PUBLIC MARKS with tags lang:en & alma

Established in 1998, Upian is a design studio and interactive production company known for its award winning projects including Alma: A Tale of Violence, Prison Valley, and Generation Quoi? For this interview three of Upian’s producers — Alexandre Brachet, Margaux Missika and Gregory Trowbridge — take us behind the screens as they describe their process and the development of their projects.

Lets look at “Alma” the medium is simple. There is a documentary, and an iBook and it is available on the web. There is the story of Alma, former member of a violent crime gang. The documentary has relatively simple structure. Simple is good in this format. It is based on 2 screens. main screen which is always available presents medium close frame of Alma reliving the brutalities of her past life. She is simply lit with dark background. The alternative second screen shows up above Alma’s head. The framing and lighting of Alma allows the screen to be split in half, pulling in the frame from above to present us with underlying imagery and breaking the monotony of looking at a “talking head’. It is possible to see both at a single screen or shift focus from one to another. Being online, you can replay or fast forward through the story. You are not locked into single medium. But it is impeccably shot and the sound is well designed.

Adventure game books - where readers could make decisions about what happened to the characters - formed a big part of childhood for many adults. Now it seems this is taking a technological leap forward.

For 5 years Alma has been a member of one of Guatemala's most brutal gangs, a country today ravaged by an unnamed war. She tells her confession face to face. Alma’s testimony is unique. The young woman’s words open onto images of her memories, of daily life in Guatemala, and of gang subculture.

Powerful web documentary about gang violence in Guatemala by Miquel Dewever-Plana & Isabelle Fougère.

Powerful Webdoc Upian’s newest webdoc, Alma: A Tale of Violence, is a heartbreaking and chilling story no matter which device you watch it on. Download the Alma app for the full sensory experience.

Working with a team of designers at the French creative studio Upian, Plana and Fougere, say they intended to create a final product—with a sensitive and innovative approach to a narrative— that would be interactive and accessible. The final product, which took two years to develop, is incredibly in-depth—allowing its audience to explore the story through the innovative web piece, two books and a film, all available in four languages.

Working with a team of designers at the French creative studio Upian, Plana and Fougere, say they intended to create a final product—with a sensitive and innovative approach to a narrative— that would be interactive and accessible. The final product, which took two years to develop, is incredibly in-depth—allowing its audience to explore the story through the innovative web piece, two books and a film, all available in four languages.

I have felt as if someone had slapped me, and I wondered if it was necessary. I had doubts about such a hard impact style and about its possible migrations towards voyeurism. But now that I have finished watching I have the feeling it was tough, but at the same time subtle, respectful and loving. Upian has not used me for a sensational story. It has brought the story to me and allowed me to face reality by designing an environment that felt right for such eye opening. This is what I call a mature project: where strength, message, design, interface and media merge together to become immersive, informational and meaningful. I have been slapped, but I would do it again and it was worth it.