An initial mapping of the different aspects in this projects has been made. Four cornerstones have been identified. Changing any aspect, will change the target and also the roles of the other aspects. That is why, before you can realistically say (or even see) what the target is, all the other aspects should be well defined.
The first one is the documentary itself. Although the first plan was to use several different documentaries in the application, this was soon cut down to one. The meaning, contents, subject matter and goal of the documentary all play an important role in the execution of the project, and vary heavily depending on the movie. The documentary “Haven, omzwervingen in de nacht” has been selected.
- Place and environment; everything that is filmed is located around the Amsterdam Docks (more particularly NDSM)
- Theme/Meaning; it tries to give the viewer an indication of life on the – at that time almost abandoned – docks, while focusing on the grandeur of the past and loneliness of the present. There is no urge to convince the viewer or make a point.
- The different characters who tell their stories.
- Content; what do we actually see.
- Non-linear. Emergent narrative, meaning there is no real story to follow, but the various characters and series of unconnected events together form an interesting blend.
Location is the second important factor. By location we do not only mean the coordinates of a place, but also other aspects such as time of day, history and state of mind. For example: traveling on the highway towards a destination makes it an entirely different state compared to being on the same highway but returning home. These different attributes depend on the location. For our location, the NDSM werf, the zeitgeist through the years is very important. There is a defined feeling of motion – whether you would call it progression or regression. From being a industrial area (history) transforming through the state of lost/forgotten area (documentary) being the artsy, developing mtv-crowd place (now). These different states call for different mentalities, and these mentalities and how they are interconnected makes the NDSM werf the rich place that it is.
User. Who is going to make use of this – at this point undefined- interactive installation? What motives do they have? Why are they interested? How much time are they willing to spend? These are internal motivations, but that is not the only factor that is important. Also are they technically able to? In other words, do they have the hardware and know-how to use their devices to stream the video on location etc.
By using Internet and IDFA promotions we are selecting a very specific target: the so-called ‘IDFA 3G’-crowd. If these people want to join in the experience, they are already commited and want to invest time and effort. But by also using the location and way to get there (pontje) we can expose the experience to a much bigger audience: the people who are on the boat anyway.
Stakeholders. These are the partners in charge of the project. While everybody is participating in the project because they are interested and want to see it succeed, their individual goals do not always stroke with others. It is important, while designing an interactive narrative, to always have a clear understanding of the underlying goals and targets of each of the stakeholders. It is not about always making concessions, but it’s about keeping the targets clear and the deliverables sharp. For this installation there are three key aspects stakeholder-wise.
- The experience is most important: how to make this experience is dependant on this.
- Content from all the partners should be linked and available as integral part of the experience.
- The methodology and insights should be well documented, so the project can be repeated for other documentaries.