immersion and interacti and evolve non-linear storytelling somehow?

  • Chanjun Mu, School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong

Full text (PDF) p. 419-423