We the people of Vimeo are big fans of storytelling.

While stories have existed for as long as humans with enhanced left hemispheres, advances in technology have always enriched the way we tell tales. Think about it: written language, radio, cinema, even cameras that fit on the backs of birds! If you've been stumbling around the Internet lately, you might have seen a new kind of storytelling, one that gives the digital bard extra freedom of choice. Let's talk interactive videos.

The concept is pretty neat — interactive videos allow you to tell stories in a non-linear fashion by creating sets of videos for the viewer to choose between, or watch simultaneously. This could mean crafting alternative plot lines, or building a game that requires the viewer to complete each step before moving on. There have been some exceptional examples lately, like this music video for Aloe Blacc's "Love is the Answer."

Creating interactive videos can be quite complex. Instead of one narrative arc, you might have a TON. Here are a few examples of story structures from Treehouse by Interlude, a platform designed for creating these interactive experiences. These concepts will help you plan your interactive video shoot. Each dot in these diagrams is a different video — when creating an interactive video, you'll need to plan your format first.

Parallel Paths is the simplest story structure for an interactive video. The viewer makes a single decision at the start about which narrative to watch. To choose another path, the viewer must replay the video from the beginning. Does Ethel knit a scarf for her granddaughter, do a bit of gardening, or play in her first roller derby game? Viewer's choice!

Maybe you have several stories to tell, but you'd like to be able to switch between them at any moment. This is more along the lines of the storyline-flipping in the Aloe Blacc video mentioned above.

Hub & Spoke is a setup that is similar to Parallel Paths, but any path is available at any time. This is great for when you'd like the viewer to switch between different topics or views — maybe different questions in an interview, or different locations for the same plot — while they're watching.

Perhaps you'd like to get a little crazier. Why not try leaving fate up to the viewer?

My favorite story setup for an interactive video is probably Possible Futures. In these, the viewer decides what happens each step of the way —"choose your own adventure" style. This means of storytelling gives the viewer several possible paths, and tailors the experience to each individual. Neat, huh?

Ready to take on an interactive video? Flex those storytelling ligaments in this crazy interactive video challenge being held by The Lincoln Motor Company and the Tribeca Film Festival™. The idea of the contest is to reimagine the way we tell stories by creating an interactive music video for Damon Albarn, Aloe Blacc or Ellie Goulding! Even better, each of the three winners pockets 10,000 big ones.

To learn more about the art of interactive video and to start crafting a video entry, pay a visit to Tribeca Film Festival's™ challenge site on Genero.TV.