BOP 2007 > Web Site Winners > Best Multimedia Package (Independent/Unaffiliated Sites)
- 1st Place
- “Kingsley’s Crossing”
- Olivier Jobard/MediaStorm
Kingsley is a 23-year-old lifeguard from the West African coastal town of Limbe, Cameroon. Though he longed to be a professional footballer, French soldiers trained him to become a lifeguard, and Kingsley soon found himself working at an upscale hotel giving swimming lessons to visiting Europeans. He earned just 50 euros a month, enough to pay for food and the rented two-room house he shared with his parents and seven siblings. So, in May of 2004, Kingsley left Cameroon on what he calls "his mission." What followed was an excruciating six-month journey across half of Africa. Kingsley's Crossing is the story of one man's willingness to abandon everything—his family, his country, and his friends—in the hopes of finding a better life abroad.
- Comments (Josh Meltzer)
The judges spoke at length about telling stories for the web, and what separates good use of the web from just great storytelling. The first and third place entries had the best storytelling in this category, hands down. The Kingsley’s Crossing piece was so compelling, that all of the judges wanted to see the piece in its entirety on its first view. That said, several of the judges expressed concern that the piece didn’t use the web’s ability for interactivity and viewer control, and that this piece and the Bloodlines piece were essentially similar in nature to a TV piece or even an audio slideshow. The judges felt that allowing the user to navigate the story themselves though the use of an interactive map, chapters, or a timeline would have made this piece more appropriate for the web. Because all of the judges agree that good storytelling comes first over a flashy interactive interface, Kingsley’s Crossing rose the top. Its use of a map, though non-interactive, was a nice touch. Atacama, the second place entry, featured fantastic interactivity and information. The judges felt it is the end all, be all for the Atacama Encyclopedia, but was not enough of a compelling story to rise to the very top. The photography, audio, interactive maps, and design were top rate, but the storytelling was not compelling. The third place entry had beautiful audio, wonderful photography, and a great story. Some of the judges disagreed on whether the use of video was appropriate and necessary.
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