2021/12-2022/1
Recorded presentation
Research Posts Links:
- Research Topic -The reconstruction of narrative structure of traditional film by interactive film
- Research Topics – Drafts and processes
Weekly Tasks and Notes Links:
- The history of Film, Animation and VFX
- About Disney Hyperrealism
- Politics in Film and Media
- Mise-en-Scène
- Character Dev in Stories
- Film Character and Story Development Breakdown, Research Areas
- Character Appeal
More about the resarch
My research topic is about interactive film. For a long time, there was a very blurred boundary between interactive films and Interactive movie games. For example The Walking Dead, Her Story, Detroit: Become Human and so on. With the release of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch at the end of 2018, the interactive film has once again become a popular topic of conversation.
After searching for examples and literature, I will discuss how the inclusion of interactive elements affects the narrative structure of the film and analyse its advantages and limitations.
The concept of interactive film dates back to the 1960s. There was A film called Kinoautomat. When the story reaches a certain point, viewers are asked to choose between two choices by vote. For the first time, this particular interactive narrative turns the audience from spectators into participants.
Interaction means the reconstruction of traditional film narrative structure. Interactive films need to alternate in story. The timeline and space of the narrative will be scrambled, and the shots and scenes will be arranged in a new order.
One of the most common structures in interactive narratives is a “tree-like structure”. In the case of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, each selection is into a branch. The overall structure is like a tree. Another example is the interactive film D-dag, which has a parallel structured narrative. The viewer switches between the four perspectives. And they tell the same story. In addition to this there are many different structures.
Interactive films are popular not only because of the fun brought by the interactive elements, but also because of the immersion brought by this special way of narration. It enables the audience to actively participate in and follow the narrative process, the advance of time line and the transformation of space. Also, it is therefore easier for the audience to make choices that fit their personal understanding of the character. For example, when confronted with the issue of morality and humanity in Detroit: Become Human, having choices allows the audience to get into the character’s mind and think and understand the story.Interactive narrative brings immersion in temporal, spatial and emotional.
while, there are some limitations to the interactive films that are currently common. A huge number of story structures and branches need to be considered. At the same time, people questioned whether the experience was a “fake” interaction. The viewer does not really intervene and influence the outcome, but rather gets an experience of simulated manipulation within a limited framework. Generating stories in real time has become another research direction, which is interactive storytelling. The storyline of this kind of Interactive storytelling is not predetermined. The setting, characters, and situation is created. The user experiences a unique story based on their interactions with the story world. With the addition of algorithmic, interactive films also face the problem of balancing between drama and logic.
Because of interactive elements, there is no doubt that interactive films have their unique advantages. But the impact of different technologies makes interactive film controversial and also means it has a bright future. The big challenge is how to apply the new technology to interactive film.
References
- Wand, E., 2002. Interactive Storytelling: The Renaissance of Narration. New Screen Media, pp.1-4.
- Barthes, R. (1975). An Introduction to the Structural Analysis of Narrative. New Literary History, 6(2), 237-272.
- Pizzi, M. C. D. (2006). Narratology for Interactive Storytelling: A Critical Introduction. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including Subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), 4326, 72-83.
- Frasca, G. and Ryan, M., 2003. Narrative as Virtual Reality: Immersion and Interactivity in Literature and Electronic Media. South Atlantic Review, 67(1), p.153.
- Stern, A., 2008. Embracing the Combinatorial Explosion: A Brief Prescription
- for Interactive Story R&D. Interactive Storytelling, pp.1-5.
- Branigan, E. (1992). Narrative Comprehension and Film. London, Routledge.
- Adams, E. and Rollings, A., 2007. Fundamentals of game design. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall.
- Meehan, J., 1977. TALE-SPIN, An Interactive Program that Writes Stories. IJCAI, 1, pp.91-98.
- Fendt, M., Harrison, B., Ware, S., Cardona-Rivera, R. and Roberts, D., 2012. Achieving the Illusion of Agency. Interactive Storytelling, pp.114-125.
- Naimark, M., 2022. INTERVAL TRIP REPORT – First Interactive Filmmaker. [online] Naimark.net. Available at: http://www.naimark.net/writing/trips/praguetrip.html [Accessed 10 January 2022].
- Crawford, C., 2022. Why I am ending further work on interactive storytelling | Interactive Storytelling Tools for Writers | Chris Crawford. [online] Erasmatazz.com. Available at: [Accessed 10 January 2022].