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Diamond Road Online (2007)

Diamond Road Online – online from 2007 to 2012 – was developed as the companion to our Diamond Road documentary series. The website provided expanded content within an online environment where users could shape the story, receive content recommendations from other users, and be guided by an innovative Recommendation Engine.

AWARDS

Excellence in News/Information at the Canadian New Media Awards, October 2008.

Selected for the SIGGRAPH ’08 conference, August 2008.

DESCRIPTION

On Diamond Road Online, users can create online profiles that launch them on a vibrant community exploration of the global diamond trade. Using a custom designed set of client tools, they can move through the stories in a guided experience or take a more active path to explore the Diamond Road universe using our Recommendation Engine: intelligent software that analyzes what they have already seen, what other users have seen and rated, and recommends what they should see next.

Users can choose to follow a favourite character, find out more about a specific theme, or sit back and let other users or the Recommendation Engine choose a story. At any point, they can become an “editor” of the story by creating, commenting on, and sharing content sequences.

Diamond Road Online harnesses the power of technology and community to build an interactive documentary that learns from each user and is defined by the community.

CREDITS

Executive Producer
ROBERT LANG

Producers
DAVID OPPENHEIM
RICHARD LACHMAN

Creative Lead
MARK KOLODY

Documentary Directors
NISHA PAHUJA
MANFRED BECKER

Director of Photography
DEREK ROGERS

Project Manager
COLIN TURNBULL

Site Design/Production
KOLODY INC.

Illustrations
ANDREW ZBIHLYJ

Original Web Concept by
RICHARD LACHMAN
DAVID OPPENHEIM

Additional Website Programming
TAKINGITGLOBAL:
MICHAEL FURDYK
YASMARY MORA

Principle Investigator
RICHARD LACHMAN

Web Writer and Content Lead
DAVID OPPENHEIM

Website Community Manager
MATT O’SULLIVAN

TV Series Writers
JOHN KRAMER
NISHA PAHUJA

Music
KEN MYHR

Editor
BAUN MAH
ANDY BELY

Assistant Editor
FREDERIC ANSALDO

Researchers
JEANETTE KONG
LIANE KOTLER

Narrator
JENNIFER DALE

Publicity
BABBLE ON COMMUNICATIONS:
SUSAN MCLENNAN
DEBORAH KEEGAN

Promo Production
EFFEKTOR:
ALAN SHISKO

KENSINGTON COMMUNICATIONS
Production Coordination:
DAVID METH
SUZAN YUM

Accounting:
MICHELE DAVIS

Production Assistant:
RACHEL WEST

Coordinator, Beta test:
NAOMI LANG

Additional Camera
RICHARD LADKANI
MICHAEL ELLIS
BRIAN GREEN
SURDHEER PALSANE

Sound Recordists
AO LOO
JOHN MARTIN

Additional Sound Recordists
GAUTAM CHOUDHURY
SURESH RAJAMANI

Visual Researcher
ELIZABETH KLINCK

Archival Credits
D.L.I. PRODUCTIONS
F.I.L.M. ARCHIVES
F.I.L.M. LIBRARY
FILM WORLD &
CINESOUND MOVIETONE PROD.
FOOTAGEBANK
FOOTAGE FARM
FRAMEPOOL
JOURNEYMAN PICTURES
KIAH
THE MCGREGOR MUSEUM, KIMBERLEY
NW AYER ADVERTISING AGENCY RECORDS, ARCHIVES CENTER, NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY, SMITHSONIAN PRODUCERS LIBRARY SABUCAT PRODUCTIONS, INC.
SCALA / ART RESOURCE, NY
SHEETAL GROUP
THE WPA FILM LIBRARY

“LIGHT UP THE LOVE” BY KHARSH KALE
USED WITH PERMISSION
COURTESY OF SIX DEGREES RECORDS

Special thanks to the many people who contributed so generously their time and insights to the production:

RICHARD LENNOX
ANDY COHEN
BABA TOURAY
MOHAMMED DABO
RICHARD LENNOX
ALLAN MIDDLETON
CHIEF MOHAMMED BENYA V
JACOB ZUPNICK
CHRIS AIRE
MARIA FARMER
WILLEM DIERGAARDT
LESLIE ROSKIND
HENK SMITH
MANOJ BAWAJI
CHRIS JENNINGS
CHIEF FLOYD SANGRIS
MARTIN RAPAPORT
MORDY RAPAPORT
GENERAL CARTER CLARK
CLAUDETTE KRIJGER
ANIL DHANJI BHAI
AKSHAY MEHTA
ARJAV MEHTA
ASHIT MEHTA
SMITA MEHTA
LINDA SALKIN
KASIM BASMA
DAVID NOKO

Special thanks

Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund:
ANDRA SHEFFER
CHARLES ZAMARIA
LISA BAYLIN
CARLY McGOWAN

TVOntario:
CHRISTINE MCGLADE
NANCY CHAPPELLE
JANE JANKOVIC
MARC LEBLANC

MICHAEL MURTAUGH, PROFESSOR GLORIANNA DAVENPORT and the INTERACTIVE CINEMA GROUP AT THE MIT MEDIA LAB for their inspirational work.

ARNE ITZKOWITZ,
AERIAL EXPOSURES NY
DOUG ASHBURY
BACKES & STRAUSS GROUP
ANURITA BAINS
LEE BARKER
CHIMUN BHAI
RAJU BHAI
HOWARD BIRD
ANDREW BONE
BOSS K
GREG CAMPBELL
VIKRAM CHANDRA
CARMEN CLOETE
HOLLY COHEN-ROOCHVARG
DOUGLAS CRAWFORD
VEKEANA DHILLON
MADELAINE DROHAN
ZOE DUGAL
M.J. FERNANDEZ
PAM FITZMAURICE
FERRARI EXPRESS NYC
DINO FERRARI
LARRY FROLICK
DOUG GARR
KHAREEN PECH
PATRICK PEYS
DAVID PEERLA
KERRY RABESCA
PAULINE ROSENBAUM
NOONEE SANSPARIL
BRITTA SCHLAGER
GITA SHARMA
IAN SMILLIE
JONATHAN STACK
BARRY STEVENS
ELLIOT TANNENBAUM
PAUL TEMPLE
LUKE WALKER
NIKO XAN
LANSANA GBERIE
GINGER GIBSON
GLOBAL WITNESS
CARSON GLOVER
MATTHEW HART
ROBERT HART
TIM HETHERINGTON
ASHLEY HILTON, CHRISTIE’S
TOM HOEFER
LYNNETTE HORI
RAHUL KHADAKIA
ROSALIND KAINYAH
STEFAN KANFER
KRISTI KOSTATOS
DON LAW-WEST
ALASDAIR MACPHEE
WENDY MATHISON
CLARK MCEWEN
HELENE MOSTERT
ANTOINE MOUNTAIN
UWE NAEHER
PETER NEUGEBAUER
ANNE-MARIE NITSIZA
JACQUELINE NUWAME
NICOLLE PAVARS

Produced by
KENSINGTON COMMUNICATIONS

in association with
TVONTARIO

in collaboration with
TAKING IT GLOBAL
KOLODY INC.

with the participation of the
BELL BROADCAST AND NEW MEDIA FUND