Top 10 of Our Favorite Things: Web Documentaries
News: Top Ten
The words “web documentary” were once the domain of thrifty filmmakers with gnarly production values. Not any more! In fact, quite the reverse is true. The many splendid ways in which the interweb lends itself to interactive storytelling and multiple mediums, has spawned an explosion of top-notch web documentary-making – marked this year by the first ever award for this emerging genre.
We’ve seen a ton of exceptional specimens lately (some of which we blogged about as and when), but to whittle it down to ten, we used excuses like lack of language options to help us make executive decisions. Feedback with your comments and tell us what hidden gems we have missed out on thus far!
1. David Lynch Interview Project
Five(ish) words: David Lynch 121-part Online Series. That’s all you need to know!
121 x 4-6 minute episodes.
Interactive video.
2. The Ninth Floor
Extraordinary look behind the facade of a posh Manhattan building where drug addicts from the very margins of society struggle to get through their drug-addled days.
Linear: 13:26 minutes.
Stills and voice-over.
3. Driftless
Poignant tales from the poverty-ravaged rural Midwest in sumptuous monochrome hues.
6 x 4-6 minute episodes.
Linear video.
4. A Day in the Life of Berlin
Filmed by 80 crews, this 24-hour documentary connects myriad lives in that swinging town they call Berlin. It premiered in September 2009, in real time! Over 24 real hours!
24 x 60-minute episodes.
Linear video.
5. Hope: Living and Loving with HIV in Jamaica
Beautifully-designed reporting project by poet and writer Kwame Dawes sharing testimonies from Jamaican HIV victims, with cross-media contributions pulled together in a dramatically filmic visual style.
Approx 90 minutes.
Interactive, multi-media format.
6. Condition: Critical
Ongoing oral and visual record of the escalating civil conflict in eastern Congo, updated regularly by the more-than-humans at Médecins Sans Frontieres.
Approx 60 minutes.
Interactive, multi-media format.
7. Journey to the End of Coal
The remarkable immersive quality of this compelling interactive narrative, takes users on a journey into the underground world of Chinese coal miners. Watch out for these guys, they will go far in web doc land!
Approx 30 minutes.
Choice-based interactive narrative.
8. Gaza Sderot
A fine example of how interactive design can impact our experience of the story. For three months, teams on both sides of the Gaza-Israel border shot and uploaded a new episode each and every day. Brilliant!
80 x 5-10 minute episodes.
Interactive video.
9. The Whale Hunt
An experiment in human storytelling by a guru of the genre, using a photographic heartbeat of 3214 images to document an Eskimo whale hunt in Alaska. See to believe!
3214 x stills.
Choice-based interactive format.
10. Molotov Alva and his Search for the Creator
A compilation of video diaries by Molotov Alva, who mysteriously disappeared from his California home in January of this year, only to re-appear in Second Life soon after. A proud SubmarineChannel production!
10 x 5-10 minute episodes.
Animated series.
We’ve seen a ton of exceptional specimens lately (some of which we blogged about as and when), but to whittle it down to ten, we used excuses like lack of language options to help us make executive decisions. Feedback with your comments and tell us what hidden gems we have missed out on thus far!
1. David Lynch Interview Project
Five(ish) words: David Lynch 121-part Online Series. That’s all you need to know!
121 x 4-6 minute episodes.
Interactive video.
2. The Ninth Floor
Extraordinary look behind the facade of a posh Manhattan building where drug addicts from the very margins of society struggle to get through their drug-addled days.
Linear: 13:26 minutes.
Stills and voice-over.
3. Driftless
Poignant tales from the poverty-ravaged rural Midwest in sumptuous monochrome hues.
6 x 4-6 minute episodes.
Linear video.
4. A Day in the Life of Berlin
Filmed by 80 crews, this 24-hour documentary connects myriad lives in that swinging town they call Berlin. It premiered in September 2009, in real time! Over 24 real hours!
24 x 60-minute episodes.
Linear video.
5. Hope: Living and Loving with HIV in Jamaica
Beautifully-designed reporting project by poet and writer Kwame Dawes sharing testimonies from Jamaican HIV victims, with cross-media contributions pulled together in a dramatically filmic visual style.
Approx 90 minutes.
Interactive, multi-media format.
6. Condition: Critical
Ongoing oral and visual record of the escalating civil conflict in eastern Congo, updated regularly by the more-than-humans at Médecins Sans Frontieres.
Approx 60 minutes.
Interactive, multi-media format.
7. Journey to the End of Coal
The remarkable immersive quality of this compelling interactive narrative, takes users on a journey into the underground world of Chinese coal miners. Watch out for these guys, they will go far in web doc land!
Approx 30 minutes.
Choice-based interactive narrative.
8. Gaza Sderot
A fine example of how interactive design can impact our experience of the story. For three months, teams on both sides of the Gaza-Israel border shot and uploaded a new episode each and every day. Brilliant!
80 x 5-10 minute episodes.
Interactive video.
9. The Whale Hunt
An experiment in human storytelling by a guru of the genre, using a photographic heartbeat of 3214 images to document an Eskimo whale hunt in Alaska. See to believe!
3214 x stills.
Choice-based interactive format.
10. Molotov Alva and his Search for the Creator
A compilation of video diaries by Molotov Alva, who mysteriously disappeared from his California home in January of this year, only to re-appear in Second Life soon after. A proud SubmarineChannel production!
10 x 5-10 minute episodes.
Animated series.
Posted: 23 Oct 2009
Jorrit says on 28 Oct 2009:
I expecter Gaza Sderot a bit higher in the range ;)
SubChan Ed says on 29 Oct 2009:
It is not in order of greatness :-)
Jan says on 29 Oct 2009:
There are some great ones in this selection: http://www.festival-4ecrans.eu/competition-2.html
Marianne says on 03 Nov 2009:
J'adore celui la (le dessin, plus que le contenu): http://www.mtl12.com/
daddy-0h says on 10 Nov 2009:
Just spotted this new one by france 24 about the fall of the Berlin wall. It's kinda simple but I like it: http://www.france24.com/static/infographies/webdocumentary-berlin-wall-fall-9-november-1989/index.html
Mohammed says on 11 Nov 2009:
I came across this via Twitter, can't see any language options, but anyway is visually muy bien: http://www.elpais.com.co/reportaje360/ediciones/coca-hoja-sagrada/
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