Samenvatting

The main objective of this study was to explore the online tools and techniques that independent documentary makers can use to make their productions more interactive and engaging. The research was conducted with an international documentary audience and international documentary producers in mind, and thus aims to introduce globally accessible online media tools and techniques that can be applied in contemporary independent documentary production. In order to gather relevant information and to ultimately formulate valuable advice for international documentary producers, a number of different research methods were used. Qualitative information about online media and digital storytelling was collected by means of an interview with the UK-based producer and interactive digital storytelling expert Krishna Stott. Furthermore, two industry focused panel discussions, which were organised by the DOK.forum, 2014 (an initiative of the 29th International Documentary Film Festival Munich), were visited to gain insight into the innovations in the field of documentary, as well as the new ways of engaging with younger audiences. These panels featured a combined total of eight international professionals from different areas of expertise, including social and web TV production, documentary production, broadcasting and audience research. Furthermore, to attain a better understanding of the techniques and practical issues surrounding the use of online media, three contemporary documentaries were explored as case studies. The three documentaries, Fort McMoney (2013), 24h Jerusalem (2013) and <> (2014) were chosen as they represented three diverse and contemporary approaches to online media use within the genre of documentary. Lastly, quantitative research was conducted to find out more about the viewing preferences and motivations of the international audience regarding independent documentary and online media. This information was obtained by means of an electronic survey. The results featured the opinions of 71 respondents from 18 different countries. The core findings of the research revealed that documentary is watched regularly only by a minority of the audience. However, the audience members that did watch more regularly were under 35 years old and therefore constitute the viewers of the future. In addition, in terms of the willingness towards and type of interaction with independent documentary, the audience was revealed as highly fragmented. Once again however, the viewers that did want to interact to a higher degree were the younger ones. The main conclusions of this research show that online media is used quite diversely in contemporary documentaries. Among the primary roles that online media fulfils are the facilitation of real time interaction between the documentary producers, characters and audiences. Furthermore, online media was also used as a platform for sharing user-generated content and allowed for the creation of online information hubs, the cross promotion between different media platforms and giving the documentary a more playful and entertaining character. In terms of successfully interactive and engaging content, a strong added value regarding the documentary and the audience was found to be essential, as well as the provision of exclusive and unique views into the documentary story world by means of online media use. Moreover, a well-constructed user experience was found to be crucial. Among the online tools that were discovered were various social media, (interactive) websites, an interactive interface, a second screen application, email and an interactive graphic novel. Concise and factual information, different perspectives on the documentary topic, as well as on-demand and niche content were revealed as most important in terms of audience preferences concerning online interaction. With regard to the roles that the viewers can take on in interactive documentary, four main roles were concluded. Audiences can participate in interactive documentary as the (1) viewers, (2) commentators and sharers, (3) explorers and (4) co-creators or collaborators. Lastly, the final advice that was formulated for independent documentary makers consisted of a strategy of six recommendations. It includes (1) the definition of the documentary mode for an allocation of the appropriate online tools, (2) the defining of the desired degree of audience interaction and (3) the allocation of interactivity along the main elements of a story. Furthermore, the recommendations include (4) the construction of a persona and scenario to create a good user experience, (5) the creation of target group-specific insights into the documentary story world by means of online media and, finally, (6) the exploration and experimentation with additional online tools and techniques.