Bla Bla

Lore & Background

The online work has been described as exploring 'the principles of human communication,' and follows Morisset's collaborations with Arcade Fire on Neon Bible, considered the first interactive music video. The characters in BLA BLA were designed by Caroline Robert using stop-motion puppetry and traditional animation as well as computer animation methods such as ActionScript animation and real-time 3D mapping. The work is designed to be principally non-linear, with users constructing the story through point-and-click choices. The music by composer Philippe Lambert and characters' speech was broken into short clips and distributed randomly throughout the programming, which was created by Édouard Lanctôt-Benoit. As an added bonus, BLA BLA users can also access classic NFB animated films, including works by Ryan Larkin, René Jodoin and Michèle Cournoyer and Norman McLaren. BLA BLA was produced for the NFB by Hugues Sweeney. The work stands apart in its emphasis on achieving an emotional response in the viewer/actor. 'I wanted to create moods and generate emotions through an interactive piece,' Morriset says. 'It's quite hard to do dramatic crescendos on a website… I thought it would be an interesting challenge.' BLA BLA was featured in spring 2012 at a month-long live interactive presentation in Paris.

Reader's Guide

Users construct the story through point-and-click choices in a principally non-linear design.

Did You Know?

• In March 2012, BLA BLA received the SXSW Interactive Art Award as well as the Entertainment Award in the Communication Arts Interactive Competition.
• In May 2012, it received the Webby Award for best web art.

Creative Vision and Production

BLA BLA emerged from the creative partnership between Montreal-based filmmaker Vincent Morisset and the studio AATOAA, with production handled by the National Film Board of Canada under producer Hugues Sweeney. The project sits in a lineage of experimental digital storytelling that Morisset had already begun exploring through his work with Arcade Fire, where he helped craft what is regarded as the first interactive music video for their album Neon Bible. Here, however, the ambition expanded considerably. The piece is described as an investigation into the principles of human communication, yet its true distinguishing feature is Morisset's insistence on emotional depth within an interactive medium. He openly acknowledged the difficulty of crafting dramatic crescendos in a web-based environment, calling it an interesting challenge. Rather than treating interactivity as a gimmick, he sought to generate moods and elicit genuine emotional responses from the viewer-actor, pushing the boundaries of what a browser-based experience could feel like.

Artistic Techniques and Visual Design

The visual language of BLA BLA draws from an unusually broad palette of animation traditions. Character designer Caroline Robert blended stop-motion puppetry with traditional hand-drawn animation, then layered those organic textures over digital techniques including ActionScript-driven animation and real-time 3D mapping. This hybrid approach gives the characters a tactile, almost handmade quality while still allowing them to respond fluidly to user input. Structurally, the work is designed to be principally non-linear. Rather than following a fixed narrative arc, the story is assembled by the user through a series of point-and-click choices, meaning no two sessions are likely to unfold identically. This design philosophy places the participant squarely in the role of co-author, shaping the sequence of images, sounds, and interactions that constitute their personal version of the tale. The result is a piece that resists passive consumption and instead demands active engagement with its visual and narrative materials.

Sound, Code, and Narrative Architecture

Behind the scenes, the audio and programming architecture of BLA BLA reveals a deliberate strategy of fragmentation and recombination. Composer Philippe Lambert crafted the musical score, while the characters' spoken dialogue was segmented into short clips. These audio fragments were then distributed randomly throughout the code, a process handled by programmer Édouard Lanctôt-Benoit. This means that the sonic landscape a user encounters shifts with each interaction, reinforcing the non-linear, exploratory nature of the experience. Beyond its own content, BLA BLA also serves as a gateway to the broader NFB animated film archive. Users can access classic works by luminaries such as Ryan Larkin, René Jodoin, Michèle Cournoyer, and Norman McLaren, effectively embedding the piece within a rich tradition of Canadian animation. This bonus layer transforms the project from a standalone experiment into a curated portal connecting contemporary digital storytelling with the heritage of the medium.

Recognition and Live Presentation

BLA BLA's critical reception in early 2012 was swift and substantial. In March of that year, the work was honored with the SXSW Interactive Art Award, recognizing its innovation at the intersection of digital technology and artistic expression. In the same month, it also took home the Entertainment Award within the Communication Arts Interactive Competition, further cementing its standing in the field of interactive design. By May 2012, the piece had earned the Webby Award for best web art, a distinction that highlighted its impact on the broader online creative community. Beyond digital accolades, BLA BLA crossed into the physical performance realm in spring 2012, when it was presented as a month-long live interactive installation in Paris. This extended in-person presentation allowed audiences to engage with the work in a shared, immersive setting, demonstrating that the piece's interactive storytelling could translate powerfully beyond the screen into a communal, theatrical experience.