A proof-of-concept prototype for a website that represents BBC drama on the web that lets you explore dramas, catch up on story-lines, discover new characters and share what you find. Most TV drama on the web has either deep and detailed fan-produced sites or visually rich, but relatively shallow sites from the broadcasters. We thought that there could be a middle way for something that expresses the richness and depth of the stories that the BBC creates.
Project date: Spring 2010
Objectives of project
Our objective was to build something that would allow people to explore BBC dramas and the archive, and to create a reusable framework that could apply to many dramas and stories. We decided to apply this to Doctor Who because it is a high-profile brand with a large archive and is particularly narratively complex in places - time travel is hard!
Research approach
Our approach to building prototypes is agile and iterative so our software engineers modelled the data and got running code as soon as possible, we then did some ad-hoc user testing with some colleagues so we could iterate the designs and make it better. Finally, we worked with a freelance writer to create the content for the site, to bring the data model to life.
Partners
We worked with BBC Vision and the Doctor Who team to build a working prototype
Research outcomes
The final prototype is now live internally and features five whole stories (some classic Doctor Who and some contemporary), a couple of story arcs and about forty characters. It has led to further research work and has been influential in a number of follow-up projects around the BBC.
Links
You can read more about this prototype and see a video of it in action Click here.
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