Digital Storytelling Award

Joint Winners

La Mama. The Biggest Little Theatre in Australia

Rachel Fensham and Andrew Fuhrmann for the Digital Studio at University of Melbourne and Digital Heritage Australia

https://digitalheritageaustralia.com/lm08/

 

Carlton’s La Mama theatre holds an iconic place in Victoria’s cultural landscape, and this web project provides an interactive tour exploring the history and significance of the theatre by inhabiting its archive as a material and virtual space.  This charming project gives audiences access to a rich media digital story by bringing together a complementary mix of technologies, narratives and voices. 

There is a lot that others could learn from this project’s approach, and from the clear demonstration of innovative integration of digital technology and historical interpretation. The visual design, the narrative engagement and the aesthetics of the project have all contributed to the appeal and success of this well-produced project. La Mama: The Biggest Little Theatre in Australia is bound to charm both casual visitors and long-term supporters of the Melbourne icon. 

 

 

Misadventure in Little Lon

Emma Ramsay and Andy Yong

https://apps.apple.com/au/app/misadventure-in-little-lon/id1462608638

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.truecrimemyst.ernest

 

Melbourne’s Little Lon district is notorious for its nineteenth and early twentieth century criminal connections and underworld. There has been historical interpretation of the precinct previously, however the Misadventure in Little Lon App takes this interpretation somewhere new. It allows players to experience an augmented reality mobile game, based on documentation of a true crime in 1910. Players explore heritage sites, question witnesses and collect clues to solve the crime, whilst navigating the streets of Melbourne in real time (or luckily, from the comfort of home).

The brilliance of this entry is the bold use of mobile locative storytelling. This is one of the few entries that pushed the boundaries of engaging their audience in the story with technology, and it offers real engagement either at home or onsite. The App offers users an enchanting opportunity to step into Melbourne’s history and has great capacity to share this history with a broad and diverse audience other mediums struggle to reach.