Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

We spoke about the documentary with Ashley Kennedy, Development Producer.

What inspired you to create the documentary?

The documentary is a short continuation of a longer documentary we made for the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ last year. We wanted to experiment with new digital content to see if we could extend the life of the programme. We made the documentary to see if we could pass on important information to the audience in new and exciting ways.

What do we see in the video?

The Touchcast summarises the programme into a five-minute interactive video. It tells the story of Nick Bonnie, a young man who died after taking drugs on a night out in Manchester in 2013. It also puts together key interviews from a club owner, scientist and leading drugs researcher.

What is a Touchcast and why did you choose that format?

A Touchcast is an interactive video that allows you to control what content is displayed by clicking on the screen. We are trying to see if we can pass information from our programme onto the audience by giving it interactivity and a different platform.

How did working with this format compare to the videos you normally create?

The process of making the Touchcast was interesting. It allowed us to think about ways of getting information across to an audience that would be more engaging than just putting clips onto a web page.

The process involved condensing the most important information from an hour-long documentary into a space shorter than ten minutes. We had to make the content appealing enough for the audience to want to click on the interviews.

How was the Touchcast content made?

Links with the presenter B. Traits were specially shot for the touchcast. We also used unseen interviews that had been shot at the time of making the programme.

What do you think audiences will make of it, and what do you hope to learn?

I hope the audience will be able to see content in a more interesting way than simply watching clips on the programme page. I am hoping that the interactive element of the touchcast will draw an audience, and that people will want to will share it.

If this new way of engaging with the audience is more successful than the clips we normally put onto a programme page after broadcast, we may start using it more often.