Expanded Realities

Interactivity, Immersiveness And Co-creation At The Convergence Of Documentary And Media Art

Abstract

What is meant by open or interactive documentary? What experiences emerge from the combination of documentary and active participatory practices within a certain segment of media art that bears labels such as expanded cinema? What is immersive journalism and how does it fit within these practices?

This article outlines some of the historical and influential artistic and academic tendencies underpinning recent practices at the intersection of documentary and media art. These practices invite the direct and active involvement of the spectators, who find themselves—whether individually or collectively—in the position of doers rather than mere observers.

During my exploratory journey, I touch upon key concepts such as interactivity, immersiveness, representation, and interpretation, outlining the salience of each to this analysis. My objective is to map an inductive area where diverse practices from documentary and media art can come together, engage with one another, and coexist.

Central to this exploration is the concept of interactivity, which redefines the viewer's role from passive observer to active participant. Interactive documentaries utilize digital technologies to offer audiences agency, allowing them to navigate through narratives, explore different perspectives, and contribute to the content itself. This challenges traditional documentary paradigms by empowering audiences to shape their own experience. The analysis will examine how this shift towards interactivity affects the representation of reality in documentary and influences the audience's interpretation of events and their construction of meaning.

The notion of immersiveness is also crucial, particularly in relation to the use of technologies like VR and AR in documentary contexts. These technologies offer the potential to create a sense of presence and emotional connection, fostering empathy and deeper understanding in the spectator, but many doubts also surround them.

Ultimately this article outlines an open space of convergence between open/interactive documentary and media art. Both challenge traditional paradigms of knowledge acquisition and creation. Rather than a one-way transfer from creator to spectator, they both promote knowledge as a shared process in which meanings are co-created, debated, and continually refined and redefined.

This space of convergence encourages a new perspective on how documentary and media art can engage spectators, fostering critical thinking and action while opening documentary to innovative aesthetic and narrative forms.