Analysis: Flawed

15-150x150So, my first analysis, Snow Fall, was created by the New York Times. My next, Reframing Mexico, was created through a collaboration between UNC Chapel Hill and Tecnológico de Monterrey. Both of these projects involved documenting stories from many different people. Now, for my third analysis, I will focus on an interactive documentary that was created by and is centered on the experiences/stories of one person, the artist/filmmaker Andrea Dorfman. It’s called Flawed.

Design Elements

  • flash-based, must reload every time you click on site
  • hosted on NFB of Canada site with links for site on top navigation bar and links for specific project on bottom navigation bar
  • project nav bar includes: Start Over, About Flawed, Interactive Tool, Study Guide, Related NFB Films
  • stop motion animated six minute film
  • background music automatically plays once loaded, but can be muted

Content

  • story about filmmaker’s journey to embrace her flaws
  • stop motion animated 6 minute film
  • while author tells her story about being flawed in voice-over, we watch, through stop-motion animation, the artist draw and paint illustrations of her story/stories
  • doc also includes about author page and an interactive tool, “embracing your flaws”
  • interactive tool enables you to click on different body parts of illustrated figure of author; author recounts stories about why those parts are “flawed” and why she embraces those flaws
  • study guide for 7th-12th grade
  • does not include entire doc short. see here for full 12 minutes.

Responsive?

No.

Storytelling

  • creative mix of voice-over with stop motion animation
  • compelling narrative about embracing one’s flaws
  • mix of personal memories about author’s experiences with her body, especially her “big nose”
  • stories also told through interactive tool. user has greater ability to disrupt/shape story experience here
  • focused exclusively on her stories and her perspective

Interactivity

  • interactive tool, users can click on body parts to hear stories about author’s flaws
  • teaching guide with questions and advice on how to watch
  • find and watch related films on NFB site

Strengths

  • compelling, creative, entertaining story with great message
  • cool interactive tool, using author’s body as story map
  • great use of stop motion animation

Weaknesses

  • not responsive, flash-based
  • must reload documentary every time
  • needs more ways to interact (e.g.: could pose more questions for thought/reflection like, What’s your biggest flaw? How did you embrace it, etc? incorporate the study guide into the interactive doc more, instead of just as a pdf. allow users to comment or contribute their experiences and stories)
  • sound is automatically on until you mute it

Things to Use?

  • interactive tool: instead of the map of her flaws/body, a map of the farm and its buildings
  • add in study guide?

After writing the above analysis but before posting it online, I decided to watch the full documentary for Flawed. It had been screened at many different film festivals and on PBS’ POV a few years ago and was very popular. I was surprised by how the full version was the same story, but with various details edited out. I guess I was expecting the full documentary to include the interactive story, plus another story or two about her flaws. Watching both versions makes me curious. I wonder, how do the edits change the story? How did the artist choose which details to leave out and why?

For more of Andrea Dorfman’s great work, see her website.