The benefits of the digital media explosion don’t all have to be about innovation and democratising the tools of production - it can also mean getting in touch with our past. Australia’s first attempt at a war documentary, footage from the 1916 Battle of Pozieres, has just been placed online by the National Film and Sound Archive. The accompanying curator’s notes flesh out the background to the footage, as does this ABC article. There’s about ten minutes worth of footage, from practice runs to shelling of the German positions. This glimpse into Australia’s war history is both riveting and disturbing, particularly when wondering how many of the men in the images made it home afterwards.

Interactivity is changing not only the way that viewers engage with a documentary, but also the entire process behind creating such a piece. Sarah Gibson is frank about the difficulties she encountered while directing Re-enchantment, an interactive multiplatform documentary about fairytales. Speaking at OzDox last week, she explained how coming to the interactive form from a strong background in making traditional documentaries meant many substantial changes in the production process, some of which she struggled with. Gibson said the script becomes a process, rather than being itself what the film is - it becomes about numbers and layers and design elements, which she thinks means that some of her ideas as a director are buried.

If the recent post on crowdfunding had you thinking about pitching your project to the masses, DIY Filmmaking Sucks has some tips on how to get the best results.

It sounds like the writing has been on the wall for a while, but the Flip camera has finally taken its last gasping breath and carked it. The flip is a small pocket-sized video camera, and creators Cisco are citing the supremacy of smartphones with video as the factor dealing the death blow. At first glance it doesn’t seem like anyone is shedding any tears, as let’s face it - who wants to carry around two gadgets when one will do the job of both?

Without trying to sound too grand, DigiDiaries is the kind of project that confirms my faith in the social possibilities of online multimedia. As a counterweight to the hyperbole surrounding corporate transmedia, there exist small and simple but transformative projects that put these tools of expression into the hands of those who rarely have the opportunity to speak loudly.

Crowdfunding is slowly picking up an Australian flavour as locals begin to get in on the act. There’s now even an Australian platform for all those creatives out there with a project that needs funding. Pozible came into being last year (originally under the name FundBreak), and is currently spruiking such varied projects as a gallery move, a theatre troupe wanting to get to Edinburgh, and film post production.

A new app for iPhones and iPads that claims to bring an immersive experience to war reporting has just been developed. The viewer can drag the scene in the direction they want to view, or even move the iPad around to change the perspective. The responses from fans on the Condition ONE Facebook page are fairly gushing; and I guess I can see the app’s potential for giving a different perspective on war. I’m also hesitant to get too excited though, as the demonstration video immediately made me think of a video game - not an ideal way to drive home the horrors of war. Beyond the immediate gimmicky excitement of being able to move the scene around, I’m not sure what practical application it can really have without the input of a knowledgeable curator or reporter to direct the experience and provide context and analysis. Maybe this is something they have planned for its implementation? Although having just watched John Pilger’s excellent documentary The War You Don’t See last night, I’m feeling a little pessimistic about the ability of major media outlets to provide any sort of serious context and analysis… Perhaps an app like this in the hands of some passionate and independent field reporters could lead to some creative and eye-opening results.

If you still have some brain energy left at 5pm on Friday (April 8), this week’s ‘Friday on My Mind’ at AFTRS in Sydney is hosting one of the Aussie masters of documentary, Bob Connolly. Director of classics such as First Contact and Rats in the Ranks, he’ll be talking about his work and in particular his latest film (made in partnership with Sophie Raymond), Mrs Carey’s Concert. The talk also includes a preview screening; details here. If you can’t make it, check out this in-depth interview with Bob Connolly on the SBS film website.