Open AccessInteractivity as a key feature redefining documentary reality
Author(s) -
Frédéric Dubois
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
images
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.1
0eISSN - 2720-040X
pISSN - 1731-450X
DOI - 10.14746/i.2017.30.03.
Subject(s) - interactivity , virtual reality , key (lock) , visual arts , art , feature (linguistics) , multimedia , computer science , human–computer interaction , linguistics , philosophy , computer security
Finding a clear-cut boundary delimiting fiction from documentary has always been a controversial, daunting and unthankful undertaking. In the last decade, the blur between the two genres has been reinforced by the rapid advancement of web and AR/VR technologies. Interactive web-documentaries and virtual reality documentaries do not only promote new viewing habits – from swiping smartphone screens to scanning horizons with VR headsets, they shake up the very idea of what a documentary is. In this short scholarly essay, I argue that the feature of interactivity is the driving force redefining the documentary genre. This thesis builds on two case studies: 1) Interactive documentary Atterwasch and 2) VR documentary The Unknown Photographer. In the final section of the essay I revisit the definition of documentary reality and expand it with the addition of André Bazin’s notion of mise en scène.