Web-native storytelling and why it matters
If you were asked to describe a detective story you might think of an Agatha Christie novel or one of Alfred Hitchcock’s films. What they have in common is a linear narrative that guides the reader or audience along a carefully constructed path towards a denouement.
But what does a web-native detective story look like? The user experience is of course different to anything in books, broadcast media or on celluloid because every medium has its own language.
The web enables storytelling to be non-linear, allowing users to find their own way towards the conclusion, as well as interactive, dynamic and participatory.
‘The Last Hours of Laura K’ is an immersive detective story from the BBC and provides a good example of what is possible. In order to solve the mystery, users must look for clues and find a motive for Laura’s murder by plunging themselves into the characters’ digital lives, including their social media updates.
Users are given 24 hours of fictional CCTV footage to help them recreate the victim’s last hours. They have access to Laura K’s profiles on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Spotify and Tumblr.
The fact that only a very few people have managed to solve the cryptic puzzle has helped to create and consolidate a sizeable online community. Users can follow the official Twitter account, use #LastHoursofLK, or join the Facebook group to share ideas or discuss theories.
This kind of non-linear storytelling, which is clearly influenced by gaming, can also be found in other genres.
The multi award-winning ’Refugee Republic’ is an immersive web documentary that mixes sound, drawing, photographs and film to transport users to a Syrian refugee camp in northern Iraq. Users navigate around the camp with the aid of an interactive, hand-drawn map.
Users gain insight about the lives of the nearly sixty thousand refugees by seeing the places, hearing the sounds experiencing the atmosphere of Camp Domiz. As they explore users stumble across stories and find out how the refugees have transformed the camp into a bustling town, complete with schools and businesses.
User-generated content often plays an important part in digital storytelling. Belgium’s French-language national broadcaster, RTBF, created ‘Phone Booth Stories’ when the country’s last public telephone booth was demolished in May 2015. Before the ubiquity of mobile phones made them redundant, there were eighteen thousand phone boxes in Belgium, covering the length and breadth of the country.
RTBF asked users to share their memories about things that happened in pay phones on a dedicated Facebook page and via a special dial in number. There is also a web documentary.
Digital storytellers are finding new ways to engage audiences and to provide them with original multimedia experiences. This is not only immensely exciting, but also vital for the future of legacy broadcasters who need to engage digital audiences.
We’ll be looking at the importance of digital storytelling for public service media at our first Eurovision Online Media Conference. Register to participate at the NDRC, in Dublin, on 22nd October.
