Digital Storytelling in Cultural Heritage: Audience Engagement in the Interactive Documentary New Life

Abstract

This paper casts light on cultural heritage storytelling in the context of interactive documentary, a hybrid media genre that employs a full range of multimedia tools to document reality, provide sustainability of the production and successful engagement of the audience. The main research hypotheses are enclosed in the statements: (a) the interactive documentary is considered a valuable tool for the sustainability of cultural heritage and (b) digital approaches to documentary storytelling can provide a sustainable form of viewing during the years. Using the Greek interactive documentary (i-doc) NEW LIFE (2013) as a case study, the users’ engagement is evaluated by analyzing items from a seven-year database of web metrics. Specifically, we explore the adopted ways of the interactive documentary users to engage with the storytelling, the depth to which they were involved along with the most popular sections/traffic sources and finally, the differences between the first launch period and latest years were investigated. We concluded that interactivity affordances of this genre enhance the social dimension of cultural, while the key factors for sustainability are mainly (a) constant promotion with transmedia approach; (b) data-driven evaluation and reform; and (c) a good story that gathers relevant niches, with specific interest to the story.

Interactive Web Documentaries: A Case Study of Video Viewing Behaviour on iOtok

“…During that week, the national television website portal rtvslo.si published two posts 19 related to mass tourism in Croatia with links to iOtok posts next to them. Similar peaks have been observed in (Podara et al, 2021). This highlights the potential and long-term effectiveness of online news portals for the promotion of web documentaries and emotional value of these posts (Park & Salvendy, 2012).…”

“…In the case of iOtok, some interactive features such as the News were strongly appreciated (Study 1). However, it also came at a cost, as each additional click led users to quit the portal (Study 1); similar to (Podara et al, 2021). There is a strong (and untapped) potential to use interactivity to support various viewing behaviors (Sections 5.5, 5.6), e.g., through the implementation of customized content or advanced features (Figure 18).…”

Qualitative Methods Research Through the Internet Applications and Services: The Contribution of Audiovisual Media Technology as Technology-Enhanced Research

“…); and (c) photo/image or/and video sharing social networking service (e.g., Pinterest, Instragram, TikTok, etc.) (see Podara et al 2021;Nicolaou & Kalliris, 2020;Nicolaou et al, 2019;Sarridis & Nicolaou, 2015;Nicolaou, 2011;Papanis, 2011;Veglis et al, 2004;Mann & Stewart, 2000;Jones, 1999).…”

“…; and are clearly related to mediums such as the Internet, videos (in this case, TV series, TV productions, TV shows, etc.) and cinema or/and documentaries (also including online/web documentaries / web-docs or i-docs) (see Podara et al 2021;Nicolaou et al, 2019;Papanis, 2011;Silverman, 2011;Lindenmann, 1997). The main feature of this research type is that the data are collected from and through the use of visual media (e.g., digital and printed photos/images, photography, graphic design, fashion, videos, architectural structures, and fine arts).…”

Understanding Transmedia Music on YouTube through Disney Storytelling

“…This article considers audio and video as popular community storytelling forms and as effective avenues for transmedia storytelling. Technical resources that are available to storytellers on relevant social networking sites, such as YouTube, create new synergies and meanings around inspirational ideas [11]. In this context, fans are engaged to produce symbolism that is derived from the cultural industry's outputs to tell their own stories through growing creative performances [12].…”