Image Credit : SHP (Sue Hodges Productions) P/L
Project Overview
The Old Great North Road (OGNR) App is Australia's first heritage-based App to use video to explain the stories of an historically significant place. The app uses location-based short videos to engage visitors with the Old Great North Road World Heritage Site, one of 11 convict sites listed as a combined site in 2011 by the World Heritage Convention. The App personalises the Road's history by combining virtual tours with dramatised versions of the OGNR's history, while also also provides standard Park information.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
SHP (Sue Hodges Productions Pty Ltd)
Team
Sarah Brookes (Project initiator and creative producer) - NPWS
Sue Hodges (Project director, researcher, historian, creative director, scriptwriter) - SHP
Kate Spencer (Digital media producer, interactive design) - SHP
Matthew Buckley (interactive design) - SHP
Jerry Retford (Film direction and production) - Convict Footprints for SHP
Book & Black (App Coders) - subcontracted by SHP
Project Brief
This is the first App produced in Australia to use video and dramatic re-enactments to tell the story of a significant heritage site. It was conceived as part of a new way to create site-based interpretation by the client, the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, and was an outcome from an innovative interpretation plan for the site.
Most other heritage-based Apps are essentially brochures, with extensive use of text and images. The Old Great North Road App, by contrast, creates a vivid experience of the Road in the past and present for visitors who walk along two of the main trails there. The extensively documented history of the Road is brought to life through a series of personal introductions to the Road by people connected with it today, in the form of short guided tours. An accompanying series of short historical videos activated at key points on the trails transport users into another time and place: the early 19th century, when convicts from England, Ireland and Scotland were charged with the task of carving a great road through sandstone. These videos are produced in the form of episodes in the Road's life, as told by the people who built it. They were produced in collaboration with the director from Convict Footprints, Jerry Retford, who produced an award-winning play about the Road that was performed on site.
Project Need
The Old Great North Road App was designed and produced after extensive research into the tourist markets for the region, to meet the needs of visitors who wanted to know more about the social history of the Road. Scripts for the historical videos were extensively researched by SHP. This ensured that the App met the planning needs that NPWS had for the site.
This App answers the need for lively, meaningful interpretation of one Australia's key convict sites. It is designed to complement existing signage on site, which was introduced in the 1990s and largely discusses the engineering aspects of the Road. The need for an App became apparent in a 2011 visitor survey, when many visitors said they wanted to know more about the social history of the Old Great North Road.
History can often seem dull and boring to visitors because of its bias towards print-based media, such as signs and brochures. This App takes a bold new step in the field of heritage by using dramatic recreations and personal accounts to engage people with the past. In doing so, it not only gives a voice to the people who worked on the Road, but also respects the World Heritage values of the site and utilises 'best practice' heritage interpretation by minimising intrusive signage. Finally, the OGNR App is environmentally sustainable and economically sustainable when compared with signage.
User Experience
The user experience is designed to be intuitive. The navigation is map-based and designed to complement the existing NPWS brochures. The General Introduction features Park ranger Sarah Brookes, who gives a brief talk about the history of the Road and explains how to use the App.
The Old Great North Road comprises two main trails: the Road itself, and Finchs Line. Users at each location can watch one of two films: historical or contemporary. The contemporary videos, which feature Sarah Brookes, an Aboriginal Elder, an archaeologist and the head of the Convict Road project, is based on the idea of creating a personal experience for users.
Each historical video interprets a particular story associated with the Road and is featured at the site where the story took place if possible. These stories relate to the intangible history of the road: the lives of the convicts, soldiers and overseers who created this engineering marvel. These lives were filled with hardships, from sweltering heat in summer to freezing winters; from fleas to the stench of their fellow men in the summer. Videos are activated near existing signage and where visitors naturally stop for a rest.
The App is already proceeding to a second version with the addition of an animated 'Kid's tour', featuring a native mouse and a flea.
Project Marketing
Marketing has initially been undertaken by the client, NPWS, in the form of a launch by the NSW Minister for Heritage and promotion on the organisation's home page. The App has also been promoted via SHP's Facebook page and the Convict Footprints Facebook page. SHP plans a launch of the second stage of the App, the Kids' Tour, in March 2014.
Tags
Travel Guides
This category relates to travel guide applications.
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