From the beginning, online and mobile audience participation was key, and part of the move towards social TV: users contributed during its making, talked around the programme with a Twitter hashtag, making it into a social 'event' when it was aired. Partnered by the Open University, the Virtual Revolution - this week nominated for a Digital Emmy - built and participated in an active backchannel, part of the viewing experience.
But this didn't mean audience command was everything: as a "bluechip programme" and a "landmark" piece of television tracking a 20 year web revolution, a strong authorial voice was needed, its multiplatform content producer Dan Gluckman tells Journalism.co.uk.
"There is this interesting clash between the concept of opening up to an audience and getting their input; and the authorial vision that is needed to make a compelling piece of documentary or storytelling," he says.
A more "sophisticated" way of thinking has been reached he says, where the overall authorial voice is also very important, complementing the strong audience participation around the edges.
"Depending on the project, that will range from a very strong storyteller to being more of a facilitator."
For Gluckman, this was part of the move toward social viewing embracing an "appetite for multitasking". Twitter is key in this, he says, allowing users to talk with each other as the programmes is aired, creating a social viewing effect. While the programme aired (@bbcdigrev) the producers received one tweet every three seconds when Twitter activity reached its peak, with users tagging their comments #bbcrevolution.
"Despite the column inches it gets, Twitter is still a minority pursuit, but I think it has real potential to grow," Gluckman adds.
Alienating an offline audience is not a particular concern for Gluckman, as the powerful storytelling voice he advocates, provides a standalone product too.
But will it work for programmes that are not about an online subject matter? Gluckman thinks it could prove a successful format for football, for example, where there are active communities. For topics without online participation, he's not so sure. "The key thing is that it has to be an online audience for an online platform."
Of course, in the not too distant future, the notion of a offline topic might be itself be a thing of the past.
The backchannel:
Research and pre-filming conversation:
The Virtual Revolution (the working title was 'The Digital Revolution') published blog posts from influential figures such as Wired's Chris Anderson and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, before they were interviewed for the film. These generated heated debate and audience contribution. "The idea was that while the scripts were being written all this activity would be going on that would help feed into the scriptwriting process," says Gluckman.
The making:
The names choice was opened up to users and 'The Virtual Revolution' won. Gluckman and his colleague Dan Biddle, the social media producer, were "constantly trying to get things to be more open" and were glad of the opportunity for the audience to have the final say over the name. A 3D documentary explorer guides users around the programme; another section of the site gives more detail on its making, with blogs. Read about presenter Aleks Krotosksi's experiences at this link.
Publishing the rushes:
Unedited clips from the raw footage still had to go through compliance, but they made rushes material online. There were limits in terms of distribution costs and the compliance process, but this is something the BBC would like to do more of in the future.
User contributions:
Followers of the programme and users made their own contributions: a clever mashup replaced the subtitles on iPlayer with tweets. "I'm happy and pleased we gave a positive experience to people who got involved with the programme," says Gluckman.
Further research:
Another ongoing element to the programme is the large scale online web behaviour test, which gives users a series of tasks to assess which user type (or web animal) they are. The final results may be shared with another BBC technology programme - and of course, shared online.
See a Twitter stream subtitled version of one of the shows, made by Martin Hawksey, e-Learning Advisor (Higher Education) for JISC RSC Scotland N&E (@mhawksey), here:
CassetteBoy's 'The web for beginners' mashup, commissioned by the Digital Revolution for its site:
Finance reporter - property
