Les webdocumentaires, un terrain d’expérimentation numérique
Authors: Salles Chloë , Schmitt Laurie 
Published: February 2022

Cet submission envisage les webdocumentaires selon la diversité des compétences des professionnels qu’ils réunissent et selon les motivations des médias qui diffusent, voire soutiennent, ces créations. Ces productions émanent d’une part, d’un travail collectif et sont d’autre part, portées par des initiatives technologiques qui participent au renouvellement et à la reconfiguration des pratiques médiatiques. Dès lors, les webdocumentaires sont un terrain privilégié d’expérimentation numérique à deux échelles : pour les professionnels et pour les médias. Cette problématique se construit dans la continuité de travaux en sociologie des professions (sociologie du journalisme, de l’art, de la culture) et en socio-économie des médias et des industries culturelles. Elle s’éloigne d’une perspective exclusivement sémiotique qui interroge les webdocumentaires en termes de pluralité de formes et de contenus. La méthodologie repose sur une série de 24 entretiens semi-directifs menés entre 2013 et 2015 auprès de journalistes, de réalisateurs, de producteurs, de game designers, de développeurs et de graphistes. Elle prend également appui sur l’analyse de 50 et 75 webdocumentaires diffusés respectivement sur Le Monde. fr et Arte.tv, deux médias ayant mis l’accent sur leur investissement dans le numérique et notamment, dans leur soutien aux webdocumentaires. La réflexion s’organise ainsi en deux temps. Nous verrons d’abord que les pratiques professionnelles, individuelles et collectives, impliquées dans la création de webdocumentaires, s’organisent autour de relations de « coopération ». Puis nous montrerons comment Arte et Le Monde.fr se saisissent de ces productions comme opportunité pour explorer des dispositifs numériques.

This submission considers web documentaries according to both the diversity of professional competences that they bring together and the reasons that motivate media outlets to broadcast, and sometimes support, these creations. These productions are, on one hand, the fruit of collective work and, on the other hand, the result of technological initiatives that take part in the renewal and reconfiguration of media practices. As such, web documentaries are a favourable field for digital experimentation on two levels: for the professionals and for the media. This research question is raised in the continuity of works in sociology of professions (sociology of journalism, art, culture) and in socio-economy of media and cultural industries. This work is distanced from exclusively semiotic perspectives that question web documentaries according to their plurality of forms and content. The methodology consists in a series of 24 semi-structured interviews led between 2013 and 2015 with journalists, web documentary directors, producers, game designers, computer programmers and graphic designers. It also incorporates the analysis of 50 and 75 web documentaries published by Le Monde.fr and Arte.tv, two media outlets that have put emphasis on their investment in the digital, and moreover in their support of web documentaries. Our reflection is organized according to two stages. First we focus on professional practices, both individual and collective, that are involved in the creation of web documentaries, and organised according to “cooperative” relations. We then develop how Arte and Le Monde.fr use these productions as an opportunity to explore digital devices.

Este artigo analisa os webdocumentários em termos de diversidade de competência dos profissionais que integram esse tipo de produção e também de acordo com as motivações das mídias que os difundem, ou mesmo que os apoiam. Essas produções emergem, por um lado, de um trabalho coletivo; por outro, são resultado de iniciativas tecnológicas que participam da renovação e da reconfiguração das práticas midiáticas. Dessa forma, os webdocumentários constituem um terreno privilegiado de experimentação digital em duas escalas: para os profissionais e para as mídias. O problema de pesquisa deste artigo se constrói na continuidade dos trabalhos de sociologia das profissões (sociologia do jornalismo, da arte, da cultura) e de socioeconomia das mídias e das indústrias culturais. Ele se distancia de uma perspectiva exclusivamente semiótica, que analisa os webdocumentários apenas em termos de pluralidade de formas e conteúdos. Sua metodologia está baseada em uma série de 24 entrevistas semiestruturadas realizadas entre 2013 e 2015 com jornalistas, diretores, produtores, game designers, desenvolvedores e artistas gráficas. Ele também está fundamentado na análise de 50 e 75 webdocumentários difundidos respectivamente pelo Le Monde.fr e Arte.tv, duas mídias que têm se destacado pelo seu investimento no meio digital, sobretudo no apoio dado aos webdocumentários. A reflexão também está organizada em dois momentos. Primeiro, veremos que as práticas profissionais, individuais e coletivas, implicadas na criação de webdocumentários se orga- nizam em torno de relações de “cooperação”. Em seguida, mostraremos como Arte e Le Monde.fr se utilizam dessas produções como uma oportunidade de explorar os dispositivos digitais.