The Industry
Interactive Documentary, VR, Podcast Series, 2017, 2018
The Industry (2017 - 2018)
Director: Mirka Duijn
The Industry is a trans-media project commissioned by Submarine Channel and directed by Mirka Duijn. This research-based project run from 2016 to 2018 and concluded in a VR Installation, an Interactive Documentary, and a Podcast Series.
The Netherlands is leading in Europe when it comes to the trade of weed, XTC and cocaine. Submarine Channel asked Mirka to explore how it can be possible that this industry is this wide spread, despite the Netherlands being such a regulated country.
Mirka was mostly interested in the banality of the industry. If one does not ask about it, you will not find it, but once one does, you will see that it is everywhere, and connected to everyone in our society; our brothers, grandmothers, friends and colleagues. Inspired by the everydayness and the ubiquitous presence of the industry, Mirka asked herself the question: What if we in the media approached the industry like any other industry? Wouldn't that help to better understand how it could have become so intertwined?
Mirka decided to approach the industry like any other industry, with its entrepreneurs, workers and bosses, working from their offices, warehouses and homes everywhere across the Netherlands. She interviewed the weed growers, coke kingpins and drugs traffickers, asking all of them: What does a workday of a drug trafficker, coke lord or weet cutter look like?
To visualise the interviews Mirka and Nina collaborated on 3D scanning the workplaces of the entrepreneurs and workers all over the Netherlands, which range from a corner snackbar, or a beautiful antique shop to an underground weed farm, thus ’mapping’ the industry that is hidden in plain sight in cities, towns and villages. Audiences could either check the places online or in a VR installation, in which the scanned settings were exhibited as virtual dollhouses situated on the map of the Netherlands.
The Netherlands is leading in Europe when it comes to the trade of weed, XTC and cocaine. Submarine Channel asked Mirka to explore how it can be possible that this industry is this wide spread, despite the Netherlands being such a regulated country.
Mirka was mostly interested in the banality of the industry. If one does not ask about it, you will not find it, but once one does, you will see that it is everywhere, and connected to everyone in our society; our brothers, grandmothers, friends and colleagues. Inspired by the everydayness and the ubiquitous presence of the industry, Mirka asked herself the question: What if we in the media approached the industry like any other industry? Wouldn't that help to better understand how it could have become so intertwined?
Mirka decided to approach the industry like any other industry, with its entrepreneurs, workers and bosses, working from their offices, warehouses and homes everywhere across the Netherlands. She interviewed the weed growers, coke kingpins and drugs traffickers, asking all of them: What does a workday of a drug trafficker, coke lord or weet cutter look like?
To visualise the interviews Mirka and Nina collaborated on 3D scanning the workplaces of the entrepreneurs and workers all over the Netherlands, which range from a corner snackbar, or a beautiful antique shop to an underground weed farm, thus ’mapping’ the industry that is hidden in plain sight in cities, towns and villages. Audiences could either check the places online or in a VR installation, in which the scanned settings were exhibited as virtual dollhouses situated on the map of the Netherlands.
Won a Peabody Award in 2018.
Won a FIVARS Award in 2019.
Special
Mention at Prix Italia 2018. Nominated at IDFA 2018,
Nominated for Prix Europa 2018
Nominated for Prix Bohemia 2019
Produced by:
Corine Meijers,
Submarine Channel / SubLab
VPRO
In collaboration with:
Zesbaans VR
IDFA DocLab
Check The Industry Interactive at Submarine Channel.
Find everything about the project at the VPRO Programme page for the Industry.
Listen to the podcast series.
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Won a FIVARS Award in 2019.
Special
Mention at Prix Italia 2018. Nominated at IDFA 2018,
Nominated for Prix Europa 2018
Nominated for Prix Bohemia 2019
Produced by:
Corine Meijers,
Submarine Channel / SubLab
VPRO
In collaboration with:
Zesbaans VR
IDFA DocLab
Check The Industry Interactive at Submarine Channel.
Find everything about the project at the VPRO Programme page for the Industry.
Listen to the podcast series.
Article
In 2017 Mirka published an article on the development in collaboration with H. Koenitz:
Beyond The Timeline a Data-Driven Interface For Interactive Documentary
Abstract
In this paper, we present work on the data-driven interface for The Industry, an interactive documentary in development about the Dutch illicit drug industry. The motivation for the work was to provide a more complete overview of a highly complex matter using a form of interactive digital narratives (IDN).
As it is with many complex issues, news reports on illegal drugs in the Netherlands are mostly fragmented and reactive, which makes it difficult for audiences to gain a good understanding of the topic. The approach starts by obtaining big-data sets from police and media. On this foundation, a narrative interface will be design
ed. This paper reports on the iterative design approach, and interface metaphors, on the lessons learned and the current state of affairs. Our intent with this paper is to fuel a discussion on narrative representations of complexity.