BACKGROUND

This year I researched interactive film in order to create an interactive children’s TV pilot that centers mature morals and LGBTQ representation. Through this research and finished product, I aimed to convey how interactive film can better teach nuanced themes to youth audiences in order to expand the potential of this medium and teach myself valuable producorial professional skills in the process. The ambitious intended outcome of this research was a 10-minute film for children ages 10-16, entitled The Unfinished Business of Marty Melnick, that used point-and-click interaction to dictate the characters that the narrative focuses on. The actual outcome of this research was a nineteen page script, a two minute long demo live-action scene, and an approximately 15-minute working interactive animatic prototype of the television pilot. What drove the inspiration for this research was the fact that, despite interactive film’s extensive history, this field lacks genre diversity and does not fulfill its educational potential for youth audiences. Therefore, even in its prototype form, this research project will hopefully act as a template for future researchers by demonstrating the potential of this genre as a powerful tool for emotional-intelligence based education. Researching and executing the process of creating meaningful interactive film will ideally provide a framework for teaching nuanced themes in children’s media.