French Touchof webcreation A TOURING EXHIBITION

Webcreations cover a wide variety of productions that are difficult to describe exhaustively. This exhibition presents works that renew the audiovisual language based on narrative processes that integrate the specificities of the Internet, such as interactivity. The projects that we have retained are emblematic of the French and francophone creations in the fields of documentaries, videogames, television, and cinema or of projects that establish a gateway between all these domains through a transmedia approach. Each project reflects the creativity of their authors and producers in terms of the technologies used to enrich the storyline, the diversification of dissemination tools used or in the inventiveness of the narrative modes. The creators that are highlighted here are clearing the path in this creative field; they constitute its alphabet, its grammar.

Proposed by Transmedia Immersive University and the Institut Francais, French Touch of webcreation is an adaptation during the exhibition 2005-2015 : 10 years of webcreation initially presented at the festival I LOVE TRANSMEDIA at the Gaîté Lyrique in Paris in October 2015 and curated by Caspar Sonnen and Vincent.

The exhibition French Touch of webcreation also follows Les Nouveaux Producteurs: la French Touch de la Webcréation produced by the Institut français in 2014 in order to make a first panorama of audiovisual producers that invest in the fusion between internet technology and creation.

INTRODUCTION

The Institut Français is pleased to present and display French Touch of the webcreation, the very first exhibition highlighting a wide-ranging selection of French and French-speaking webcreations.Digital technology is a strategic priority for the Institut Français and the cultural network – a vector for cultural dissemination, a cultural matter in its own right and an unlimited creative tool.

For several years, French producers create, make up and roll out genius skills at the crossroads of these different scopes. The innovation and singularity brought to their work are recognized throughout the world. The exhibition aims to offer to the cultural network a flexible exhibition with a modulable selection and a fully adjustable scenography, in order to reach various audiences. As places keen to welcome new creative forms, multimedia libraries are particularly suitable for hosting the exhibition.

The association TRANSMEDIA IMMERSIVE UNIVERSITY (TIU) was created in 2011 by French audiovisual producers in order to widely promote transmedia works in France abroad. As such, TIU’s objectives are to bring together media professionals, particularly from the audiovisual, videogame and live action world, to promote their digital transition; to reveal young talents of webcreation through the TIU Lab - a pedagogic laboratory to professionalize the sector and accompany throughout the year the creation of student projects and their insertion into the market; and to introduce digital creation to the greatest number of people through the festival I LOVE TRANSMEDIA, which is held every year at La Gaîté Lyrique in Paris.

For its fifth edition, I LOVE TRANSMEDIA is set from September 29 to October 2, 2016, in La Gaîté lyrique. The program includes virtual reality and young talents exhibitions, interactive fictions screenings and panels. An eclectic lineup is scheduled during the Nuit Blanche Paris, including Slow Futur, a performance uniting the Bang Bang circus with the Zombie Zombie electronic trio.

It is difficult to precisely date the beginnings of webcreation. We could go way back to December 1990 and to the invention of the first webpage that signaled the birth of the World Wide Web. Multiforms, the webcreations presented call out to a variety of online media: computers (The City that Kills Women, Thanatorama), tablets (Alma), and also projects available in different media platforms at the same time (Prison Valley). Webcreations also cover the field of documentaries (Stainsbeaupays, In Situ) and fiction (Game of Influences), and address children (Seasons: Morphosis) as well as mature audiences (WEI OR DIE). They can be closer to comics (Phallaina) or videogames (Type: Rider) to make the spectator the hero of the story (Journey to the end of coal) while sometimes you will have to make an appointment to be able to participate (A Journal of Insomnia). They can also be shot in live action (Gaza / Sderot), animation (BLA BLA) or with a mixture of the two formats (Interactive Haikus).

In reality, webcreations are indefinable, or rather being constantly redefined, as they are endlessly reinventing themselves; each finding its own form, each with the desire to tell a strong story to an increasingly immersed spectator.

WEBCREATIONS

Phallaina

Credits : Marietta Ren Small Bang, France télévisions nouvelles écritures France 2015

Topics: cognitive science,mythology, whales

Genre: scrolling graphic novel

Device: tablet

At the crossroads between graphic novel and animation films, Phallaina is the very first scrolling graphic novel for tablets and smartphones. Made with effects of scales and transitions, this app in horizontal scrolling is enriched by parallax effects and a heady sound creation. In a world similar to ours, Audrey enrolls in clinical trials. She tries to understand the origins to her hallucinatory crises, during which her field of vision is invaded by a shoal of cetaceans. Intimate adventure along the path of a personal transformation, combining cognitive sciences and mythology, this free French-English app is available on iOS and Android for an hour and a half of reading.

suitable for children over 12

WEI OR DIE

Credits : Simon Bouisson, Olivier Demangel Resistance Films, Cinétévé, France télévisionsFrance2015

Topics: college students, parties, orientation weekend

Genre: interactive fiction

Device: computer

They had two days to get integrated. Two days out of sight. Everything should have remained secret. But a body was found.

WEI OR DIE is a new kind of fiction, immersive and interactive, placing the web surfer at the heart of a hazing weekend that turns into a nightmare. Seazed by the police, every live image recorded by the students during the weekend is re-synchronized and arranged on a timeline. As the story unfolds, users are free to choose which footage they want to watch and to switch from one camera to another.

contains images that may offend the sensibilities of viewers

Seasons: Morphosis

Credits : Stéphane Durand, Laura Farrenq, Dorothée Descamps, Thomas Blanchet, Pauline Merlaut Small Bang, Galatée Films, France télévisions nouvelles écritures, Pathé France 2015

Topics: environment, History, ecology, ani-mals

Genre : storyapp

Device : tablet

Seasons: Morphosis is a narrative and playful experiment allowing the users to immerse themselves into the ecosystems evolution process. Based on Seasons, Jaques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud’s last film, the app is free and available in English and French on iOS and Android. Go back in time with Seasons: Morphosis to discover the history of our environment and the evolution of the landscape. Experience an extraordinary adventure together as a family, move through thousands of years of evolution to better understand the world we live in.

suitable for children over 7

Interactive haikus

Credits : Multiple authors National Film Board of Canada, Arte Canada, France 2015

Topics : Japan, daily live, poetry, creation

Genre : interactive experience

Device: computer/ tablet

The challenge was an ambitious one: to find web equivalents of traditional Japanese haikus, adapting the (extremely) short verse form to turn the quintessence of poetry from the Land of the Rising Sun into a significant interactive experience. Twelve projects were selected for this collection which, because of its diversity and the coherency of its different messages, is more than just the sum of its parts.

Game of influences

Credits : Julien Goetz, Luc Hermann, Florent Maurin France Télévisions, Premières lignes France 2014

Thèmes : communication, scandal, investigation, business, spin doctor

Genre : serious game

Device: computer

Have you ever faced a communication crisis? Game of influences puts you right in front of it. Become the hero of this serious game as CEO of a firm and call a spin doctor in (or don’t). Directly inspired by journalist Luc Hermann’s investigations and illustrated with short documentaries scenes, the fictional scenario regularly bumps into reality.

STAINSBEAUPAYS

Credits : Simon Bouisson, Elliot Lepersnarrative, France TélévisionsFrance2014

Topics : teenage years, daily life, junior high school, suburbs

Genre : web documentary

Device : computer

STAINSBEAUPAYS is the story of twenty 14-year-old teenagers in junior high school in Stains, Seine Saint Denis. Throughout a school year, with a camera, basic filming knowledge, and the desire to tell about their lives, they made a dozen short films. Fictions and documentaries that plunge us into their everyday lives, their dreams, their world. Simon Bouisson and Elliot Lepers, as for them, created portraits of these students, the main characters of this endless film. The gazes of the filmmakers and those of the students cross and complement each other in a round timeline. Without neither a beginning nor ending, STAINSBEAUPAYS is a fresh and authentic take on a difficult youth in the Parisian suburbs.

Type:Rider

Credits : Cosmografik Agat Films / Ex Nihilo, ARTE France 2013

Topics : typography, graphic design

Genre : documentary video game

Device: computer

On streets, books and screens, letters are everywhere around us. They are that familiar to us that we forget to notice them, then their names and ages. With Type:Rider, trace the 600 years of the typography history, from its creation at the Late Middle Ages until its most recent developments.

A Journal of insomnia

Credits : Bruno Choinière, Guillaume Braun, Philippe Lambert, Thibaut DuverneixAkufen, National Film Board of CanadaCanada2012

Topics : Canada, insomnia, daily life, investigation, insomniacs, solitude, sleep

Genre : web documentary

Device : computer

You have an appointment with insomnia. Choose the time when you want to give up part of your night, you will meet up with Francis, Fatiha, Sarah or Tina, all insomniacs. Sleepless nights in limbo: four interactive presentations introducing visitors to their anguished, relentlessly wide-awake solitude. How does insomnia set in and how can it turn your world upside down? The program was created in partnership with the insomniacs. In a joint in-depth investigation, more than 2,000 personal accounts on the subject were collected beforehand in text, video and drawing form.

Alma, a tale of violence

Credits : Miquel Dewever-Plana, Isabelle FougèreUpian, Agence Vu’, Arte France 2012

Topics : Guatemala, women, gang, drugs, violence

Genre : web documentary

Device: computer/ tablet

Guatemala. Alma was 15 when she decided to join a gang and embark on a life of everyday theft, violence and extortion with her crew. Five years later, she found the courage to leave “Mara 18”. Her moving, eye-to-eye account forms the framework of this web documentary. In a stifling interview conducted behind closed doors, Alma gives a frank confession of her past activities in a world of drug trafficking and revenge attacks. Her story, which promises empathy and truth, is accompanied by other images that the user can bring up with a touch of the fingertips.

contains images that may offend the sensibilities of the viewers

BLA BLA

Credits : Vincent Morisset AATOAA, National Film Board of Canada Canada 2011

Topics : communication, mankind, tale

Genre : interactive tale

Support : computer

Driven by the viewer’s mouse clicks, BLA BLA is an interactive tale in six chapters populated by endearing characters generated using both traditional and high-tech methods. With the support of the National Film Board of Canada, director and creator Vincent Morisset takes an innovative approach to narrative, exploring human communication and addressing the challenges of telling a story with the spectator as participant.

suitable for children over 5

Prison Valley

Credits : David Dufresne, Philippe BraultUpian, Arte France 2010

Topics: USA, prison, daily life

Genre: web documentary

Device : computer

You find yourself in Cañon City, Colorado, deep in the heart of an American prison valley. 13 penitentiaries, 36,000 inhabitants and more than 7,000 prisoners: a county where “even those outside are inside”. In the crisis-struck USA, David Dufresne and Philippe Brault explore the ramifications of its flourishing prison industry (“a cleaner version of hell”) in an interactive road movie where the web user is the co-driver.

Gaza / Sderot

Credits : Alma Films/Trabelsi Productions, Bo Travail !, Ramattan Studios, Upian, Arte France France 2008

Topics : Gaza Strip, Israel, Palestine, war, daily life, attacks

Genre : web documentary

Device : computer

Two frontier towns and an interface that reconstitutes their opposition. Less than three kilometers apart, Gaza and Sderot are facing each other ; Palestine and Israel are caught up in an unending war and this web documentary aims to decompartmentalize perceptions as far as possible. Shot, edited and shown almost in real time, these short films introduce us to the daily lives of Abu Khalil, Yafa Malka, Sason Sara and others, and familiarize us a little more with the routine, concrete reality of the conflict poisoning this region of the world.

Journey to the end of coal

Credits : Samuel Bollendorff, Abel SégrétinHonkytonk, Le Monde.fr France 2008

Topics : China, mine, slums, working class, pollution, environment

Genre: web documentary

Device : computer

In the style of a “Choose Your Own Adventure” book, you investigate the other side of China’s Economic Miracle as you descend 300 meters below ground to explore the working conditions of the miners who extract the coal Beijing so urgently needs to fuel its growth. You can ask as many questions as you like. A playful approach but the realities you discover are very real.

Thanatorama

Credits :Julien Guintard, Vincent Baillais, Ana Maria de JesusUPIANFrance2007

Topics : daily life, death, religion

Genre : web documentary

Device: computer

Thanatorama offers you a striking journey into the misteries of the funeral tradition. Swinging between different registers and trifling with frontiers, Thanatorama explores the religious rites and our society from different angles. At the heart of this story, you witness your own death. It is up to you to choose your path, according to your beliefs or your curiosity.

The City that killswomen

Credits : Marc Fernandez, Jean-Christophe RampalUPIAN France 2005

Topics : Mexico ,women, femicides, vio-lence, investigation

Genre : web documentary

Device : computer

Since 1993, almost 400 women have been murdered in Ciudad Juares. Most of them were killed in atrocious conditions. According to speakers- from community and judiciary police, victims’ families, to judges, lawyers and scholars- figures vary. All we know for certain is that it is the bloodiest news story of Mexican recent history and the most astonishing judicial scandal. Based on notes and images gathered, the authors portray scenes and relate testimonies to you. You will be immersed in this investigation, facing loads of unexpected developments.

Crédits :Dowino and France CultureWith the support of the CNC, The Rhône-Alpes Region, Humanis-CCAH, the French Federation for the Blind, the Valentin Haüy Association and Point de vue sur la Ville.France 2015Topics : adventure, medieval,

Audience : over 12

Genre : video game

Device : tablet

Transported to a chivalric realm inspired by the medieval age, the players must rely entirely on their sense of hearing to succeed in their quest. While guiding their hero by using their smart phone or tablet as a joystick, they move through a 3 dimensional audio universe. This is made possible by the integration of a binaural technology, which is still in the early stages of development within the video game industry.

A Bling Legend

Californium

Credits: Brice Roy, Olivier Bonhomme Stéphane Beauverger Darjeeling, Nova Productions, Arte Francewith the support of the CNC-FAVJ France 2016

Topics : adventure, exploration, science fiction

Audience : over 12 ans

Genre : video game

Device : computer

Californium is a subjective search and exploration game inspired by the life and work of American science-fiction writer Philip K. Dick. You play as Elvin Green, a writer trapped in powerful, contradictory multiple realities. Guided by a mysterious being, will you find out what lies behind the pretenses? Explore the worlds of Californium!

The Big Adventure of a Little

Line

Credits Serge Bloch, Camille Duvelleroy, Antoine Robert, Romain Trouillet, Dominique Pinon, Laurent Duret et Michel CorteyBachibouzouk - La Station Animation - les éditions Sarbacanes with the support France 2 - Histoires Courtes, the CNC, the Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur region, Pictanovo and the Haut de France region,France 2016

Topics : drawing, childhood, tale, friendship

Genre : interactive tale

Device : tablet

A small boy taking a walk picks up a little line he finds lying on the sidewalk.Putting it in his pocket, he forgets about it entirely.Then the line starts to move – it’s alive!It’s the start of a long, shared adventure.The little line grows up with the boy and becomes his friend. It takes on all kinds of shapes that reflect life’s many emotional nuances. It’s magical!And though the line sometimes gives the boy a hard time and sulks or even hides, it also helps him, encourages and rescues him, surprises and makes him laugh.The Big Adventure of a little Line is a cartoon tale, an ode to drawing.We invite everyone, from the very young to the very old, to take part in the many stages in a life-long friendship between a little boy and his red line.

Sarcellopolis

Credits : Sébastien Daycard-Heid, Bertrand Dévé, Cédric FaimaliYes Sir Filmswith the support of la SCAM and the CNCin partnership with France 3 Paris Île-de-France / Mediapart /Libération / France Culture / Respect Mag /La Compagnie de PhalsbourgFrance 2015

Topics : suberbs, society, cultura diversity

Genre : web documentary

Device : computer

Sarcellopolis is an urban journey through the heart of Sarcelles in the Paris suburbs. It pays tribute to the flourishing town and its wealth of communities. On the 60th anniversary of the creation of large urban estates there, the author’s intention is to question the social cohesion of this urban environment and observe the evolution of cultural diversity and of the suburban areas of France..

Tantalum

Credits : Gilles Portes, La Générale de Production, France Télévison Nouvelles Ecritures, Radio France, Pictanovo with the support of the Hauts de France Region and the CNCFrance 2016

Topics : France, politic, olympic games

Genre : Interactive fiction

Device : computer

It is September 2017. Henri Laborde, President of the French Republic, arrives at the Hôtel Carlton. Personalities from the worlds of sport and politics are meeting there to decide which city will host the next Summer Olympics. In the hotel’s plush corridors, delegates and officials confer, make promises and secretly speculate. Surrounded by his advisors, Henri Laborde enters the spacious lift. The countdown has begun...Then his telephone vibrates. His daughter is calling. So should he answer or not? The choice is actually yours: you are France’s head of state! And what if this first, apparently trivial decision could literally change history?

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In addition to the exhibition, download the digital book Les Nouveaux producteurs : French touch de la webcréation (French only)

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This first view of French transmedia producers is available online for free on the iBookstore.