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Audiences Conference Data Visceralisation Interactive Filmmaking Interactive Media News People Publications Research

‘DCAC 2023′

The hybrid 5th International Conference on Digital Culture & AudioVisual Challenges (DCAC 2023), hosted by the Department of Audio & Visual Arts (Ionian University), is taking place in Corfu (Greece) and online, this week, 12-13 May 2023. The aim of DCAC 2023 is to bring together technology, art and culture in the Digital Era; provide a forum on current research and applications; and deepen cooperation, exchange experiences, and good practices.

As part of the conference, Dr Polina Zioga and Dr Catherine M. Weir will present our new work-in-progress project ‘This Place Has Its Own Air’: A Proof of Concept for Urban Air Quality Data Visceralisation, in Session 2: Digital Culture and Technologies, 12 May 2023, 11:30-12:45 EEST.

How can interactive video and real-time data visceralisation help audiences connect with their shared environment, and promote the reduction of urban air pollution?

[…] This paper presents ‘This Place Has Its Own Air’, a data-driven video-installation and proof of concept for urban air quality data visceralisation. Its title is based on the seminal memoir The Living Mountain (1977) by Nan Shepherd, and is concerned with the effect of the city’s air (man-made polluted environment) on the body. The video-installation uses the real-time air quality data of the city where it is presented, to create an evocative visceralisation of the bodily experience; enabling viewers to have a real-time glimpse of the air they breathe and reflect on the need for reducing the pollution of their environment. […]

(Zioga and Weir 2023)

You can find here: the schedule and the full list of speakers.

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About Audiences Consultancy Interactive Advertising Interactive Filmmaking Interactive Filmmaking Training Interactive Media News Research Services UX

New Services!

We have been quiet lately, but for a good reason. After more than five years of Research and Development in Interactive Film and Media, we have decided to take the next step in our journey and offer our services to you!

The reason is simple. The use of interactivity in the advertising, film and media sector is already driving the present and future of audience engagement. It creates new audience experiences and leverages new audience insight, but the development and production of interactive media and film can be complex and challenging, and the design of interactive audience research requires specialist expertise.

Whether you are a business interested in interactive advertising; a film and media company looking to develop an interactive production; a business or a filmmaker trying to better understand your audience, we offer:

  • Interactive Film, Media and Advertising Production
  • Interactive Media Consultancy
  • User Experience and Audience Research and Development
  • Interactive Filmmaking Training

Interested to find out more? Interact with us!

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Interactive Filmmaking Museums News People Publications Research

‘Interactive Film and Media 2022’

The #IFM2022 Virtual Conference is taking place online, from the 8th to the 10th of June 2022. This year’s conference reunites academics and practitioners to explore the definitions, terms, practices and conditions of interaction and interactivity in three strands: epistemology, listening, and ecomedia. Apart from the paper presentations, the conference also includes several exhibitions of interactive films.

The Full Conference Program & Registration (Free Admission) are now available: https://journals.library.ryerson.ca/index.php/InteractiveFilmMedia/program. While, the new issue of the #IFM Journal features all the video presentations: https://journals.library.ryerson.ca/index.php/InteractiveFilmMedia/issue/view/133.

As part of the conference, Victoria Wetzel and Dr Polina Zioga will present their research on ‘Paintings Alive: Interactive Films and Video Installations for Young Museum Visitors’, in Panel V ‘Hybrid & Augmented – Extended Experiences in Space’, 9 June 2022, 8:00-9:20 AM (Dallas) / 9:00-10:20 AM (Toronto) / 2:00-3:20 PM (Leeds) / 3:00-4:20 PM (Bayreuth).

[…] our research focuses on the use of interactive video technologies, and factors that can lead into the design of engaging and user-friendly museum experiences for children. To achieve this, a museum was chosen as a case study and a survey was conducted. The results […] led to the production of Paintings Alive, an interactive film for children, based on the museum’s art gallery, and accessible on the visitors’ mobile devices. Our paper also discusses the findings of the project, alongside the challenges and limitations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and offers recommendations for future work. […]

You can find here: the conference program, the full list of video presentations, together with the free registration.

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Art Exhibition Brain-Computer Interfaces Live Brain-Computer Cinema News People Research

‘Digital Art and Neurosciences’

Dr Polina Zioga was invited to speak about ‘Digital Art and Neurosciences’, at The European Centre/Contemporary Space Athens (74 Mitropoleos Street, Historical Centre of Athens, Greece), on the 20th of May 2022, and presented the ‘Live Brain-Computer Cinema’ research project and her work on ‘Enheduanna: A Manifesto of Falling’ Live Brain-Computer Cinema Performance.

The invited talk was part of the ‘Digital Art, A New World’ art exhibition, presented by the Chicago Athenaeum: Μuseum of Architecture and Design, in collaboration with the European Centre for Architecture, Art, Design and Urban Studies, and the Project 2 Athens.

Zioga, P. (2022) ‘Digital Art and Neurosciences’. [Talk]. The European Centre/ Contemporary Space Athens, 20 May 2022.
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Brain-Computer Interfaces Interactive Filmmaking Live Brain-Computer Cinema Live Cinema News People Performance Publications Research

‘Was Enheduanna the World’s First Author?’ AramcoWorld Magazine

The ‘Live Brain-Computer Cinema’ research project was featured in the AramcoWorld magazine’s March / April 2022 issue. Dr Polina Zioga was interviewed by Lee Lawrence for her work on  ‘Enheduanna: A Manifesto of Falling’ Live Brain-Computer Cinema Performance, the ‘50-minute mixed-media event [that] broke technological ground’.

In producing Enheduanna: A Manifesto of Falling, which premiered in 2015, Zioga intercut verses from “The Exaltation” with words by Maya Angelou, Virginia Woolf, Theodore Adorno, Pavlina Pamboudi, Marguerite Yourcenar and other writers. The 50-minute mixed-media event broke technological ground […]: As video projections filled a screen, the show’s solo performer and audience members […] wore […] headsets that intermittently picked up brain activity and colored the stage in real time accordingly to the results. […] It was the premiere of a live, brain-computer interface performance, and in it the world’s first author seemed right at home. “The Exaltation,” says Zioga, “is one of these works that is safe to describe as universal and timeless, and therefore contemporary.”

Enheduanna – A Manifesto of Falling’ Live Brain-Computer Cinema Performance featuring Anastasia Katsinavaki at CCA Glasgow, July 2015. Photography: Catherine M. Weir. ©2015 Polina Zioga and Catherine M. Weir.

You can read the full article here.

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News Publications Research

‘The Formation of Film Audiences’

A new (and free!) book is now available: ‘The Formation of Film Audiences’ conference proceedings, edited by Lito Tsitsou, Helen Rana and Bridgette Wessels, address many aspects that feature in the ways in which film audiences form in the early 21st century – across distribution, exhibition and audience experience.

The proceedings include a selection of the papers presented at the Beyond the Multiplex: Understanding the Value of a Diverse Film Culture conference that cover the diversity of cinema and highlight the richness of film audience experience, bringing practice, policy and academic perspectives into the debate. They address the curation aspect of cinema (Rachel Hayward and Andy Willis); the role of digital access to film in relation to collective audience experiences (Andy Moore); the cultural history of ‘industry landscapes’ and ‘industry histories’ in the evolution of the independent documentary sector in the thirty-year period to 2020 (Alice Quigley and Steve Presence); the audience engagement and development at Town and Gown cinemas (Dominic Topp and Lavinia Brydon); and the ways in which interaction design for audiences can help in building resilience and supporting the COVID-safe recovery of independent cinemas (Polina Zioga and María A. Vélez-Serna).

You can read the proceedings here.

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Interactive Filmmaking Interactive Scriptwriting News People Publications Research

New Year New Publications!

Here at the Interactive Filmmaking Lab, we have started the New Year with new publications! Hot off the press:

Clarke, A. and Zioga, P. (2022) Scriptwriting for Interactive Crime Films: the Case of Scapegoat. Interactive Film And Media Conference 2021: New Narratives, Racialization, Global Crises, And Social Engagement, Online. Interactive Film and Media Journal, 2(1): 106-121. doi: 10.32920/ifmj.v2i1.1524.

In recent years, the increasing number of interactive films being released, has highlighted the need for further development of methods and criteria that can guide the earlier stages of development, such as the scriptwriting process. Following the framework of interactive storytelling as a spectrum, it is acknowledged that writing a script for an interactive narrative that involves branching path options, or multiple endings, is becoming more common and presents its own challenges. […]

The article is published as part of the Proceedings of the ‘III Interactive Film and Media Conference (#IFM 2021)’ that took place in August 2021. You can read here: the full article and the editorial.

Clarke, A. and Zioga, P. (2021) ‘Celtx Gem split screen view of Scapegoat script’​.​

Also, in press:

Zioga, P. and Vélez-Serna, M.A. (2021 In Press) ‘Interaction Design for Audiences: A Proposition for Building Resilience and Recovery for COVID-safe Independent Cinemas’. In: Proceedings of Audiences Beyond the Multiplex: Understanding the Value of a Diverse Film Culture. Studies in the Digital Humanities. Sheffield: The Digital Humanities Institute.

[…] interaction design and technologies can help independent cinemas to engage and galvanise new audiences to patronise COVID-safe venues. From low-end online platforms to high-end immersive experiences, new technologies are transforming connectivity across society, and have the potential to support access for D/deaf, neurodivergent, and disabled audiences, but adoption by exhibitors is so far limited. We outline the research needs and priorities in this field. These include identifying facilitators and obstacles to industry adoption of interactive forms, and mapping experiences and attitudes across the sector. Together with directions for immediate practical solutions, it is crucial to gather critical data for future research use, in order to pave the way for long-term solutions and design innovation, so that the sector can build resilience, recover and reach underserved audiences.

The article will be published as part of the Proceedings of the Conference ‘Audiences beyond the multiplex: understanding the value of a diverse film culture’ that took place in March 2021. You can read the full article here.

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Interactive Filmmaking Interactive Scriptwriting News People Publications Research

‘Interactive Film and Media 2021’

From the 5th to the 7th of August 2021, the ‘Interactive Film and Media 2021’ conference is taking place online. This virtual edition on ‘new narratives, racialization, global crises, and social engagement’ aims to reflect on the recent changes to the mediascape and the closely related medium of interactive narrative, in its many forms and iterations; and consider the advantages and drawbacks of the current trends in film, media, and interactive narratives.

As part of the conference, Ashton Clarke and Dr Polina Zioga will present their research on ‘Scriptwriting for Interactive Crime Films: The Case of Scapegoat‘ (Panel 4 ‘Full Interactive Experience: Writing, Performance, and Perception’, 6 August 2021).

In recent years, the increasing number of interactive films being released, has highlighted the need for further development of methods and criteria that can guide the earlier stages of development, such as the scriptwriting process. Following the framework of interactive storytelling as a spectrum, it is acknowledged that writing a script for an interactive narrative that involves branching path options, or multiple endings, is becoming more common and presents its own challenges. […]

You can find here: the conference schedule, the full list of video presentations, together with the free registration.

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News People Publications Research

‘Audiences beyond the multiplex: understanding the value of a diverse film culture’

On the 2nd and 3rd of March 2021, is taking place the online conference ‘Audiences beyond the multiplex: understanding the value of a diverse film culture’.

At a key moment for film exhibition, the conference raises questions about how we might think differently about audiences and their relationship with film, and how these insights can support audience development.

As part of the conference, Dr Polina Zioga and Dr María A. Vélez-Serna will present their latest research on ‘Interaction Design for Audiences: A Proposition for Building Resilience and Recovery for COVID-safe Independent Cinemas’ (Session 9 ‘Audiences, accessibility and responding to the pandemic’, 3 March 2021, 11:50-13:00).

Zioga, P., and Vélez-Serna, M.A. (2021) ‘Interaction Design for Audiences: A Proposition for Building Resilience and Recovery for COVID-safe Independent Cinemas’. In: Audiences beyond the multiplex: understanding the value of a diverse film culture. Glasgow, UK, 2-3 March 2021.

[…] interaction design and technologies can help independent cinemas to engage and galvanise new audiences to patronise COVID-safe venues. From low-end online platforms, to high-end immersive experiences, new technologies are transforming connectivity across society, and have the potential to support access for D/deaf, neurodivergent, and disabled audiences, but adoption by exhibitors is so far limited. We outline the research needs and priorities in this field. These include identifying facilitators and obstacles to industry adoption of interactive forms, and mapping experiences and attitudes across the sector. Together with directions for immediate practical solutions, it is crucial to gather critical data for future research use, in order to pave the way for long-term solutions and design innovation, so that the sector can build resilience, recover and reach underserved audiences.

You can find more information about the conference here, together with the free registration.

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About News

Welcome to Our New Website

The past few months have affected the globe and us all in unprecedented and unpredictable ways. And yet, we have come together to respond to the challenges and perhaps re-imagine the world.

During this time, here at the Interactive Filmmaking Lab, we have been preparing for important changes, but we have also launched new ways to communicate with you.

We have a new website, where you can find out more about our specialisms, our research and productions, and of course how to get in touch and subscribe to our news.

And you can also follow us and interact with us on Facebook and Twitter – more are coming up!

Until then… Stay safe and look after each other.