13 Interviews - A journey in search of Nikos Skalkotas
Creators: name: Petousi, Dimitra
name: Katifori, Akrivi
name: Servi, Katerina
name: Boile, Maria
name: Kriezi, Vera
name: Valia Vraka
name: Venieri, Fotini
name: Merakos, Stefania
name: Charkilolakis, Alexandros
name: Kougioumtzian, Lori
name: Stergiou, Marina
name: Raheb, Katerina El
name: Ioannidis, Yannis
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: digital storytelling, mobile, music archives, Skalkotas, composer

description: poster &amp; demos: 156 13 Interviews - A journey in search of Nikos Skalkotas Digital storytelling has long been recognized as an effective method for the interpretation, communication, and reflection about the past, using both traditional and media-based resources. In this prototype demo and poster, we present the concept of an interactive digital storytelling experience in the context of the ARIA project (Augmenting the Reception of Music Through Innovative Solutions and Archive) (aria-project.gr), which aims to create an engaging visitor experience for the archives of musical cultural heritage for the wider public. Digital storytelling, even in its basic form, can become an essential tool for meaningful communication and dialogue; we can apply this concept for the project to engage users in a meaningful and interesting way. In the form of a collaborative experience on mobile phones, the story involves the journalist Andreas Zeppos, who’s writing a tribute to Nikos Skalkotas in “Evoikos Kiryx”, an existing newspaper. Users follow the journalist in his journey and are called to discover the professional and personal aspects of Skalkotas’ life, while they get acquainted with his music, as well as the time he lived in. The journalist travels to Chalkida, Athens and Berlin, the places where Skalkotas lived and worked, and interviews real and fictional people, trying to reconstruct the portrait of the composer and the era that shaped not only his compositions and works, but also his character. The central story unfolds linearly, through a series of successive episodes, inspired by the periods of Skalkotas’ adventurous life. The aim of the digital storytelling experience is to evoke users’ interest and enrich their knowledge about the life and works of the Greek composer and musician Nikos Skalkotas and the historical period he lived, utilizing facts and fiction, interactive narratives, and collaborative learning activities. The narrative moves on two different levels. One concerns the "microcosm" of Skalkotas, which are the real people who have met the composer and refer to him through their experiences. The second concerns the "macrocosm" of the composer, which is expressed through fictional people, which however, Skalkotas could have possibly met, and which help compose the picture of that historical period and transfer the atmosphere from the past. Users can listen to the story unfold, while some/ specific scenes of the story are also shown in illustration forms in the style of "noir” graphic novel, with frames. The experience includes selected musical pieces from the works of Nikos Skalkottas and incorporates suggestions for the group of users to reflect on and discuss relevant topics, encouraging them to find connections with the elements that unfold the story such as the role of music in our life etc. The title "13 Interviews'' is inspired by the 36 Greek Dances, one of the most widely known works of the composer.