In May 2022 international students of the Høgskulen i Volda, presented their multimedia online productions, so called “Web Documentaries” – which they have been working on for
the past half year – to their teachers and their class.
A Web Documentary is an online documentary production that includes a full complement of multimedia tools: Text, video, audio but also animation and infographics. These tools are used to guide the reader through a non-linear narrative story, that they interact with and read in their own way.
The topics the students worked on were widely spread. Many of them were inspiring personal stories about self-fulfilment and chasing your dreams. But there were also
Documentaries about sports, beer brewing or natural disasters. Some groups even used their project to reveal certain issues in society.
All of them were told in their own way, using multiple form of media and containing interactive elements. With the guiding of the lecturers, regularly pitches and workshops about Webdesign, AR/VR and good storytelling, every group was able to create a professional, multimedia, journalistic product.
“I chose Lipstick”
Living in another body – A transwoman from Sudan, that moved to Oslo tells her story about the challenges she faced and how she found her true self.
ExBeerience Ålesund
The owner of the new beerfactory in Ålesund talks about his crafting. You get to know more about different styles of beer, quality, tase and much more.
Get on board! Why you should try surfing in Norway
Hoddevik in Westnorway grew to be a famous surf spot. In Intereviews with different Surfers, that participated in the X2 Festival you get to know more about the rush of caching the wave.
Explore Skaar
A man living on an island alone. What may sound scatchy at first, reveals to be a fascinating story about history, commitment, and a sweet and quiet life.
Dreamvalley
What does it take to make your dream come true? That’s what you can learn in Dreamvalley! A young girl from Switzerland tell her heart-warming story about a place full of magic.
The second-hand store
The second-hand store in Volda is famous for its big variety of things that strive to find a new home. The old couple that owns the store, talks about their idea and what’s so special about it.
Food waste
How much food do we through away? What can be done against it? Interviewing employees of cantines, supermarkets and bakeries, this WebDoc shines an investigative light on an important topic of our society.
Eirik across Norway
A friluftstudent from Volda decides to do travel from the most southern point to the most northern point of Norway. Aesthetic pictures and videos of a story that changed his life.
Simple life
How to life a happy life? The people portrayed in this video say: You don’t need much. Living in a van or on a boat, can contain everything you need. Stories of a simple life.
At the End of the course the lecturers Tormod Utne and Kjetil Vaage Øie elaborated on the course and discussed the future of the journalistic form of a Web Documentary together with the students.
They concluded, that with the rise of online media and virtual reality, interactive storytelling could have a huge potential as a journalistic product. Its new way of including the reader and by that being able to tell a story and deliver information in a whole new way, could be approaching to a wide audience.
Either Way, the students of the course are definitely thankful for what they could learn and look back on the course and their projects with joy. In the video below you can see extracts of the different projects and hear students from Germany, Bangladesh, Denmark and Norway talking about their experience.
