Lillie’s FMP explores interactive storytelling

Ahead of the Media Technology degree show on Friday 20 May 2022, BSc (Hons) Film and Television Production Technology student, Lillie Fyfe, shares her final major project focused on interactive storytelling.

Hi Lillie, tell us about your project:

My project is based around interactive storytelling, and explores the opportunities there are to improve user-experience through increasing accessibility and personalisation options.

I filmed and then created an episode through BBC’s StoryFormer tool, which is designed to create non-linear interactive episodes, and conducted a survey to see how the general public would like to see the episode improved in terms of accessibility and personalisation.

After this, I started to bring the episode clips over to an HTML browser outside of StoryFormer in order to see whether I could achieve a better user experience through coding the interactive elements myself.

What was the inspiration behind your project?

I’ve always been interested in television and complex narratives, and once learning about object-based media I really enjoyed the idea of how television, radio and film can be completely adapted to suit the personal preferences and accessibility requirements of the viewers. As it’s definitely something missing from the mainstream content we see today.

What have you enjoyed most about your time at Solent?

So many things. Mainly, the opportunities you get at Solent to do work experience and network with companies rival that of any other university, my favourite being filming for the jumbotron and livestream at Southampton Pride.

What’s next for you?

I’ve been offered a position as a Technical Operator at Sky Osterley, so I’m very excited to expand on the knowledge I’ve gained at Solent and make the most of the experiences available there.

What advice would you give to other students?

If I could give anyone a word of advice, it would be to say yes to as much work experiences as possible. Starting fresh in a new city can be really overwhelming, but the more you get yourself out there and make connections, the better your time will be.

Also, start that assignment a week before you plan to, term time moves super-fast!

To view Lillie’s final major project in detail, visit the Media Technology degree show.