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Outputs (40)

Ten years of I-Docs: A reflective discussion on polyphony and practice-led research (2022)
Book Chapter
Aston, J. (2022). Ten years of I-Docs: A reflective discussion on polyphony and practice-led research. In F. Merino, & M. Penafria (Eds.), Storybits I – Narrative and Digital Media (15-30). (1). Covilha, Portugal: Universidade de Beira Interior. https://doi.org/10.25768/654-889-6

This article is based on my keynote and accompanying workshop for the inaugural StoryBits conference in April 2021. This was ten years on from the first i-Docs symposium in March 2011, with the StoryBits conference taking a similar approach in relati... Read More about Ten years of I-Docs: A reflective discussion on polyphony and practice-led research.

Interactive documentary: Re-setting the field (2022)
Journal Article
Aston, J. (2022). Interactive documentary: Re-setting the field. Interactive Film & Media Journal, 2(4), 7-18. https://doi.org/10.32920/ifmj.v2i4.1732

This article responds to the 4th Interactive Film and Media International Conference (IFM 2022) themes of eco-media, epistemologies and listening by focusing on the role that interactive documentary can play in addressing the existential and pressing... Read More about Interactive documentary: Re-setting the field.

Interactive documentary: Its history and future as a polyphonic form (2022)
Book Chapter
Aston, J. (2022). Interactive documentary: Its history and future as a polyphonic form. In K. M. Ryan, & D. Staton (Eds.), Interactive Documentary: Decolonising Practice-Based Research (20-37). New York and London: Routledge

This chapter looks at the decolonization of interactive documentary practices through the lens of polyphony. Writing as practice-based researchers from a position of privilege, the authors argue that self-reflexivity is a key requirement for “decolon... Read More about Interactive documentary: Its history and future as a polyphonic form.

The readerly and the cinematic: Hybrid reconfigurations through digital media practice (2019)
Book Chapter
Aston, J. (2019). The readerly and the cinematic: Hybrid reconfigurations through digital media practice. In R. Coover (Ed.), The Digital Imaginary. Bloomsbury Publishing

This is a critical response to two interviews that will be in this new collection from interactive narrative pioneers David Clark and Sharon Daniel. I was commissioned to write this by the book's editor, Roderick Coover, based on my work as a pioneer... Read More about The readerly and the cinematic: Hybrid reconfigurations through digital media practice.

Polyphonic futures (2018)
Book Chapter
Aston, J., & Tsurusaki, A. (2018). Polyphonic futures. In A. Tsurusaki (Ed.), Game Changing Documentarism (308-313). Tokyo, Japan: BNN Inc

Game-Changing Documentarism engages in dialogue with more than 30 writers and stakeholders who lead the state-of-the-art documentary scene in Japan and abroad. The editor writes in the introduction to my article: "How will the documentary list living... Read More about Polyphonic futures.

The poetics and politics of polyphony: Towards a research method for interactive documentary (2018)
Journal Article
Aston, J., & Odorico, S. (2018). The poetics and politics of polyphony: Towards a research method for interactive documentary. Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media, 15, 63-93

This article stems from a panel we jointly convened at the i-Docs 2018 Symposium, where we presented a series of provocations with a view to generating a new theoretical framework for i-docs. These provocations were inspired by all aspects of Mikhail... Read More about The poetics and politics of polyphony: Towards a research method for interactive documentary.

I-Docs as intervention: The poetics and politics of polyphony (2018)
Journal Article
Aston, J., & Odorico, S. (2018). I-Docs as intervention: The poetics and politics of polyphony. Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media, 15, 1-8

This special issue aims to analyse, reflect and raise questions on approaches to polyphony and complexity within i-docs. It also aims to begin to critically theorise this within the wider context of how media research methods can influence knowledge... Read More about I-Docs as intervention: The poetics and politics of polyphony.

Enacting polyphony: An interview with Florian Thalhofer (2018)
Journal Article
Thalhofer, F., Aston, J., & Odorico, S. (2018). Enacting polyphony: An interview with Florian Thalhofer. Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media, 15, 106-112

Florian Thalhofer is a documentary filmmaker and the inventor of Korsakow, a software to create a new form of film and a principle to create a new kind of story. Florian’s system allows video makers to create nonlinear and interactive films and to te... Read More about Enacting polyphony: An interview with Florian Thalhofer.

Polyphony in practice: An interview with Sharon Daniel (2018)
Journal Article
Daniel, S., Aston, J., & Odorico, S. (2018). Polyphony in practice: An interview with Sharon Daniel. Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media, 15, 94-105

Media artist Sharon Daniel has been involved with the i-Docs community since its inception—having presented her online documentaries and works in progress at all five i-Docs symposia that have taken place since 2011. We consider her to be a central a... Read More about Polyphony in practice: An interview with Sharon Daniel.

Interactive documentary: Setting the field (2018)
Book Chapter
Aston, J., & Gaudenzi, S. (2018). Interactive documentary: Setting the field. In D. Williams (Ed.), Ten Years of Studies in Documentary Film. London: Routledge

This is a re-print of my 2012 article of the same name.

The New Materialism: Human and algorithmic agency within interactive documentary (2017)
Book Chapter
Aston, J. (2017). The New Materialism: Human and algorithmic agency within interactive documentary. In A. Miles (Ed.), The Material Turn and Interactive Documentary: A Panel (50-61). A media materialisms UnPublising initiative

“This paper came out of a panel on 'The Material Turn and Interactive Documentary' at Visible Evidence XXIV, Buenos Aires, 2017. Each panelist was asked to make a series of propositions and interrogations around new epistemologies and ontologies for... Read More about The New Materialism: Human and algorithmic agency within interactive documentary.

Emplaced interaction and interactive documentary: Fighting algorithmic manipulation and filter bubbles with physical engagement (2017)
Journal Article
Aston, J. (2017). Emplaced interaction and interactive documentary: Fighting algorithmic manipulation and filter bubbles with physical engagement

Whilst the problems of algorithmic manipulation and filter bubbles need to be addressed on several fronts, the strategy I am proposing here is that of “emplaced interaction.” When applied to interactive documentary, this is a strategy which marries t... Read More about Emplaced interaction and interactive documentary: Fighting algorithmic manipulation and filter bubbles with physical engagement.

Interactive documentary and thick description: Embracing complexity and transcultural understanding (2017)
Presentation / Conference
Aston, J. (2017, August). Interactive documentary and thick description: Embracing complexity and transcultural understanding. Paper presented at Visible Evidence XXiV, Buenos Aires, Argentina

This paper builds on my work as a founding director of i-Docs (i-docs.org) and on my background in anthropology. It explores how Geertz’s concept of ‘thick description’ can be applied to interactive documentary as a tool for engaging with complexity... Read More about Interactive documentary and thick description: Embracing complexity and transcultural understanding.

From ‘embodied interaction’ to ‘emplaced interaction’: Thinking through the transformative potential of interactive documentary (2017)
Presentation / Conference
Aston, J. (2017, June). From ‘embodied interaction’ to ‘emplaced interaction’: Thinking through the transformative potential of interactive documentary. Paper presented at NECS: European Network for Cinema and Media Studies, Paris, France

In 2016, interactive pioneer Chris Milk launched his new company With.in through an article on ‘The Future of Virtual Reality’, in which he called VR “the last medium” and claimed that it “will be more than just a storytelling platform. It will be a... Read More about From ‘embodied interaction’ to ‘emplaced interaction’: Thinking through the transformative potential of interactive documentary.

Interactive documentary and live performance: From embodied to emplaced interaction (2017)
Book Chapter
Aston, J. (2017). Interactive documentary and live performance: From embodied to emplaced interaction. In M. Rose, S. Gaudenzi, & J. Aston (Eds.), The Evolving Practices of Interactive Documentary (222-237). New York: Wallflower, subsidiary of Columbia University Press

In 2015, I gave a keynote lecture on ‘Interactive Documentary and Live Performance’ (Aston 2015), a subject which has received little attention to date within the field of interactive documentary practice. My argument was that the sense of time, plac... Read More about Interactive documentary and live performance: From embodied to emplaced interaction.

Not media about, but media with: Co-creation for activism (2017)
Book Chapter
Rose, M. (2017). Not media about, but media with: Co-creation for activism. In M. Rose, S. Gaudenzi, & J. Aston (Eds.), i-docs: the evolving practices of interactive documentary (49-65). New York, Chichester, West Sussex: Wallflower, Columbia University Press

In this chapter I address the co-creative dimension of two interactive documentary projects – Question Bridge and Quipu. I examine the cultural precursors and contexts that inspired their divergent co-creative approaches. I consider how the producers... Read More about Not media about, but media with: Co-creation for activism.

i-docs - the evolving practices of interactive documentary (2017)
Book
Rose, M., Gaudenzi, S., & Aston, J. (Eds.). (2017). i-docs - the evolving practices of interactive documentary. New York, Chichester, West Sussex: Wallflower Press

The history of documentary has been one of adaptation and change, as docu-mentarists have harnessed the affordances of emerging technology. In the last decade interactive documentaries (i-docs) have become established as a new field of practice withi... Read More about i-docs - the evolving practices of interactive documentary.

Who wants to become banal? The i-doc from experiment to industry (2017)
Book Chapter
Dovey, J. (2017). Who wants to become banal? The i-doc from experiment to industry. In J. Aston, S. Gaudenzi, & M. Rose (Eds.), I-Docs: The Evolving Practices of Interactive Documentary (272-288). Columbia, USA: Wallflower Press

In this chapter I want to mark a moment in the evolving story of the interactive documentary and to look at its developmental trajectory to date. I want to think about how we would establish a timeline for the development of the i-doc and further, ho... Read More about Who wants to become banal? The i-doc from experiment to industry.

Interactive documentary: What does it mean and why does it matter? (2016)
Other
Aston, J. (2016). Interactive documentary: What does it mean and why does it matter?. Bristol. UK

Having just convened our fourth i-Docs symposium, it feels like an opportune moment to reflect on what is meant by ‘interactive documentary’ and why we at i-Docs have always seen it as a way of framing a set of possibilities, as opposed to being a sp... Read More about Interactive documentary: What does it mean and why does it matter?.

I am Orion as a ‘wraparound’ approach to documentary film-­making (2015)
Report
Aston, J. (2015). I am Orion as a ‘wraparound’ approach to documentary film-­making

‘I Am Orion’ is the direct result of a collaborative venture between myself and the artist and filmmaker Jeanie Finlay between September 2013 and March 2014. It is a ‘wraparound’ project, a term which we have come up with to offer an innovative model... Read More about I am Orion as a ‘wraparound’ approach to documentary film-­making.

Interactive documentary (streaming video) (2015)
Other
Aston, J. (2015). Interactive documentary (streaming video)

Professor Judith Aston discusses the genesis of her "i-doc" interactive documentary concept and its potential applications.

Interactive documentary (2014)
Book Chapter
Aston, J. (2014). Interactive documentary. In K. Harvey (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Politics and Social Media (704-704). Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452244723.n288

Interactive documentary is a term used to describe the new possibilities for both the construction and representation of reality brought about by the human–computer interface. For a documentary to be interactive in this context, a physical action nee... Read More about Interactive documentary.

Database narrative, spatial montage, and the cultural transmission of memory: An anthropological perspective (2013)
Book Chapter
Aston, J. (2013). Database narrative, spatial montage, and the cultural transmission of memory: An anthropological perspective. In D. Harrison (Ed.), Digital Media and Technologies for Virtual Artistic Spaces (150-158). Hershey PA: Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global). https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-2961-5.ch011

This chapter discusses ways in which the database narrative techniques of virtual media can be used to explore the relationship between real-world oral storytelling and embodied performance in the cultural transmission of memory. It is based on an on... Read More about Database narrative, spatial montage, and the cultural transmission of memory: An anthropological perspective.

Teaching multiplatform documentary (2013)
Presentation / Conference
Oldham, A., & Aston, J. (2013, July). Teaching multiplatform documentary. Paper presented at NAHEMI, Talking Shop, BFI

Interactive multimedia ethnography: Archiving workflow, interface aesthetics and metadata (2012)
Journal Article
Matthews, P., & Aston, J. (2012). Interactive multimedia ethnography: Archiving workflow, interface aesthetics and metadata. Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage, 5(4), Article 14. https://doi.org/10.1145/2399180.2399182

Digital heritage archives often lack engaging user interfaces that strike a balance between providing narrative context and affording user interaction and exploration. It seems nevertheless feasible for metadata tagging and a "joined up" workflow to... Read More about Interactive multimedia ethnography: Archiving workflow, interface aesthetics and metadata.

Memories of a blue nile home: The photographic moment and multimedia linkage (2012)
Book Chapter
Aston, J., & James, W. (2012). Memories of a blue nile home: The photographic moment and multimedia linkage. In R. Vokes (Ed.), Photography in Africa: Ethnographic Perspectives (104-123). Woodbridge, Suffolk. Rochester, New York.: James Currey, Boydell and Brewer Inc

This chapter is based on an ongoing collaboration between the authors. We first explore the role of photographs within what became a long-term, though intermittent, anthropological engagement by Wendy James in the turbulent regions of the Sudan/Ethio... Read More about Memories of a blue nile home: The photographic moment and multimedia linkage.

Interactive documentary: Setting the field (2012)
Journal Article
Aston, J., & Gaudenzi, S. (2012). Interactive documentary: Setting the field. Studies in Documentary Film, 6(2), 125-139. https://doi.org/10.1386/sdf.6.2.125_1

This article articulates the authors’ combined vision behind convening i-Docs, the first international symposia to focus exclusively on the rapidly evolving field of interactive documentary. In so doing, it provides a case study of practice-driven re... Read More about Interactive documentary: Setting the field.

I-docs special edition (2012)
Journal Article
Aston, J., Dovey, J., & Gaudenzi, S. (2012). I-docs special edition. Studies in Documentary Film, 6(2), 123-124. https://doi.org/10.1386/sdf.6.2.123_2

This special edition presents a collection of articles that came out of i-Docs 2011, the first international symposium exclusively devoted to the rapidly evolving field of international documentary-making. The symposium was held at the Watershed Medi... Read More about I-docs special edition.

Transliteracy and polyphonic narrative: a case study (2010)
Presentation / Conference
Aston, J. (2010, February). Transliteracy and polyphonic narrative: a case study. Paper presented at Transliteracy Conference, Phoenix Square Digital Media Centre, Leicester, UK

This paper will look at the role of transliteracy in the creation of a series of texts relating to a long-term ethnographic study of displacement in the Sudan/Ethiopian borderlands. It will draw on a rich audiovisual archive recorded by the anthropol... Read More about Transliteracy and polyphonic narrative: a case study.

Spatial montage and the enchantment of everyday life: towards the development of fluid interfaces for interactive documentary (2010)
Presentation / Conference
Aston, J. (2010, January). Spatial montage and the enchantment of everyday life: towards the development of fluid interfaces for interactive documentary. Paper presented at Documentary Now! 2010, Birkbeck College, London

Building on Lev Manovich’s ideas about spatial montage and interactive cinema, this paper will provide examples of the author’s approach to interactive documentary based on an ongoing collaboration between the author and the anthropologist, Wendy Jam... Read More about Spatial montage and the enchantment of everyday life: towards the development of fluid interfaces for interactive documentary.

Spatial montage and multimedia ethnography: Using computers to visualise aspects of migration and social division among a displaced community (2010)
Journal Article
Aston, J. (2010). Spatial montage and multimedia ethnography: Using computers to visualise aspects of migration and social division among a displaced community. Forum: Qualitative Social Research / Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung, 11(2), Art. 36

Peer reviewed journal article based on contribution to international conference on Visualising Migration ad Divided Societies, Maison des Sciences de l’Homme, Paris, June 2008.

Direct cinema and a making of the ‘real’: polyphonic narrative, spatial montage and cinema-sincerity (2009)
Presentation / Conference
Aston, J. (2009, November). Direct cinema and a making of the ‘real’: polyphonic narrative, spatial montage and cinema-sincerity. Paper presented at International Jean Rouch Symposum, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris

Building on Rouch’s thoughts on cinema-sincerity, this paper will interrogate new possibilities for the creation of polyphonic narratives brought about by the multiple windows environment of 21st century computing. Drawing on material recorded in the... Read More about Direct cinema and a making of the ‘real’: polyphonic narrative, spatial montage and cinema-sincerity.

Still pictures, moving contexts (2009)
Presentation / Conference
Aston, J., & James, W. (2009, November). Still pictures, moving contexts. Paper presented at The Image Relation: Towards an Anthropology of Photography, Wolfson College, Oxford, UK

This presentation will highlight ways of presenting still photographs, both black and white and colour, as well as colour slides, using multimedia methods which add fresh resonance to archival materials. Examples will be drawn from James’s ethnogra... Read More about Still pictures, moving contexts.

Database narrative, spatial montage and the cultural transmission of memory: A case study from the Sudan/Ethiopian borderlands (2009)
Presentation / Conference
Aston, J. (2009, August). Database narrative, spatial montage and the cultural transmission of memory: A case study from the Sudan/Ethiopian borderlands. Paper presented at ISEA2009, The 15th International Symposium on Electronic Art, University of Ulster, Belfast

A peer reviewed paper presented within the Interactive Storytelling theme of an international conference on Engaged Creativity and Mobile Environments.

Voices from the blue nile: Using digital media to create a multilayered associative narrative (2008)
Journal Article
Aston, J. (2008). Voices from the blue nile: Using digital media to create a multilayered associative narrative. Journal of Media Practice, 9(1), 43-51. https://doi.org/10.1386/jmpr.9.1.43_1

This article outlines work in progress in relation to a collaborative project between me as a multimedia designer and Oxford anthropologist, Professor Wendy James. The aim of the collaboration is to explore new possibilities for using digital media t... Read More about Voices from the blue nile: Using digital media to create a multilayered associative narrative.

Theatre within a theatre
Digital Artefact
Aston, J. Theatre within a theatre

Evoking the magic of Britain’s oldest working theatre – a scale model of the Bristol Old Vic, complete with peepholes and projections. The piece plays on a one-hour loop, revealing the set-up, take-down and performance of four shows from the theatre’... Read More about Theatre within a theatre.

www.voicesfromthebluenile.org
Digital Artefact
Aston, J., & James, W. (2007). www.voicesfromthebluenile.org

Welcome to our portrait, in imagery and sound, of a refugee community. This presentation accompanies Wendy James’ study of how Sudan’s civil wars have affected just one among many minority groups who have lived through loss and displacement. You are... Read More about www.voicesfromthebluenile.org.