Cirrus@Austlit

'Miller (2008) writes that auto-ethnographical writing is a form of knowing and discovery, allowing the auto-ethnographer to explore themselves and their topic. The travel documentary film expands upon this notion, allowing audiences to become privy to the discovery process; viewers are active participants in the journey, often discovering new knowledge alongside the presenter. Audience and presenter inhabit a shared liminal space, embarking on an educational and physical journey, together. The presenter combines didactic and personable discourses to bridge the gap between complex knowledge and accessible language. New experiences are imprinted on both the presenter and viewer’s consciousness, evoking participatory experiences and creating ‘prosthetic memories’ – synthetic recollections appended to our actual lived experiences. The illusion of participation is further conjured through visual elements; animated cine-maps create geospatial awareness, allowing audiences to feel ‘in the know’, becoming actively involved in the journey progression. The construction of a simulacrum, through representations of the countries and experiences, creates a staged authenticity, allowing viewers to project themselves into the journey. This article deconstructs visual and verbal elements of Joanna Lumley’s In the Land of Northern Lights (2008) for the purpose of adaptation into a multimodal, static form. Narration is studied for adaptation into the written word, and visual devices for adaptation into illustration, peritext, marginalia and ephemera. The possibilities for these adaptations are explored through a practice-led approach, with these discoveries offering static-based alternatives to animation and tracking maps, then introduces ephemera and marginalia as a means of in-formalising language. Furthermore, the process of adapting form, rather than content, is unpacked – a technique currently underrepresented in scholarship. Consequently, this article provides an insight into both the process and practice of adapting form.'

 (Publication abstract)