Bridging Media on Cultural Sites: the Colosseum as Media for Non-linear Storytelling used video streaming, HTML5 technology, and mobile phones to create experimental narratives based on historical scenes (known and unknown) in the Colosseum.
One of the most popular monuments in the world, the Colosseum attracts millions of visitors every year. It has inspired numerous movies and television programs, as well as websites, interactive DVDs, and video games. This research project created a prototype application that, during visits to the Colosseum, added virtual layers to the reality of the remains—non-linear narratives, calculated from visitors’ own choices and movements. It also identified a set of “responsive objects,” keys that created links between virtual worlds of myth and the real world of the site.
Site: colosseum.bridgingmedia.net
Team: Alessandro Marianantoni (UCLA REMAP), Massimo Ciavolella (UCLA Department of Italian), and Marcella Spinotti (Fondazione Italia).
Collaborating Organizations: UCLA REMAP, Fondazione Azzurra, Google, and Centro Sperimentale MEDIARS.
Mentors: Marc Abraham, Betsy Heimann, Andrea Morricone, Pietro Scalia and Dante Spinotti.
Rieti and Rome, Italy—2011-2012.
