LandofOpportunity the interactive web platform launched in 2014 after several years of development. CMSI has been tracking the evolution and outcomes of this multi-platform project for the duration and we have teamed up to release the LandofOpportunity Field Report.
The Land of Opportunity transmedia documentary project encompasses a feature film and interactive web platform designed to foster dialogue and social impact around community (re)building in the face of crisis/disaster. In 2006, Director/ Producer Luisa Dantas started filming for the documentary (“Land of Opportunity”), which follows several individuals through the early years of postKatrina rebuilding in New Orleans. In 2012, the project evolved to include the interactive web platform (LandofOpportunity*), which combines a rich archive of 1 post-Katrina reconstruction stories with multimedia content from several other communities across the country. The interactive narratives featured on the platform explore a range of places and partners facing redevelopment issues.
This field report is a primer on the process of creating an interactive web-based experience after releasing a traditional documentary, as part of a greater set of tools for public engagement. This report was compiled using a series of interviews that spanned the length of production and launch of the platform, some of which were used in shorter blog posts published by the Center for Media & Social Impact. Center staff and graduate fellows conducted interviews and the LandofOpportunity production team provided research, consultation and coordination.
You can hear more about the project and meet Luisa Dantas in person at the 2015 Media That Matters conference, February 19-20 in Washington, D.C. Dantas will be part of a panel on impact design and assessment across fields including documentary, interactive, journalism and public purpose games.
*Land of Opportunity refers to the transmedia project that includes: “Land of Opportunity,” the feature documentary, and LandofOpportunity, the interactive web platform. This report primarily references the platform and therefore refers to LandofOpportunity.