Today I attended the Telling Tales event in Bristol to witness several industry practitioners and creators showcase all that is new in cultural narratives and experiences of the future. The accompanying programme outlined that “the art of the narrative is no longer a linear expereince as immersive technologies create new forms of content and augment traditional cultural output” and many talks explored this topic in greater detail.
First off was a talk entitled ‘Art of the Narrative: non-linear, immersive and experiential’ given by Alison Norrington, CEO and Founder of Storycentral. She presented the concept that the story is central, defined by narrative, experiential and emotion. Asked key questions such as how do we want people to feel at the end? Why not what are we solving? Outlined the evolution of the conversation between storyteller and audience through models such as listening and welcoming into the story world by determining the value of the content, for example, discovered is more valuable that told. Included tips on how to build mythologies, design tool kits and highlighted the Exclusive Inclusive story sweetspot (being part of something special) and the ability to share it.
Next up was a panel discussion ‘Inclusion and Collaboration: Whose story is it anyway?’ Presenters included Linda Spurdle, Head of Digital at Birmingham Museums Trust, who discussed the untapped potential of digital storytelling and collaborations needed to implement it within museum experiences; Laura Kriefman, Founder of Hellion Trace (self proclaimed mischief makers), who showcased the Bristol Crane Dance project and asked how we can make the ordinary extraordinary, concluding that an idea can be truly intoxicating if its true value is realised; and Catherine Allen, CEO at Limina Immersive, who created the first VR theatre to showcase the possibilites of VR beyond the commonly held view as sci-fi gaming toy and discussed the opportunities for the medium in the location based experience (LBE) field.
I then popped down to Studio 5 to experience the Sonosynthesiser, an interactive sound installation that enabled the participants to tune into echoes of the past via a hand held sound synthensiser and headphones. It was a fully immersive albeit short experience but the discovery aspect and randomness of the soundscapes I found made it memorable.
Back in Watershed 3 the event concluded, for me, with an engrossing and lively panel discussion around podcasting and its impact in creating a new cultural narrative for audiences. Topics centred around podcasting as an intimate and engaging storytelling platform, its ability to connect storyteller and listener on a deeper level and how culturally it has changed from quite a stuffy medium into a platfom capable of reaching a diverse range of audiences. Stacey & Will, former UWE students, presented Uncomfortable Truth and won over the room with their honest analysis of their well received projects’ inception, development and delivery.
Images from the event and from www.helloculture.co.uk
