Bear71 and Point of View (POV) explores two drastically different topics yet they’re approach is almost similar. Bear71 explores the effect of human presence on forests and wildlife (particularly on Grizzly bears) while POV brings light to the difficult lives of prejudiced Palestinians. Both use videos and maps to explore its chosen subject, Bear71 and POV are very different sites. POV offers interactivity to learn while Bear71 puts certain restrains on the viewer’s ability to explore in order to deliver its important message.
The map in Bear71 is massive, exploration is possible but not encouraged. Exploration is possible but there’s a catch, IT MAKES THE STORY CONFUSING. This is because Bear71s narrative is linear and clicking at other parts of the map where the narrative hasn’t reached makes the story confusing and I believe this works very well in encouraging restraint and letting the world be which is the site’s main message. Unlike POV where you need to click on the map in order to learn more about the site’s narrative, Bear71 quietly instructs you to be just an observer, and to observe how human action can negatively affect the wildlife and that these are the facts and that it’s for the best for these wildlife creatures if we let them be.
Bear71s main interface is huge and there are a lot of things to click but sometimes these footage have nothing to do with the main narrative.
e.g. of snippets that can distract you from the main narrative
Videos are also present in both sites but like I said restraint is Bear71s main message and by clicking on random videos that aren’t part of the main narrative, it makes Bear71s story too confusing at times. This is where POV differs and excels at. POV’s map encourages exploration and by clicking on these videos you learn more about POV’s narrative and the topics and themes it’s trying to explore. POV’s interactivity is its strength and with each new interaction and new video you make new discoveries and with each discovery you learn more about the truth and the way these people live and that truth is what forms POV’s narrative.
POV’s map offers different interact-able regions that have their own stories that are quintessential in forming POVs narrative.
One of many examples of content from POV’s regions
Link to the sites
Bear71: http://bear71.nfb.ca/#/bear71
Points of View: http://points-of-view.net/en/
Carlos Stormaggeddon Manaog 