The elements of Engaging the World are a series of 52 short videos produced to spark discussion on key issues in international development. The videos were made using outtakes from the 180 hours of video that was shot in producing a television series called Citoyens du Monde. The discussions with the individuals who appear in Engaging the World were edited using images gathered in the course of filming the series.
Engaging the World was made using the Korsakow System to generate viewing options that form an evolving structure for the film. Korsakow is an easy-to-use computer program for the creation of database films. It was invented by Florian Thalhofer, a Berlin-based media artist. Korsakow films are films with a twist: They are interactive because the viewer has influence on the Korsakow Film. They are rule-based because the author decides on the rules by which the scenes relate to each other, but the viewer does not create fixed paths. Korsakow Films are generative because the order of the scenes is calculated while viewing. Korsakow is a cutting-edge new media format that provides educators and filmmakers with a unique means of producing research results and allowing viewers to interact critically with those results.
Make Your Own Film
You too can make your own Korsakow film and it does not have to be made with short videos like you see in Engaging the World. Visit Korsakow.org to find out more about the organization and concepts behind the Korsakow System. You will also find many examples of Korsakow films produced by artists and researchers interested in non-linear and interactive engagement with audiences.
To Play Back
You will discover that the Korsakow program does not allow viewers to go back. But, if you see something you would like to return to all you have to do is visit Ron Harpelle’s Vimeo channel where you will find the individual videos. Click on the link below to open a new window where you will find all the videos in the film. When you get there you will have to search through them to find the one you want, but you can easily find the one your are looking for if you can remember the question or the basic details of the segment you watched on Engaging the World.
A Question of Development
Ron Harpelle’s Vimeo channel is called A Question of Development. In another incarnation the videos used for Engaging the World were used to post a question of development every week for a year on a Facebook page aimed at students and alumni of the Department of History at Lakehead University.