CAPTURING MOBILE LIVES. An Introduction

Since the advent of small-gauge film devices, alternative audiovisual forms have adopted original and creative approaches to documenting personal experiences. Among these, amateur audiovisual films have often been characterized by self-referential and subjective expressions, whether shaped as “home movies” or individualistic autobiographical or self-portrayal declinations. From this perspective, the question is no longer how self-representational practices such as mobile and first-person filmmaking are used to express personal unique perspectives and styles, but rather what forms of self-narrative representation emerge within the exploration of novel methods and alternative renderings of the Self in audiovisual and digital media. Within a mediascape where social media platforms have catalyzed an unprecedented development of self-narrative forms through digital creative practices, nearly anyone can produce and share self-representations, acting as captures and stories of mobile lives. This issue of Comunicazioni Sociali proposes reflections on the disciplinary, theoretical, and historical intersections of amateur, personal, mobile storytelling and smartphone filmmaking. In particular, the issue aims to solicit contributions that seek to explore how digital storytelling, mobile and smartphone filmmaking can be understood today in both personal and collective forms.