#DocShop is a research group that investigates new modes of documentary art and ethnography. These include webdocumentary, interactive docs, and participatory modes and other emergent tools/platforms/questions as they pertain to documentary.

What we worked on

Introduction to metaLAB and last year’s DPSI project, the Lightbox gallery. Matthew Battles (Principal and Associate Director at metaLAB) proposes that we look at Lev Manovich’s text “Database as Symbolic Form” and metaLAB’s ‘Beautiful Data’ Field Guide. We visited the idea of looking at and thinking about Cold Storage (documentary about the Harvard Library Depository) as a way to prototype ideas we have about interactive docs.

The other mentors are Jessica Yurkofsky and Cris Magliozzi, both Principals at metaLAB.

Group members Léa, Rachel, Dan, Debbie, Jenny, Valery. We all introduced ourselves and brought in one or two examples that for us exemplified or problematized interactive documentary/webdocumentary/new narrative modes (extralinear).

What went well

Meeting everyone and getting into the headspace of new modes of documentary filmmaking. It was amazing to hear about the diversity of our backgrounds and experience. People brought some really provocative questions to the table.

What was challenging

Defining such slippery terms as interactive documentary, extralinear narrative, journalism vs. ethnography. The process of figuring out the scope of this project (is it critical research, process-based, a product, or a service?)

What’s up next

Pin down the terms. Discuss Manovich and visit the ‘Beautiful Data’ Field Guide. Cris will present on Cold Storage. Other group members will present their current projects in the following weeks.