With the addition of TMAC's new Emerging and Broadcast Media Award, we thought we'd create a primer to introduce and give examples of the different forms of media eligible for entry in this awards category.

In submitting to this awards category:

  • You need to be one of the principle creators on the project submitted, not just a guest on an episode. For these awards, we are including Writers, Hosts, Directors, Cinematographers, and Producers under the term 'Principle Creator'.
  • The submission needs to connected with travel, inclusive of destinations, culture, natural and cultural history, people and place.
  • Where these represent series, we ask that specific episodes be entered. You may enter only one episode / entry, but can submit multiple entries from the same series.
  • The production must be shared publicly.

Emerging and Broadcast Media Category Primer

Podcast / Radio Program

A podcast or radio program consists of an episodic audio series that listeners can tune into via radio, the internet or download to a personal device for easy listening.

Below are some examples of travel related podcasts / radio programs:

Film

A film is a series of moving images that form a story. This could be a documentary or a fictional story as long as it relates to travel.

Below is an example a short travel film.

Digital Video

Digital video is as it sounds, an electronic representation of moving visual images (video) in the form of encoded digital data. Think travel vlog, vignettes, travelogues, documentaries, cinematic travel films, and web series.

  • Vlog = a video blog / log, often in the form of personal storytelling.

  • Vignette = a short, descriptive or evocative scene.

  • Travelogue = a narrated film about travel.

  • Documentary = a non-fictional film intended to document reality for education, sharing history, and sparking thought.

  • Cinematic Travel Film = a journey of a destination through beautiful cinematic imagery and music. These films usually do not offer narrative.

  • Web Series = a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form.

Audio Guides

Audio Guides are recorded information, accessible via a handheld device, for visitors touring a museum, gallery, or other place of interest.

For an example of such audio guides, checkout:

Games

Think games with a digital component that get people exploring and learning about a place. This could involve scavenger hunts, geocaching, QR codes ...etc or it could involve Google Maps or exploring from your couch, as the case would be for many children of the 80s favourite travel game of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? that is now playable via Google Earth.

A couple of other examples to inspire:

Immersive Media Experience

Immersive Experiences, also referred to as XR, Experiential Media, and Extended Reality, take users into a new reality or places virtual objects into a user’s real world, enhancing everyday life with technology. In fact the goal of immersive technologies is to sensorially experience the impossible.

Included within immersive media are virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR). 

  • Virtual Reality = a simulated environment and experience that could be similar to or completely different from that of the real world in which a user is physically situated.

One type of VR experience is 360 video, which represents the majority of present VR travel storytelling / experiences, particularly utilizing Google Arts and Culture creating Expeditions. The Hidden Worlds of the National Parks is an example of such a project.

Discover more virtual reality culture and travel experiences by clicking here.

  • Augmented Reality = an interactive experience where our real, physical world is digitally augmented. The augmentation is usually visual in current applications, though it can also be through other senses, such as auditory or haptic. 

One fun and imaginative Canadian example of an AR travel experience was ReBlink at the Art Gallery of Ontario in 2017-2018.

Find other AR culture and travel experiences by clicking here, along with discovering Tremona-Castello Archaeological Park's AR experience in the the Mendrisiotto Region of Switzerland.

  • Mixed Reality = allows real and virtual elements to interact with one another, and for users to interact with virtual elements in a similar way they would in the real world or at least in a similar way that they might interact with a touch screen.

To discover more Mixed Reality, click here.

For those of you who wish to learn more about Immersive Experiences, TMAC member Erica Hargreave has created an open education course with colleagues on Immersive Experiences in Natural and Cultural History Education.

Travel Apps

A mobile app is a software application that has been developed specifically for use on smaller devices, such as smartphones and tablets. For the purposes of the TMAC awards, we are specifying that the app would need to involve some form of storytelling, not purely a booking tool, map, or translation tool.

Some examples of travel apps that involve storytelling, checkout:

Interactive Stories

An interactive story is one that allows the user to in some way engage with story.

Below you will find an example of an interactive children's story, involving an imaginary yoga adventure to the ocean, created in Elementari. In engaging with this story, make sure your volume is turned on, and click the flashing arrows to turn the page, and on any other flashing objects that may appear on-screen. For the best experience, click the full screen icon.


If you have another form of media that you feel should be eligible in this category, please reach out to the Awards Committee.