Category Archives: DocShop

#DocShop meeting 03

What we worked on

Valery Lyman, DocShop principal, photographer and documentary filmmaker, showed her recent work on Williston, North Dakota published in the Guardian and the LA Times. She also shared some audio (perhaps in the form of a radio documentary?) that was in process and ideas on how to build the photos and audio into an installation in a gallery or alternative gallery space.

The group listened to audio and viewed the images of Williston ND, as well as boomtowns in American West, then provided Valery with creative feedback, praise/critique, and structural feedback on how these ideas could be developed for a physical space.

Audio:

What went well

We gave Valery a number of ideas for how to proceed with the build out of her installation of her project. It was incredibly productive, and we wondered how to capture this process.

What was challenging

We did not get to look at proposals because a number of folks were unable to make it. Perhaps this was a time management issue on my part. We should share ideas virtually this week in addition to presenting them at the next meeting.

What’s up next

Each group member will bring present his or her proposal for our project this semester (and beyond) for DPSI. We will also look at Dan’s site-specific documentary if time allots. Our project proposal will be included in next week’s blog post. Stay tuned!

#DocShop meeting 02

What we worked on

Introduction and check-in.

Cris, group mentor and principal at metaLAB, presented progress on their interactive documentary Cold Storage, about the Harvard Depository.

Group members critiqued the work and added to the body of knowledge of interactive doc by defining term and key issues. We started a mindmap that all stakeholders can edit. Here is a capture of it:

What went well

The critique of the Cold Storage interactive doc, creating the mindmap and defining terms/issues, and generating questions about what problem DocShop will solve.

What was challenging

Continuing the scope analysis of this project– will our deliverable be process based, a scholarly work, a white paper, a program, a design for a workshop or seminar, a pedagogical tool (such as the Beautiful Data toolkit), or a protype of a webdocumentary or platform?

What’s up next

Valery will present her project. Each group member will bring one proposal for our project this semester (and beyond) for DPSI. We will read Kate Nash’s Modes of Interactivity, Alexandre Astruc’s La Camera Stylo, and define Bill Nichol’s modes of observational documentary. We will discuss Valery’s work and Journey to the End of Coal in light of the readings and terms, iterating and refining the mindmap.

#DocShop meeting 01

#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.