Crossmedia-Storytelling - Prison Valley Documentary 2.0 - Case Study - Author???

Research question
How is the interactive web documentary different compared to the TV documentary, and what are the consequences for storytelling?

2. Interactive web documentary

What constitutes a documentary? Nichols provides a thorough definition of this concept:

“Documentary films speak about situations and events involving real people (social actors) who present themselves to us as themselves in stories that convey a plausible proposal, or perspective on, the lives, situations, and events portrayed. The distinct point of view of the filmmaker shapes this story into a way of seeing the historical world directly rather than into a fictional allegory.”[1]

Documentaries have existed for many decades, yet the interactive web documentary (IW-doc) is a relatively new phenomenon. In the past couple of years more and more documentary makers turn to the internet to broadcast their story about the historical world. The internet is more attractive than television for a number of reasons, these reasons will be mentioned below.
First, an IW-doc can be viewed 24 hours per day, so a potentially higher number of people will be reached. If a certain person would miss a documentary on television, he or she will have to look up the time of rerun and wait for it to be aired on television for the second time. It is very likely this same person will miss the documentary again. The internet offers unrestricted broadcasting at a time suitable for the viewer.
Second, television cannot offer the same amount of interactivity the internet can offer. The possibilities for interaction online have existed as long as the internet itself. In the past two decades interactivity on the internet has been highly developed, though interactivity on television has only just begun. Indeed, interactivity on television does exist, for instance throughout the use of social media. It is not uncommon for talk show hosts to ask their guests questions that were sent by viewers at home through Twitter. Another example is voting for a specific candidate in television shows like The X Factor. Though the degree of interactivity on television is very low compared to the possibilities of the internet.
Third, traditional documentaries offer only linear storylines. Of course digital television can offer new options such as rewind, fast forward and pause while a program is being broadcasted, but again these options are very limited compared to those of the internet. The whole concept of hypertext is non-linearity and therefore the possibilities for authors to shape a narrative are endless. Viewers construct a narrative on their own in the hypertext. “The participatory mode has come to embrace the spectator as participant as well. Interactive websites and installations allow the viewer to chart a path through the spectrum of possibilities made possible by the filmmaker.”[2]
Fourth, the internet can facilitate as an attractive alternative medium due to the “massive convergence process in course on a battle for “the screen” between TV broadcasters, online newspapers and media distribution companies.”[3]
The IW-doc is a new genre and its possibilities are just starting to be explored, therefore not much research has been done about it. “No one knows exactly what skills are needed for an interactive documentary or how to build up a team; even more challenging, no one knows for sure if some of the skills exist yet.”[4]

3. Prison Valley narrative

“Welcome to Cañon City, Colorado. A town in the middle of nowhere with 36,000 souls and 13 prisons, one of which is Supermax, the new 'Alcatraz' of America. A prison town where even those living on the outside live on the inside. A journey into what the future might hold.”[4]

Prison Valley is a documentary, a report of a road trip two French journalists made through Fremont County, Colorado (United States of America) of which Cañon City is the county seat. This area is known for its high number of prisons and has the nickname Prison Valley. There are 7,735 persons incarcerated in thirteen prisons, of which are nine state prisons and four federal prisons. Among those prisons is the United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility, also known as a Supermax or Alcatraz of the Rockies. This maximum security prison incarcerates convicts who are considered extremely dangerous and a flight risk. Within the prison they have very little freedom compared to inmates in less secured prisons. It is the only federal Supermax in the US. The United States have the largest incarcerated population in the world, more than one in 100 adults is now locked up in this country.[6]