13 Interviews - A journey in search of Nikos Skalkotas

poster & demos: 156 

13 Interviews - A journey in search of Nikos Skalkotas

Digital storytelling has long been recognized as an effective method for the interpretation,  communication, and reflection about the past, using both traditional and media-based  resources. In this prototype demo and poster, we present the concept of an interactive digital  storytelling experience in the context of the ARIA project (Augmenting the Reception of Music  Through Innovative Solutions and Archive) (aria-project.gr), which aims to create an engaging visitor experience for  the archives of musical cultural heritage for the wider public. Digital storytelling, even in its basic form,  can become an essential tool for meaningful communication and dialogue; we can apply  this concept for the project to engage users in a meaningful and interesting way. In the form of a  collaborative experience on mobile phones, the story involves the journalist Andreas Zeppos, who’s  writing a tribute to Nikos Skalkotas in “Evoikos Kiryx”, an existing newspaper. Users follow the  journalist in his journey and are called to discover the professional and personal aspects of Skalkotas’  life, while they get acquainted with his music, as well as the time he lived in. The journalist travels to  Chalkida, Athens and Berlin, the places where Skalkotas lived and worked, and interviews real and  fictional people, trying to reconstruct the portrait of the composer and the era that shaped not only  his compositions and works, but also his character. The central story unfolds linearly, through a series  of successive episodes, inspired by the periods of Skalkotas’ adventurous life. The aim of the digital  storytelling experience is to evoke users’ interest and enrich their knowledge about the life and works  of the Greek composer and musician Nikos Skalkotas and the historical period he lived, utilizing facts  and fiction, interactive narratives, and collaborative learning activities. The narrative moves on two  different levels. One concerns the "microcosm" of Skalkotas, which are the real people who have met  the composer and refer to him through their experiences. The second concerns the "macrocosm" of   the composer, which is expressed through fictional people, which however, Skalkotas could have  possibly met, and which help compose the picture of that historical period and transfer the atmosphere  from the past. Users can listen to the story unfold, while some/ specific scenes of the story are also  shown in illustration forms in the style of "noir” graphic novel, with frames. The experience includes  selected musical pieces from the works of Nikos Skalkottas and incorporates suggestions for the group  of users to reflect on and discuss relevant topics, encouraging them to find connections with the  elements that unfold the story such as the role of music in our life etc. The title "13 Interviews'' is  inspired by the 36 Greek Dances, one of the most widely known works of the composer.