remixable - posts tagged 'cross-media'

COWORKING SPACE AT 3RD WARD

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 03:57:46 GMT

New York-based creative professionals take note! Odds are, you’re familiar with 3rd Ward, the massive workspace in Bushwick full of all sorts of resources, supplies and classes for any creative project that interests you, from woodworking to filmmaking. And if not I just told you the gist of it, so there you go.

But aside from being a great place to learn, create, and promote all sorts of great DIY projects, their newest edition now also makes it a great place to work. Dubbed a “coworking space,” it’s a modern, bright, airy office designed for collaborating as well as solo work, full of shared desks, personal workstations, conference rooms, plenty of brand new iMacs, free wifi and printing, and of course, free coffee. All of it’s designed for any smart creative freelancer, startup or telecommuter who wants to have a place to get their work done while networking with other like-minded people. You can even meet clients and have business mail delivered there.

At the heart of all of this, though, is collaboration. The nice thing about 3rd Ward is that it provides the perfect environment for creativity: step inside and you’re surrounded by people in all sorts of different crafts from all sorts of different backgrounds, and everyone has ideas flowing. A graphic designer may not realize they can get inspiration from a welder until it happens, and these sorts of things happen all the time at 3rd Ward.

And of course, we wouldn’t recommend anything unless we’ve seen and experienced it ourselves; 3rd Ward has given Workbook Project a space to shoot at least one RADAR episode, and we also partnered with them for Inside Design as well.

Learn more about the new coworking space HERE.

Kristi Barnett’s experience with the Twitter production, Karen Barley

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 02:37:33 GMT

Karen Barley is a horror story told on Twitter with tweets linking out to YouTube videos and photos. It’s the creative brainchild of Kristi Barnett and during its three week run in July earned some impressive stats for a low-budget independent production including almost 700 followers on Twitter and over 5000 words in press coverage plus a spot on BBC TV.

In this article Robert Pratten interviews Kristi about the project’s development and delivery.

RP: You’re a “traditional” movie scriptwriter by trade Kristi so what made you want to write a transmedia story?

KB: I wanted to get one of my stories produced. I’d been writing for 3 years with at that time, not even a short made. I just bit the bullet and decided that using social media would be a cheaper and more immediate way to get an audience for a story. I wasn’t actually consciously looking at transmedia itself but rather the idea of using Twitter as a story tool. I knew no one had tried to tell a story over twitter as a character using other media like videos, photos, weblinks etc. I love twitter and am constantly on it so it seemed natural to me that Twitter could be used in this way. And it is a writer’s medium when you think about it; every tweet is a piece of writing.

RP: How many people were involved in the project from crew to cast?

KB: The total number of people directly involved was 10. The actual crew on the shoot days including cast and myself was 5. So it was micro-budget guerilla film making. I had myself as Writer, Director and Producer; I funded almost all of it. I quickly got in contact with Tim Clague whom I’d met at various screenwriting festivals and after looking at his work in different types of media I asked if he’d be a consultant on the project and story. He gave me some great advice on how to proceed and how to gain an audience and gave me the encouragement to continue and use the story I had. He ended up being an Associate Producer. I then moved quickly into looking for an Assistant Director. Someone that I knew would be creative and technically aware and who also loved the idea of different media. I asked Danny Tate of JellyFish Media to jump on board. He also served as Editor and Sound Designer and was instrumental in making the trailer and behind the scenes video diary (coming soon).

At the same time I was looking for my actors. So I got myself a casting assistant and casting co-coordinator; Matthew Turner and Mark Vella respectively. Then over two days I cast for the two main characters. Gemma Giddings and Benjamin O’Mahony were the actors I chose. They were great and could improvise off script and understand the scenes very quickly and were very intuitive with the camera, as they’d be shooting themselves. They loved the idea of what I was trying to achieve and I think and hope that it was a challenge for them; something very different to what they’d ever done in that they were shooting small video vignettes that only made sense if you read the tweets that went with it. The other actor was David McClelland whom I knew from my writers group. He’s also a technology writer and presenter so he loved the idea straight away. He played Bossman. I also had a Sound assistant, Elise Neola May and a Website Consultant in Anton Russell.

RP: Tell us about the timescales for the project in terms of developing & writing the story, implementing the experience (video production, pre-written tweets, photos) and the live execution.

KB: I came up with the concept of using twitter with a live character about middle of 2010. I finally pulled out my finger and started writing the script in Dec 2010 and finished the final draft in about March 2011; (86 pages). At the same time I was already organising pre production with Tim and Danny. As soon as I was happy with the story and how we were going to roll it out, I started auditioning in April. I cast it in May and we started the 2.5 day shoot in the middle of June. Danny immediately started on converting the files, editing them and then spontaneously and brilliantly made a pre story trailer. I spent two days with him telling him what I wanted but left him to his own devices and so I’d say he worked on all the videos and trailer (and most of the video diary) in 3 weeks. The story went live at the end of June and rolled out for 3 weeks as live finishing on July 16^th 2011. So all in all and between me and everyone else having other jobs and working odd hours, the project took 7 months.

RP: How many tweets, videos and tweets did you have per day (or per week) and for how long did the whole story take to unfold?

KB: I kind of just wrote the script as individual tweets. You can see an excerpt of what the script looked like here: SCRIPT EXCERPT As you can see it wasn’t quite like a normal script. I just guessed that each line would be 140 characters (I decided to not use Tweetdeck’s Deck.ly system because I wanted the experience to be as direct as possible; with as little navigation away from the immediate twitter app). I think the total amount of tweets over the 3 week period was approximately between 500 and 600 tweets. That’s not counting the mentions and retweets she did. There were originally 32 videos planned at an allowance of about 1-2mins in length. The length was important because no one tweets long videos; I didn’t want to take up people’s time. They would want to quickly click on the link and watch a short clip to get the plot then move on. We actually ended up adding a few extra videos that I shot myself and some of the videos ended up being less than a minute. All in all the running time of all the videos combined was about 25 minutes. These videos mainly came out during the weekends which are the bulk of where the story plot points take place. You can see that not every day had a video or even a photo. I actually got very aware that I should’ve had a few more bits of media to make up for it and ended up improvising with some of my own personal photos! But I think the tweets themselves were engaging enough, which is where my writing skills come in (hopefully)!

RP: How did you decide which platforms to tell the story across? For example, how did you develop the story and decide which content would be presented textually on Twitter and which content would be a photo or video.

KB: Because the main concept was a character on twitter that people would follow, the idea that her tweets tell the bulk of the story was already part and parcel of how twitter works. I actually don’t think people utilize twitter as much as they can. As such, most people follow someone specifically to read a tweet. Anything else that gets tweeted; e.g. a photo or video or link is a bonus and perhaps not always clicked on. So straight away I decided to market Karen Barley as a movie over twitter rather than trying to get people to believe she actually existed as a real person. That way most people who started following her would know that they are supposed to read the tweets. At the same time as I was writing the script I knew that people would be expecting a certain level of videos to come out but as I didn’t have much money or time or special effects; I had to choose moments in the script that were easier to film and also pushed the story forward. So a lot of the videos at the beginning were character development videos; to get you used to what these two people are like. They were easy to film but essential if people were to form their own opinions on Darren and Karen and hopefully to empathise. The weekends in the story were where most of the videos occurred. They started off as character building videos then gradually they started providing essential plot points and the necessary creepiness. I built the tweets so you knew that each weekend she was supposed to go into the woods and people knew that something may happen to her then. So I was essentially trying to hold people’s attention over these weeks by alluding to the things to come. I would give out her birthday in the tweets in a way that told people they should be around on that date (16^th July). But one of my hardest challenges as a writer was to rationalize to the audience why on earth she’d be filming and then actually tweeting this stuff in the first place. I had to give each video a hint of rationalization. So you would have Darren question why she’s filming; you would have Karen’s sense of loneliness play out in the tweets so people knew that she was using twitter for emotional support. And of course her eventual paranoia into what her boyfriend was doing made her want to film as evidence. The actors were great in improvising in the scenes; they would pretend that they were unaware the camera was still on e.g. they did it in a believable way.

I developed the story knowing that hopefully; people on twitter would be using 3^rd party apps like Tweetdeck or Twitter mobile on their phones etc. There’s so many. So I was very conscious of how the sound comes out of a PC speaker and a phone as opposed to headphones; (although please do listen to the videos on headphones because it rocks). I wanted the videos to pop out from the apps so chose YouTube which most 3^rd party clients had inbuilt players for and Yfrog which I tested on various apps and saw the photos loaded within the app and was more stable than other photo clients for loading times.

I just didn’t want to give any excuse for people to navigate away from their twitter client, because once that happens you may lose your audience due to slow internet browsers and loading times.

In terms of photos; there was about 37 of them in the end and they were the sort of photos most people would tweet; seemingly mundane stuff like eating a pizza or Darren dancing in his underwear. In the forest there were quite a few location establishing shots of Croham Hurst. Part of the story was that her boss had told her document evidence of the history of the area so it gave me a good excuse to have her want to tweet that she’d found bones for example. They were there to provide a visual to a tweet that I assumed the audience would be interested in. So if she tweets, Darren has scratches all over him then I used a photo cos you’d want to see that. I think I should’ve taken a few more than I did for the days that were just tweets.

RP: Before you went live, what was your biggest worry?

KB: From a purely personal level I was afraid I’d not have enough gumption to finish what I’d started. Or something would happen where I wouldn’t be able to continue with the shoot. I have a lot of anxiety in general so this just amplified everything. But I forced myself to continue. I was also worried that my story might not be interesting enough to hold people’s attention as tweets; but Tim gave me great confidence to stick with it. Just before we went live I started to worry that I wouldn’t be able to actually garner any interest in the project publicity wise. I saw that more people (initially) were joining her Facebook profile than the twitter profile and I worried they wouldn’t understand what was going on, because let’s face it; the Facebook audience is different to Twitter. I worried that her profile would be deleted by Facebook for being a character so quickly started an actual fanpage for her which in hindsight is what I should’ve done all along for Facebook. On Twitter there was the concern that people would miss most of the tweets and would they want to go back and look at the older tweets and videos? But at the end of the day I just told myself that this hasn’t been done before so I’m learning too and it’s an experiment to see how people follow a story on these social networks as much as anything else. I just did the best I could to make things easy for the audience.

RP: What was the most challenging aspect of the project in terms of its live delivery?

KB: This is the part where I want to tell everyone it was easy and fun to get the story out but in reality it was one of the most frustrating experiences of my life. If I had to pinpoint THE most challenging aspect, it was in fact the part that I and my website consultant believed would be the easiest: An archive website with all her tweets that was supposed to be updated. I wanted a landing page so people could go there instead of scrolling through her twitter page (and I knew not many people would actually watch the story from the actual twitter website) but we quickly realised there are no widgets that show every single tweet. They only show a few and there’s no scroll feature to keep showing more. The closest we got was Blender which in fact turned out to be very helpful in using the cut and pastes from that. So I dismissed that and decided to create a webpage that I would personally update every day by cutting and pasting her tweets. Well we chose Wordpress to do this and unfortunately it just did not like the formatting that Twitter had. No matter how hard we tried it would publish the site and overwrite the way we set it out. It looked awful. I went to Tripod and found a nice template that allowed for multimedia and best of all it took all the cut and pastes perfectly and kept the formatting. Then suddenly their servers crashed, got slow and stopped saving the pages correctly. I spent up to 2 hours doing a job that should’ve taken 10mins, every night. Even now the saved page is not the same as the final published site you see but it was honestly the best website amongst many free website builders for this job. http://karenbarley.tripod.com/tweets/

Followed very closely in the “I’m going to rip my hair out” stakes was the scheduling of the tweets. I have a full time job where I can’t have my phone on or use a PC (in a TV studio). So there was no way I could tweet live for Karen. I decided to use Tweetdeck as they have a “Set location” feature (even if you’re not there!) and the tweets come out in minutes rather than 5 minute chunks like others. This was essential because she tweets like a normal person, i.e. a burst of tweets to get across what she’s trying to say. So I couldn’t wait for 5 minutes for her next tweet to come out. At the most I scheduled them in 2 minute gaps. Of course you could have two different twitter accounts in Tweetdeck so I could schedule from my own @Pale_Jewel and Karen’s. Well all I’m going to say is for this particular project, Tweetdeck let me down and it’s such a shame as I really do believe their scheduler is the best for transmedia style projects involving Twitter. I can’t even say what went wrong other than the fact that they released a new Adobe Air update overnight and co-incidentally, I lost all my scheduled tweets for the penultimate day of the story and her account was temporarily “lost”. There was also a loss of ability to recreate her Tweetdeck account. Well that was the moment I almost stopped the story as a live event. I was saved though as I did end up using Hootsuite for the last 2 days in conjunction with Conductrr – which was actually pivotal in releasing the videos from unlisted to public to YouTube automatically (and which no other scheduler can do as far as I know). On a minor point, the Twitter-to-Facebook profile app also failed and I used Smart Tweets in the end. I keep telling myself that such big problems are a result of sort of being a pioneer in this level of story release. But actually, these few websites and Twitter-specific applications stated all along they could do these things and when I used them to their utmost limit they appeared to have failed. Having said that… there are so many different ways to use Twitter to tell a story, it doesn’t have to be a live event with a live character. But fair enough it still came out and no one was any wiser to the problems and they still enjoyed it which I’m very proud of.

RP: What kinds of reaction have you had from the audience? I’m thinking in terms of the ease with which they could follow the story, whether there were too many or not enough tweets, whether they wanted more or fewer videos and so on.

KB: I think the level of tweets were about right. I tried to make it like any person would tweet. I tweet quite a lot myself but even then when I look at my tweeting behavior it would be a few in the morning and little bit in the afternoon and most of them in the evening. Karen had a fulltime job. She didn’t like the people in her workplace but she worked hard and probably wouldn’t have been constantly tweeting throughout the day. I just hoped that people would understand although she’s a character, she’s being played as live hence the lack of tweets during her working day.

I think I should have had at least one video per day as well as photos. There were a few days with no media just tweets, which I kind of became very aware of, but budget and hence time did not allow me to shoot more footage. Having said that, I never got anyone tweeting saying “this is boring” or “where’s the videos”. But 3 weeks was long enough as a story to develop the characters and get the audience feeling for them. Any longer than 3 or 4 weeks and I think this format would’ve suffered as people would definitely be asking what the hell’s happening?

I had to build up the tension as any movie would but in a slow burning way. I chose to do this in order for story/character development to take place and to quite frankly give us more time to build the audience. I’m not a marketing/PR guru and didn’t have over a year to plant posters and make fake websites and fake news reports building up interest for Karen. I had about 2 months at the most to get her that audience and even while the last week was happening she still had people following. So to have this style of story happen any quicker than 3 weeks would’ve not felt right for the audience members. In fact between Facebook and Twitter she ended up having just over 1000 people. Those were the people that stayed with her throughout the 3 weeks. That’s 1000 people who at some point engaged and watched the clips and some of the tweets. More audience than I’ve ever had as a writer. She had loads more follow but they dropped off, probably because they didn’t realise she was a character and wondered why her tweets were just a tad strange. I have to say just while we’re here that the comments I got and reactions I got to the story after it finished was fantastic. You can see some of them here.

RP: Do you have any feeling for the demographics of the people that followed the experience? I’m wondering if you found there were more men than women or more younger people than older?

KB: I really don’t know how to gauge the statistics of the audience at this stage other than to physically go through each Twitter follower and Facebook friend and make assumptions. I felt as though gender wise there was an even balance. I had females and males interacting and replying to her and loving the story. I thought that horror was a male genre so perhaps the transmedia attracted some of the female audience. Once again I’d be guessing but the Twitter followers seemed to be mid 20’s upwards. The Facebook friends, well many of them were word of mouth friends from my own friends and were a wide range of ages. They did not interact as much as twitter followers. But I knew some were reading the tweets at least because I’d get a few “likes” etc. The audience for Facebook as I explained is a different dynamic and that’s mainly because of Facebook’s tendency to siphon out news and information from your friends. Basically, you won’t see everything a friend posts on their wall because there’s a setting in Facebook that stops that from happening and not everyone knows how to turn it off. I knew that but I feel that each transmedia project should try and incorporate every platform in the hope it will reach an audience.

RP: Would you have liked to have built in more opportunities for audience participation?

KB: Yes. I actually thought of ways to make the interaction better but it would’ve taken so much more planning, time and money. I wanted to shoot alternative scenes with the actors and alternative endings. Then guide the audience into choosing what Karen and Darren should do via the tweets. Then based on the majority I would choose a scene. Like one of those “Pick a Path” books. I also thought about running another Twitter account from the perspective of Darren or even the Other Darren at the same time. My God, I don’t want to think how I would’ve made that happen, lol. Maybe someone else can have a go. J

RP: What advice would you give other writers about writing for Twitter?

KB: As I mentioned Twitter is a great writer’s medium – more so than any other social networking site just because we are always writing our tweets. And we tend to add a bit of flourish to the tweets so whether intentional or not we are being creative on Twitter. I wanted to incorporate the multimedia aspect by using the video and photo uploading features as well as ability to post links. I think if you can find something to write about on Twitter that will capture people’s imagination then people will follow – even if it’s just a blog or diary. Why not make a documentary-style blog using Twitter? “Diarize” what’s happening to your character and post videos as well. Can you imagine Borat being a Twitter character first of all? I can. These are some of the ways that Twitter can work creatively. If you want to market and promote a 60min story that is just one video and you’re bypassing distributers to get your audience, you can do that too. It does take a lot of promotional work but as I said to the BBC, there is an audience online waiting to be entertained so why not use it.

RP: What’s next for you?

As always I’m writing and trying to finish a sci-fi feature screenplay (with elements of horror of course) . That was put on hold for Karen Barley.

And I’ve just had my first ever piece of writing produced by someone else. It was a short for Virgin Media Shorts called Superheroes Anonymous. We’re hoping that it will make it through to the finals so that we can get funding and get CuckoO produced – a short I won an award for and we have a great team really passionate about getting it made. I’m also slugging away at promoting my writing and trying to sell my work. I’d love to repackage Karen Barley in a way that will appeal to distributers and producers so I may look into putting a kit together with the media on it and perhaps rewrite the script as a feature for a “found footage” type film. It’s all in my head these ideas and I’m just so glad and happy that Karen Barley and transmedia gave me my first opportunity to get one of these ideas out of my mind.

Find Out How To Monetize Transmedia Storytelling And ARG On Hollywood 2.0!

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 13:19:40 GMT

My co-host Rich Silverman (Emmy-winner writer) and I (producer/neurocinema innovator) will tell you how…Welcome to Hollywood 2.0, a new podcast that covers innovation in the entertainment industry.

Subscribe to Hollywood 2.0. Follow Rich and Peter.

Documentary + Game = Independent Transmedia Project called “THE GREAT WORK”

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 14:05:02 GMT

“The Greak Work” is a documentary by two Swedish filmmakers, Oskar Östergren & Fredrik Oskarsson (details at the end) about 30-year-old Christer Böke from Malmö, Sweden. He has taken one year off from his well-paid job as an IT-salesman to become a full-time Alchemist. The film concerns mankind’s eternal ambition of wealth and immortality and one mans dedicated struggle to solve “The secret of all secrets”. This struggle is known at The Great Work.

What’s particularly interesting about this project is that the filmmakers have teamed up with an independent game designer, Niflas, to create a game to complement the movie.

The Great Work will be screened on SVT (Swedish Television) as a 58 minute version, winter 2011. So don’t forget you heard about it here first!

Here’s the movie trailer…

About the Documentary

The documentary follows Christer from the day he leaves the city to the first day back at work the next year. During this year he moves to the island of Gotland on the Swedish countryside where he builds a laboratory in his dead grandfather’s garage, he lives three months in France to study the language and exchange ideas with French alchemists. Christer gets contacted by a strange international organisation called Ars regia that says “-We have been watching you…”. He keeps a blogg and start writing a book. He has a big argument with his best buddy and fellow alchemist since 15 year (they later reunite). He uses his “detective skills”, makes lots of experiments and gets closer and closer to his interpretation of the “recipes” of how to make The Philosophers Stone.

The Idea for The Game

Rob: How did the idea for a game come about?

Early in the process, we discussed that it would have been nice to make a game for the film because the topic of alchemy itself invites such thoughts. We had spent hours with our friend and the main character Christer Böke where we tried to solve “word puzzles” in old alchemical manuscripts and quotes that could lead you to the right subject which the great alchemist Fulcanelli was talking about.

At the same time I read an article about “Nifflas” and his game, Saira. We thought that a collaboration with him would be exciting and he lived in the same town and we had some common friends.

Together, we concluded that the game should stand on its own but our main goal was off course to use it as advertising for the documentary film. We had never really heard about a collaboration between a documentary and a indie-gamemaker. We have a strong interest in games and its form of narrative, and we thought the theme of alchemy would be suitable for Nifflas as a game developer. And, after our first meeting we felt that it could work out very well!

When we contacted Nicklas the first time he was skeptical about cooperating with us. He had expected the documentary would be about a major political topic and could not see the similarities with his own narrative, often based on a specific mystery and a character-driven portrait. Once we met everything fell into place and our collaboration has been great.

Nifflas never had any problems understanding our characters who defied science in search of “the philosopher’s stone”. Many of our financiers from the world of television and film were very doubtful about whether the story was real and at the same time are provoked by a person who claims to believe that he will be able to solve this amazing riddle. People think our documentary character must be a crazy guy or else we’re trying to fool them with a mocumentary. In the game world, however, these kinds of stories are not so strange and Nifflas could directly relate to our character and never doubt our way of telling his story.

Game Trailer

The Relationship Between the Documentary & Game

Rob: How would you describe the relationship between the documentary and the game – in terms of story, marketing, possible revenue model?

Our main story in the game is very similar to the film’s alchemical elements, that through the characters and manuscripts find different things that will lead you to new discoveries that will then guide you through the story of the great goal of making the Philosopher’s Stone.

All these characters are people from the alchemical history or allude to contemporary alchemists from the documentary and their aliases used on various internet forums. For example, you will meet our main character (Christer) who in the game is called “Spintheros”. Google that name and you will find a number of posts and articles written on various forums of our man Christer Böke.

From the beginning, we had much bigger ambitions for the game. We tried to make a budget so that Nifflas could work full time for a long time. We were sitting with Nifflas and Christer and brainstormed ideas that later turned out to be too advanced for an average gamer to understand. We had some intense discussions with Christer about this. He knows so incredibly much about the subject and couldn’t really see why some things were too advanced. For example we had a long discussion about whether people know the Periodic Table and all the latin names and planet/gods related to these.

Together with that and a much smaller budget we developed a simpler and much shorter game. We found 50% of 30 000 skr (4500 dollar) to pay Nifflas to program our idea. We got this money from Filmarc (www.filmarc.net) and he started to develop environments and how the puzzles could be adapted in the game. Then we discussed the characters and which different material we would use in the game. Material like Stibnit, Galen etc. It was very important that this material was familiar to alchemists. when people play the game they should know that this is not just some random stuff – it’s the real thing. You will get a very good idea how to start your own alchemical experiments by playing the game if you want…and some grand secrets too.

Marketing & Business Model

Already at the first meeting we decided that the game would be free and marketed freely from both our site www.grtwrk.com and Nifflas website. We were aware of Nifflas position among indie gamers and wanted them to recognize his style. To access the gamer audience, we have made a menu in the beginning of the the game that includes the trailer for the film, we will also add a direct link to the film that allows players to download the movie via the game. This could get us in some trouble with the Swedish Televison but I think they will understand our idea when we release it – they tend not to like it when you put stuff from the film on internet before you have screened it on TV. (www.studioparallell.com who made the menu for both the movie and game ensured that they’re the same style).

Last but not least, we will use open-source code so people can make their own puzzles and characters – perhaps based from the discussions in the film or from discussion that will come after you seen the movie. Alchemists always debate “the true matter”.

We have also discussed posting the script ahead of the movie release. The script contains the high-end solutions based on Christers hardcore alchemy puzzle. Some of the puzzles in this game will certainly also be discussed on alchemy forums and then it will be interesting to see if you are able to influence the game. For example, if it should be Stibnit or any other topic and then the player can change this can do their own version of the game.

We see the game as an interesting model to distribute the film in larger circuits because we think some relevant audiences might otherwise never discover our film. Even after several days, Nifflas’ game trailer 10 000 hits on youtube. All these people also visited our website to learn about the film. Similarly, Nifflas will get people who never played his game to visit his site and maybe even play more of his game. It’s a great cross-collateralization of audiences.

Partnering with a game is also a way to get the film’s story to survive and develop. Our main character and our film will hopefully create a movement on the internet which questions the scientific truths and interests people to go deeper into the subject. It is obvious that Christer has become very well-educated when he read and researched about alchemy. And, imagine if you in a playful way, can get people to understand that learning can be presented in different ways than through ordinary books or teachers that is rarely questioned. So we hope this cooperation will both promote our film and the game as entertainment but also educate and raise ideas that can live on after the premiere of the movie, and become more than a DVD and a game on your PC.

We must look at how the gaming industry markets itself. The film industry is hopelessly behind and the music industry has begun to learn with Spotify, itunes, etc.. To survive as a documentary filmmaker, we need to think outside the box to survive. This may be one way?

Additional Marketing?

In order to spread among gamers we focus on blogs and forums. To get them to see the film, we understand that we need to make it as easy as we can for them to download the movie as well. We hope to find a solution to this by uploading the movie on iTunes or similar channels and then place a link to this page in the game. We also run a facebook group and website and through these we hope to communicate with our audience. Then we will try to get som material published in traditional media like newspapers and say, culturalnews on TV. But, above all, we hope that the movie and the game spread itself through short clips on youtube, blogs, forums, Twitter, etc.

Example Puzzle & Initial Game Meeting Video

Mineral Stibnit + Mars (Iron) + owen – regulus of antimon + Caput mortuum

Give the Regulus av antimon to character ”Newton” – he will then give you a glove, that you can climb with.

Give Caput Mortuum to ”Spintheros” – and he will give you the second glove and now you can climb the roofs.

This video is from one of the first meeting together with Nifflas and our main character Chriter. They discuss ideas about the developing of the game (it’s in Swedish, naturally!).

Timescales

We hope that both the film and the game is fully completed in June but we still have not decided whether we will be releasing the game a bit earlier.
We will soon have a meeting and try to find a good strategy for this. Anyway, the documentary has been scheduled for a television premiere in October in Sweden.

We would also like to show the movie at some film festivals abroad and try to do a screening in which the visitors before and after have the opportunity to test the game at the cinema. One could also imagine an exclusive screening where our main character performs a simple experiment with the audience. We try to think that we should give the people who come to watch the movie something beyond the expected.

About The Filmmakers: Oskar Östergren & Fredrik Oskarsson (oskar&oskarsson)

Oskar Östergren (born 1976) and Fredrik Oskarsson (born 1979), both born and raised in Swedish Lapland. We are educated at ”Nordens Documentary Film School, Biskops-Arnö” (2002-2004) and, since 2003, we run the film production company oskar&oskarsson based in Umeå, specialising in documentaries. Our productions have been co-produced with SVT Dokumentär and Film i Västerbotten and besides directing and producing films we teach documentary film making at The Academy of Fine Arts in Umeå and work as photographers and editors for other productions and TV-shows. Our last SVT Co-production “The Police and Lapland” has been seen by more than one million viewers on SVT.

Contact: +46 70-555 13 17 (Oskar) or +46 70-640 23 67 (Fredrik); Email: oskar at oskarochoskarsson.se or fredrik at oskarochoskarsson.se

Web: www.oskarochoskarsson.se

Transmedia Talk 25 – Mark Harris

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 00:54:34 GMT

Transmedia Talk 23 – Marc D’Agostino on the_source

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 20:56:27 GMT

Transmedia Talk 22: SXSW Super Special

Sun, 03 Apr 2011 23:58:57 GMT

Welcome to Transmedia Talk, a podcast covering all things Story. Transmedia Talk is co-hosted by Nick Braccia, Dee Cook, and Haley Moore and looks to shed light on the topic of transmedia storytelling with commentary, interviews and tips on how storytelling is moving into the 21st century. Download | Subscribe with iTunes Hosts: Nick Braccia from Culture Hacker Dee Cook from Dog Tale Media Haley Moore (and Host Emeritus Robert Pratten from Transmedia Storyteller) SXSW Super Special Dee Cook and Haley Moore recap the transmedia presence at SXSW Interactive 2011. From This Episode: The PGA’s Transmedia Producer credit. Fourth Wall Studios’ recent influx of money. SXSW Panel: Help Save SXSW from Marketer Douchebaggery SXSW Panel: Fireside Chat: Tim O’Reilly Interviewed by Jason Calacanis Hitler rants about SXSW. The Transmedia Artists Guild held an introductory panel at SXSW. SXSW Panel: Fan to Fanatic: True Blood’s Marketing Hook SXSW Panel: The Future of Storytelling: DEXTER Fans Play Killer SXSW Panel: Having Fun Yet? 10 Usability Heuristics For Games SXSW Talk: Project 314: Putting The ‘Game’ Back Into ARGs with Adrian Hon SXSW Talk: Hoax or Transmedia? The Ethics of Pervasive Fiction with Andrea Phillips SXSW Panel: Social Media Is Science Fiction with Maureen McHugh and Molly Crabapple SXSW Panel: Can Transmedia Save the Entertainment Industry? Flynn Lives, 42 Entertainment’s ARG for Tron:Legacy. SXSW Panel: New Worlds: Creating Online Sci-fi and Fantasy Experiences in which Felicia Day explains why she rolls her eyes at the term transmedia. The #AntiTransmedia movement. Steve Peters, Geoff May, and Brooke Thompson weigh in on the word “transmedia” in the days since SXSW. Stitch Media’s diagram of possible transmedia definitions. Frank Rose’s book The Art of Immersion Transmedia NYC Meetup The Game of Thrones food carts in New York City and Los Angeles Nick Braccia recommends the Kindle version of A Game of Thrones. Petite Lap Giraffes

Think Global, Act Local: Transmedia on the World Stage

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 20:58:41 GMT

Anita Ondine took some time out of her busy schedule to share some thoughts around how Transmedia can be a vehicle for social change and its role on the world stage.

What opportunities do you see for those wanting to build international transmedia properties?

Anita Ondine: There are so many opportunities for those wanting to build international transmedia properties, in fact, transmedia lends itself to internationalization perhaps better than any other media. The key opportunity is our ability to design transmedia concepts that can be adapted to different territories in a culturally and commercially meaningful way. In my view, one of the essential elements of transmedia is enabling audience participation and to maximize impact with a local audience, it helps to make it linguistically and culturally adapted to that market. Transmedia allows you to do that. In this way, we can think about transmedia from the perspective of a franchise or a format, similar to how television formats are internationalized to bring them to new markets. With transmedia, we have more options. For example, we can deploy country-specific instances of a transmedia property or we can link them in a global matrix of related transmedia stories within a single, unified storyworld. The latter example is the approach Lance Weiler and I are using to develop and deploy the ‘Pandemic’ property that complements Lance’s next feature film ‘HiM’.

Similarly, a transmedia property can be tailored to the specific commercial contexts of different countries by adapting the business models (both funding models and revenue streams) to reflect behavioral patterns of consumers and appetites of local investors. In short, by going international on transmedia, you gain both economies of scale and economies of scope, as well as opening up new creative horizons in transmedia storytelling. To sum up, I’d say think global, act local to build international transmedia properties.

How is transmedia considered by funding bodies in Europe and how are they adjusting to the changes in the digital landscape.

AO: There is public funding available in Europe for supporting the development of transmedia. For example, the EU MEDIA Programme provides funding via its ‘Interactive Projects’ funding stream. You can find more information about that program via the MEDIA website: http://www.mediadeskuk.eu/funding/_2,24,151/ This funding is only open to European companies and your project must be tied to a feature length film property. There are also funding programs at the national level in most of the EU Member States.

The major issue surrounding the funding of transmedia is that most funding bodies in Europe (indeed, around the world) still tie transmedia and new media funding to the existence of a traditional media property. Usually this means a feature length film intended for theatrical release, or it could be a television property that has to be pre-sold to a broadcaster. In my view, this is a serious impediment to the development of transmedia. The effect is that producers are shoehorning their projects into the format required by the funding guidelines, instead of being free to be truly creative in designing transmedia properties that are born “native” to the transmedia space, rather than being conceived as an add-on (and therefore somehow subservient) to traditional media.

I’d love to see more representatives from funding bodies attending Transmedia Next so we have a common understanding and common vocabulary to facilitate an open dialogue about these issues and work together to find a solution that will help to build a sustainable industry going forward.

Thankfully there are some visionary funders, mostly at the regional level, like the Rotterdam Media Commission (http://www.rmcrotterdam.nl/index.php?lang=en) who “get” transemdia and are willing to support projects that are not tied to traditional formats. This approach is similar to the Canadian system, where you can apply for transmedia funding through the Canada Media Fund’s “Experimental” funding stream without the need for feature film attachment. More information on the CMF’s Experimental program is available here: http://www.cmf-fmc.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=110&page_mode=create&Itemid=110

Other forms of pre-financing, like brand involvement, are still very nascent in Europe, but definitely growing. Consumers are interested, therefore brands are increasingly willing to explore this space. Now is the time for brand and advertising agencies to step up to respond to that need. International scale transmedia properties will be particularly interesting for global brands.

Do you have any words of advice for a producer who is considering packaging an international transmedia property?

AO: I’d say two of the most important factors to consider when packaging an international transmedia property are:

(1) whether it is scalable (both conceptually and technologically); and
(2) whether it is an idea that “travels” well internationally. That could mean either it is a universally recognized archetype (for example, a fantasy world like Lord of the Rings) or that it is suitable to cultural adaption.

A project that is ideally scalable will work well both at the local/regional/country level as a self contained experience, and will be augmented by the addition of international elements. The key to architecting an international transmedia property is to ensure the creatives and producers work in parallel so that the creative choices support the business imperatives and the business choices don’t adversely affect the design of the creative experience. In this way, the “shape” or “voyage” of the story from country to country can have meaning within the storyworld as well as performing the function of distribution in each territory.

Another point to remember when going global is risk management. Once your base level of development is complete (you have a storyworld bible and technology prototypes in hand), I would recommend assessing entry into each new market on a case by case basis. The decision to green light a new territory should be supported by positive revenue opportunities at the local level or because deployment of the transmedia property in that territory performs an ancillary function, like supporting the release of a related feature film in that territory.

Producers are also advised to undertake a similar analysis for the addition of each new platform to their transmedia architecture. Ideally, you will want each platform to stand on its own in terms of ROI, but we also need to take a step back and see transmedia as a holistic program of activities where revenue streams from some platforms can be used to subsidize less profitable platforms where those platforms perform other valuable functions like increased reach, press hooks and buzz in the social media space.

What excites you about storytelling in 21c?

AO: I’m excited by the potential for storytelling to create positive social change and encourage participation in our communities, both directly within our own communities and collaboratively around the world.

I’ve always enjoyed art, and storytelling in particular, for that reason. Because through art and creativity we are able to see possibilities of a new future, a new way of thinking. Transmedia builds on that premise and presents us with the opportunity, through audience participation, to inspire participants to both think and act in new and different ways that are positive and enduring. In this way, I believe transmedia represents the evolution of storytelling.

In addition to that, being a geek, I can’t help getting excited about the explosion of technology that is enabling stories to be told in so many new and exciting ways. Technology is impacting the entire process of story creation (through collaborative and open source tools), through production (for example, lower cost, higher quality cameras) and delivery to the audience across a plethora of devices that are changing the way the audience interacts with stories and takes part in the storytelling process. This includes mobile/geo-locational technology, personal viewing devices and many more.

How do you see Transmedia Next evolving and what do you feel currently sets it apart?

AO: I see Transmedia Next evolving in response to the needs of the industry. At the moment, there are many experienced media professionals, including creatives, producers, brand agencies, content commissioners and game developers, who are interested in and experimenting with transmedia. What we lack are industry standards, even a common language, to enable greater inter-diciplinary collaboration.

What we are seeing at the moment are some fairly elaborate examples of transmedia at the studio level, for example District 9’s transmedia elements (check them out here: http://www.agencymagma.com/coolmoviemarketing.html) or the ‘Why So Serious’ campaign (http://www.whysoserious.com/) that Warner Brothers ran in support of The Dark Knight release. Then at the other extreme, we are seeing the emergence of beautiful, highly innovative, smaller scale works that are mostly reaching much smaller audiences. There are also a growing number of branded content campaigns, like the ‘New Old Spice Guy’ (http://mashable.com/2010/07/15/old-spice-social-media-campaign/), however there is still a wide open space in the mid-field. There are major opportunities in that middle ground, in the space between studio fare, pure branded content and hand-made auteur-driven works.

My hope is that Transmedia Next plays a role in bringing experienced media professionals together and gives them a common set of tools and techniques to collaborate on projects in a industry leading way.

Transmedia Next 2010 Alumni discuss their transmedia projects

What currently sets Transmedia Next apart is that its faculty includes industry leaders like Lance Weiler and that it mixes theory and practice in a very hands-on way. So participants leave understanding the full cycle of development, writing, production and distribution of transmedia. The whole event is run as a transmedia experience too. So participants get to see, hear, taste an do transmedia. I don’t believe there are any other transemdia courses that offer such an immersive experience.

We’ve also received much praise for the diversity of attendees, both in terms of skill sets and nationalities represented. Transmedia next is a truly international event. Participants leave with the contacts – as well as the confidence – to make their international transmedia properties come alive.

For more on Transmedia Next

Register now via the Website: www.transmedianext.com
Dates: 12-14 April, 2011
Where: London, United Kingdom
Venue: Paramount at Centre Point (http://www.paramount.uk.net/)

Anita Ondine is a creative transmedia producer, co-Founder of Transmedia Next and worked for over a decade as an intellectual property/technology lawyer and was a Senior Vice President at a major investment bank.

Discussion: The Rodshire Archives

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 23:35:46 GMT

Last week, on Transmedia Talk Episode 21, we spoke with Julia Pontecorvo, Noah Workman and Patrick Rousseau from Iris MediaWorks about their transmedia concept The Rodshire Archives. It was an interesting experience unlike any of our previous shows. Usually, we speak with a creative team after they’ve launched their initiative. In the case of Rodshire, we were kicking off a workshop to help shape the development path of a nascent intellectual property.

Julia and team first presented their plan at Power to the Pixel in London this October. You can read Julia’s assessment of the experience here.

The concept for this IP is such: A town populated with residents who act as origin stories for superstitions, popular myths and legends. Anything from Bloody Mary to “7 years’ bad luck” for a broken mirror is fair game.

Here’s what we know:

Iris MediaWorks’ primary experience is in film. In fact, they created an evocative mood video that conveys their vision for the town of Rodshire.

They’d like to create multiple stories about the residents, and expand these tales (while generating new ones) with the help of the audience.

Each story should function as both origin story and allegory.

While the main media type will be video, the team is considering a budget-conscious way to create immersive, but not over-complicated, web browser and mobile application experiences. These would act as both content hub and audience contribution platform.

Iris MediaWorks is interested in monetizing this experiment.

Everything else is up for grabs! And maybe even some of the aforementioned items. If you listen to the podcast, you’ll hear us discuss some basics and ask a lot of questions for about an hour.

What we’d like to do is check back with the RA team every month or so, while continually developing the project together at the Workbook Project. The comments section of this post is where we’ll kick off the convo. Hopefully, we’ll all learn a bunch, some creative and technology people will impact the project with their contributions and The Rodshire Archives will move along swimmingly.

But keep in mind, this is a total experiment for all of us. Keep it constructive. Keep it interesting.

Transmedia Talk Podcast – Episode 14

Sat, 08 Jan 2011 04:19:38 GMT

Welcome to Transmedia Talk a new podcast covering all things story. Transmedia Talk is co-hosted by Nick Braccia and Robert Pratten and looks to shed light on the topic of transmedia storytelling with commentary, interviews and tips on how storytelling is moving into the 21st century. download Or Subscribe iTunes NB: If you’d like to give us feedback, recommend yourself as a guest or suggest topics to cover – please email us at talk@workbookproject.com or Tweet away with the hashtag #tmediatalk Hosts.. and Guests for this week Nick Braccia from Culture Hacker Robert Pratten from TransmediaStoryteller.com Dee Cook from Dogtail Media Haley Moore The panelists discuss their early & current experiences with developing and executing transmedia projects. Good discussion about the thrill of interactivity and designing ARGs. Running Time 00:00 Introductions 00:40 Getting started in transmedia (Rob’s story) 04:40 The Lowlifes transmedia project : Objectives & narrative design 16:40 Developing the interactive game for Lowlifes 29:00 Haley Moore discusses The Sketchbook Project 41:00 Dee Cook discusses her work with DogTail Media 44:45 The market for ARGs in 2011 46:00 Changing nature of ARG and developing for different audience segments

How to Improve Engagement with your Webisodes

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 08:02:55 GMT

Why do some web producers release their webisodes weekly when they have evergreen content? That is, if their series of web videos are not tied to current events, why not release them all at once?

One answer might be that the release schedule is tied to the production schedule – episodes are being produced one week and released the next. But why not release them two weeks apart or wait until enough episodes have been produced to release all at once or daily? Why not four hours apart or on demand?

My point is only that there should be some reasoning behind the scheduling and not just because TV has scheduled weekly content.

You see, if TV has taught us one thing about audiences, it’s that they don’t like to be kept waiting. They don’t like to wait while the commercial plays, they don’t like to wait while the episode downloads and they don’t like to wait week-to-week. Many people record several episodes of a series before the viewing or they’ll buy the complete series on DVD. But of course audiences come to TV and the web with different expectations so why copy the TV model online if you don’t have to?

Re-thinking your web series

This blog post looks at how you might optimize the release schedule for your webisodes. Core to my approach is understanding how you want the audience to engage with your story and then designing an integrated experience that consequently determines how the video will be released. There is no initial assumption that the schedule should be weekly or any other time period.

There is, I suppose, an assumption that most web series will have more than just the videos: there’s usually a website, a blog, a forum, a mailing list, a Facebook page or some other mechanism that represents an opportunity to inform the audience of a new release and provide them with a backchannel. These additional non-video platforms are what makes your web series “an experience” rather than a series of videos. Even a single YouTube channel with the comments and likes enabled creates a participatory experience. Whatever the implementation, it is the experience that builds, empowers and engages your audience – it multiplies the draw of the video.

Here’s a short list of considerations for determining the time interval between episodes with the key objective being to maintain engagement between episodes (i.e. you want audiences to watch the next episode):

production limitations & opportunities
distribution limitations & opportunities
business model limitations & opportunities
strength of story episode to episode (the narrative hook)
length of each episode (longer webisodes might benefit from longer periods between episodes to avoid overload)
audience expectations and headroom (giving too much to consume between releases may lead to abandoned subscriptions).

Mind The Gap: Is the Narrative Strong Enough to Bridge the Delay?

Figure 1 illustrates how we’d like audience to move from episode to episode. In this example there’s enough interest or engagement to have them come back for more.

Figure 1: Audience follows episode to episode

Unfortunately there are a number of failure scenarios if the period between each release is wrong. In Figure 2, the audience abandons the web series because the content isn’t strong enough to have them come back – there’s not enough pull to bridge the gap.

In Figure 3, the audience is asked to work too hard to keep up and soon they find they’re overwhelmed with content for the given schedule.

Figure 2: Abandons

Figure 3: Overload

In both these failure scenarios one solution is to adjusted or fine-tune the schedule – if that’s possible. As I mentioned earlier, there may be reasons why you’re stuck with the schedule.

Figure 4: Release schedule adjusted

Using Transmedia Storytelling to Maintain Engagement

Web series can be expensive to produce and the number of episodes is as likely to be determined by budget as anything else. This could mean you don’t have enough webisodes to span the schedule you’d like or you need to maintain engagement between webisodes because the schedule is fixed.

Figure 5 shows how narrative spread to secondary, less expensive, media can be used to stitch together the web series – providing a mid-episode fix of story for those eager for more. The trick here is in the storytelling: to have the webisode and secondary media satisfying in their own right and hence consuming all media is optional which hence alleviates the chance of overload. Implied in the notion of “secondary media” is that it may indeed not stand alone and should be consumed as additional exploratory content (e.g. another optional layer).

Figure 5: Transmedia Storytelling applied to web video series

Figure 6 in contrast shows two equal media platforms both scheduled for episodic release but appealing to different audience sub-segments or consumption habits: e.g. media 1 is consumed while at work and media 2 consumed on the commute.

Here, each media has its own (intervening?) release schedule with additional narrative hooks and branches to take the audience to the next episode in the same media or to alternative media.

Figure 6: Native Episodic Transmedia Storytelling

Finally of course, additional secondary media might be added to two primary media platforms – as shown in Figure 7

Figure 7: Multi-layered Transmedia Story.

Allow Audience to Go with the Flow

So far I’ve assumed that all audience members are to be treated equally. But why not reward engaged followers with either additional content or early “pre-release” content? And if you do, does it matter that they might share with others ahead of the “proper” release?

I believe that when you have someone that’s engaged you should allow them to ride the engagement out and see where it takes them. This means allowing them to request additional content on demand ahead of the release schedule which I further believe has the potential to turn engaged audiences to advocates – hence recruiting more audience.

YouTube’s “Unlisted” video option is perfect for this: casual viewers won’t see or find the video before it’s made public but engaged audiences can be sent the link.

Transmedia Example

My Lowlifes project has three primary media: novella, webisodes and blog. I determined that it should be scheduled to be released two days apart over a period of 15 days or so. I felt that daily would lead to content overload and at three days the whole release would drag on too long.

One approach would have been to alternate the media – novella chapter on day 1, video on day 2, blog on day 3 and so on. But this would have incorrectly implied a sequence or priority to the media platforms that I was keen to avoid.

Consequently, at the same time content is made public, subscribers receive an email with links to the three media episodes plus the ability to request additional content from anywhere within the series. This would allow someone who was really into the videos, for example, to watch them all in one sitting by simply requesting them.

It’s not a problem for me if someone grabs all the videos and posts them all on their own blog because my objective is to get them seen. It’s evergreen content and within 3 weeks it would all be available in any case.

For Lowlifes, the scheduling and on-demand requests for content is made possible by a service called Conducttr -a pervasive entertainment platform from my company TransmediaStoryteller.com and will soon be available for all members of our Community.

Take-away

In summary then, if you assume that the audience always has something better to do with their time and money, it will absolutely focus your mind on maintaining engagement between webisodes and this will:

determine the optimum release schedule where you have the flexibility to choose it
highlight the need for a transmedia experience around an inflexible release schedule
provoke a discussion about whether you should allow content on demand for the most engaged audience members.

Transmedia Talk Podcast – Episode 13

Thu, 16 Dec 2010 06:16:08 GMT

Welcome to Transmedia Talk a new podcast covering all things story. Transmedia Talk is co-hosted by Nick Braccia and Robert Pratten and looks to shed light on the topic of transmedia storytelling with commentary, interviews and tips on how storytelling is moving into the 21st century. download Or Subscribe iTunes NB: If you’d like to give us feedback, recommend yourself as a guest or suggest topics to cover – please email us at talk@workbookproject.com or Tweet away with the hashtag #tmediatalk Hosts Nick Braccia from Culture Hacker Robert Pratten from TransmediaStoryteller.com Guests Jeff Gomez of Starlight Runner Running Time 01:14 Origins and early experiences 12:00 The Storybible 12:45 Working with Clients 16:40 Understanding the value-proposition at the contract stage 20:20 Types of client 21:45 Removing barriers from transmedia narratives 25:50 Conflicts between writer and producer 28:00 Market development for the role of Transmedia Producers 33:40 Organisation and staffing at Starlight Runner 41:50 Does narrative get diluted as it is spread across platforms? 49:50 Growing an audience across platforms 55:00 Implementing transmedia internationally 58:12 Transmedia misperceptions 1:00:00 Growth of transmedia 1:06:00 New transmedia example (LowLifes) and Industry Discussion. 1:18:00 End

Transmedia Talk Podcast – Episode 12

Wed, 08 Dec 2010 15:26:03 GMT

Welcome to Transmedia Talk a new podcast covering all things story. Transmedia Talk is co-hosted by Nick Braccia and Robert Pratten and looks to shed light on the topic of transmedia storytelling with commentary, interviews and tips on how storytelling is moving into the 21st century. download Or Subscribe iTunes NB: If you’d like to give us feedback, recommend yourself as a guest or suggest topics to cover – please email us at talk@workbookproject.com or Tweet away with the hashtag #tmediatalk Hosts Nick Braccia from Culture Hacker Robert Pratten from TransmediaStoryteller.com Guests Nathan Mayfield, co-founder of transmedia storytellers Hoodlum. Hoodlum are well know for thier work with such shows as Fast Forward, Spooks (MI5), Emerdale & Lost. At the time of recording they’re in production on a new show called Slide to be release in Australia on pay channel Fox8.tv in 2011 Interview with Nathan Mayfield, co-founder of transmedia storytellers Hoodlum.Hoodlum are well know for thier work with such shows as Fast Forward, Spooks (MI5), Emerdale & Lost. At the time of recording they’re in production on a new show called Slide to be released in Australia on pay channel Fox8.tv in 2011

Transmedia Talk Podcast – Episode 10

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 06:52:13 GMT

Welcome to Transmedia Talk a new podcast covering all things story. Transmedia Talk is co-hosted by Nick Braccia and Robert Pratten and looks to shed light on the topic of transmedia storytelling with commentary, interviews and tips on how storytelling is moving into the 21st century. download Or Subscribe iTunes NB: If you’d like to give us feedback, recommend yourself as a guest or suggest topics to cover – please email us at talk@workbookproject.com or Tweet away with the hashtag #tmediatalk Hosts Nick Braccia from Culture Hacker Robert Pratten from TransmediaStoryteller.com Haley Moore from Culture Hacker Guests Jay Bushman from http://jaybushman.com/ Caitlin Burns from Starlight Runner (and Jurassic Park Slope) Timing 1:00 Transmedia Producers Guild (PGA) 2:10 Twitter in transmedia storytelling 50:36 Transmedia Artists Guild discussion Twitter as a storytelling platform Here are some great links provided by Caitlin for those interested to know more about Twitter for storytelling. Twitter Fiction Cellphone (Mobile) Novels (keitai shosetsu) The Shorty Awards – place to look for Twitter fiction And of course Jay Bushman’s work: The Good Captain The Empire Tweets Back Plus… I thought it might also be nice to include an infographic on how an author or producer might approach using Twitter in transmedia storytelling. Please let me have any comments and I’ll update and improve as necessary. Oh, and here’s a neat little Word macro that’ll chop up your text into 140 character bites and add a hashtag if needed.

Pt2: Investigating the Possibilities of Transmedia; Collapsus, a Case Study

Thu, 28 Oct 2010 15:55:09 GMT

Segment II: Why is Collapsus an example of a transmedia project? How is this a useful tool?

The concept of transmedia is grounded in the delivery and curation of specific information across various platforms. As compared with traditional media’s pattern of distribution (the same set of images relayed to viewers repeatedly through the same modes of communication) the innovation of transmedia is grounded in choice: developing successful projects means inspiring viewers to follow subject matter from one media platform to another. Information is provided as a reward, acting as an agent of incentive to produce sustained interest within the viewer. These “messages” act as a resource independent to a greater whole. (Culture Hacker: Transmedia Storytelling Getting Started) Content, therefore, has the capacity to enrich the spread of entertainment across multiple platforms.

Segment II of this blog series will examine what platforms the brand-new, transmedia project, Collapsus utilized. The distribution of factoids within this project highlights the benefits of using alternative methods to expand a project’s reach beyond traditional audiences.

A basic breakdown of existing communication reveals reading, listening, interaction, and watching to be the modern foundation of possible sensory content application. Reading (books, comics, ebooks), listening (radio, mobile, online), interaction (online, mobile, social, console, ARG) and watching (TV, theatre, mobile, live performance, online) are all media sources useful in releasing information and encouraging viewers to seek further analysis. (Henry Jenkins: Transmedia Education)

Inspiring viewers to self-reflect in the context of a project’s subject matter is directly related to the availability of information within a transmedia project. In Collapsus, “visitors to the Collapsus site can cut away from soap-opera-like webisodes to learn about energy issues through an interactive map, view fictional newscasts on the Citizenergy Channel, or watch real interview clips with experts, analysts, activists and journalists.” (Mq2: Collapsus)

Executing platforms that support and encourage choice is imperative in creating and sustaining viewer interactivity. As the sole content provider, producers control exactly what information is released, at what time, and to which audience; they guide the story (or project) as it unfolds. What exactly does this mean? It speaks to the nucleus of the transmedia experience: widened exposure equals more choice, and, more choice equals widened exposure. This implies a need to thoroughly understand one’s projected audience: who would be most interested in this material? What are the best modes of communication for conveying this on multiple media platforms?

Collapsus was produced with the goal of exposing a broader audience to the information found in the traditional documentary, Energy Risk, released by VPRO. See the original doc HERE

With an idea of audience in mind, creators and producers of the project conceptualized a multi-linear experience that blended genres of documentary, animation, fiction, and interactivity. Producer Tommy Pallotta explains, “This hybrid approach allows us to look at a serious documentary subject, but also to shift from the usual talking head approach to something that better reflects our time.”(MQ2: Collapsus)

Citizenergy, the Youtube channel for the original Dutch documentary, compliments the transmedia project, Collapsus: The Energy Risk Conspiracy, and is an example of this approach to media multi-tasking. (See the channel HERE) The CitizEnergyChannel provides several video segments linked to Collapsus’ theme of risk; clips provide expert analysis on the danger of a growing dependency on fossil fuels. Each video on Citizenergy is packaged content, the producer actively chose what was delivered to audiences. Utilizing Youtube and other video sharing sites give a lot of information to viewers, while allowing them to review at their convenience.

In transmedia projects the audience must chose to further his/her knowledge through exploring subject matter, playing games, and chatting with others. The endeavor of exploring a specific topic through various media can inspire a “community” culture of individuals working with a cohesive goal. When players are able to pool their knowledge with others, audience capacity multiplies. For Collapsus, this directly relates to the project’s undertone of social responsibility. As players and viewers interact with the material, they consult each other on personal methods to approach content. This allows for alternative modes of thinking, and the development of a furthered sense of self in a global community. A global community means increased global communication and a wider audience.

In researching the intersection of education and transmedia I came across an example of a school in Texas that utilized multiple media platforms to integrate education and technology. On August 22, 2009 in Rio de Janeiro, NAVE (Ncleo Avanado em Educao – Advanced Education Center ) a Brazilian high school, hosted Heroes and Smallville’s associate producer Mark Warshaw to teach a lesson on Transmedia Storytelling. The event was live streamed and interactive, as the audience, both live and online, participated in an interactive SMS game. The release of the Descolagem App later that day furthered the audiences span. The audience was literally guided through a lesson on transmedia storytelling through an actual transmedia experience. Beto Largman, who curated the event, hopes the format of the lesson displays the process as a resource; a strategy evolved to distribute content personally to a mass audience. (Transmedia Experience Streamed At Highschool )

The choice to pursue more components of a project is the apex of transmedia success. The interactive component of Collapsus’ narrative is directly linked with the information provided by the clips on Youtube. Soap-opera-like webisodes, an interactive map, fictional newscasts, along with the Citizenergy Channel, provide players with a platform of knowledge on the energy crisis, which gives them the ability, and inspiration, to interact within the overall narrative of the game. The goal clearly defined: Reviewing Collapsus for Public Radio Makers Quest 2.0, Julie Drizin states, “Truthfully, this is the kind of media that is better experienced than explained.”
Experience Collapsus HERE.

Director of Collapsus, Tommy Pallotta, will be interactively interviewed in Pt2:
Investigating the Possibilities of Transmedia; Collapsus, a Case Study.

Interview questions will come directly from reader comments to Tommy- the questions and his responses will be included in next weeks feature. Previously, he produced Waking Life, the first independently financed and computer animated feature produced, as well as A Scanner Darkly, and a multitude of other projects. Let’s delve into his animation process of rotoscoping, and understand how imperative it is to develop successful visual reaction in transmedia and cross-media projects.

Email any questions to Tommy: work@workbookproject.com
Please subject with: Tommy Pallotta questions

Source Links
1. http://workbookproject.com/culturehacker/2010/07/07/transmedia-storytelling-getting-started/
2. http://henryjenkins.org/2010/06/transmedia_education_the_7_pri.html
3. http://www.mq2.org/Collapsus
4. http://www.hastac.org/blogs/nancykimberly/transmedia-experience-livestreamed-brazilian-high-school

Pt1: Investigating the Possibilities of Transmedia; Collapsus, a Case Study

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 14:45:12 GMT

This blog post focuses on the intersection of transmedia and learning. Presented in 4 segments, we will look at how transmedia is revolutionizing media creation and presentation. As modes of human communication continue to change, so too does the concept of audience, and the projects envisioned and produced. Through a case study on Collapsus, an Energy Risk Conspiracy project, I will expose components necessary for building a successful transmedia project, along with the capabilities and influence accessible through employing such processes. Gain access to exclusive storyboards and scripts, behind the scene details, and interactive interviews as WorkBook Project delves deeper into the process of transmedia.

I. What does it mean to experience a Transmedia Project?

Almost a year ago (November, 2009) Alison Norrington, for Wired News, posed the question: “The value of a good story remains; the question is will you prefer to read, listen, watch, or do?” (Wired UK: Transmedia Tales and the Future of Storytelling)

Since this publishing, how has the relationship between media and consumers changed? As the print to screen revolution continues, so too does the process, and production, of the content delivered. At the time of Norrington’s writing, transmedia had been introduced to many, but had yet to conquer the attention of general audiences.

Now a growing buzzword, transmedia can be defined as an approach to content delivery that weaves various storylines across multiple platforms intending to further immerse their audience within a specific media experience. (Seize The Media: What is Transmedia?)

This process transforms the viewer into somewhat of information “detective.” Transmedia projects have the potential to develop a relationship of trust between consumer, content provider, and the product delivered. Because the concept of transmedia is grounded on utilizing multiple outlets to distribute a variety of information, content producers need to immediately develop credibility to ensure a project’s success. Interest is the participant’s motivation, learning digitally no longer a passive role. A well-anchored vision can instill reliable participant relations.

Exposing accurate information through a multitude of well-designed media platforms give players/viewers the tools to build their own infrastructure of knowledge around a communal topic. To ensure a fluid audience while working with multiple media endeavors, pioneers in the field like Lance Weiler, plan “for multiple platforms from the start. They design fictional universes that are consistent however the audience engages.” (Wired: What is Transmedia) This leads to one of the best benefits to the transmedia approach: The cliché “there’s no ‘I’ in team.” Each participant gathers a “data-bank” of unique information that is bettered by employing other participant’s results. (Henry Jenkin’s article) Community building can be fostered and encouraged.

This innovative platform has shifted the production of culture and has revolutionized the concept of storytelling. Weiler recently helped to script Collapsus, a transmedia project developed by SubmarineChannel, with the Dutch public broadcaster VPRO. Collapsus signals a new experience in transmedia storytelling. Through documentary, fiction, animation, players interact within the narrative, choose his/her own perspective, and make decisions to affect the global energy crisis.

Does the innovative production of Collapsus signal a change in consumer choice as Norrington predicted? Yes- the meme spawned around the potential energy crisis reveals that to choose transmedia is to utilize options. Check out the project at http://www.collapsus.com.

Stay tuned for Part II: Why is Collapsus an example of a transmedia project? How is this a useful tool?
Delving into the significance of employing various media outlets in transmedia projects, taking a closer look at Collapsus, the creators behind it, and the capabilities of transmedia as a tool to inspire.

Source Links:
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2009-11/25/transmedia-tales-and-the-future-of-storytelling?page=all
A brief education, this article breaks the surface of how technology is directly affecting writing and reading stories.

http://seizethemedia.com/what-is-transmedia/
A basic definition on transmedia accompanied by helpful info graphic. Check out the article’s home site to learn more on Chief Story Architect Lance Weiler.

http://www.wired.co.uk/wired-magazine/archive/2010/08/features/what-is-transmedia?page=all
Entertaining article that details the origin of transmedia storytelling and its progression to the mainstream market.

http://www.submarinechannel.com/articles/item/543
Submarinechannel.com is an interactive production studio based in Amsterdam. This article featured on their site details the development of the project Collapsus.

http://henryjenkins.org/2010/06/transmedia_education_the_7_pri.html
Henry Jenkins speculates on the future of transmedia education.

Transmedia Talk Podcast – Episode 8

Wed, 20 Oct 2010 01:05:28 GMT

Communicating your transmedia experience

Wed, 13 Oct 2010 00:14:11 GMT

This is a quick post but I thought this template might be useful for some people when they’re explaining their transmedia project. You’ll notice that this is focused on the experience rather than the technology: there’s no mention of platforms or business case or even audience. So there’s more that needs to be communicated to get the full picture but this is a cool way to get your point across in certain circumstances.

This is my Transmedia Radar Diagram – use it to communicate your transmedia experience to interested parties… but probably not your audience Note that there’s no absolute scale for the four axes, it’s their strength relative to each other. Of course, if you’re comparing projects then they need to compare across projects too.

Here’s a few examples to illustrate how you might use the radar diagram…

Transmedia Talk Podcast – Episode 6

Fri, 08 Oct 2010 13:26:50 GMT

INTERVIEW: PTTP founder LIZ ROSENTHAL

Sun, 03 Oct 2010 23:56:47 GMT

This year marks the fourth edition of Power to the Pixel which has grown over the last few years to become the leading voice in transmedia in Europe. This year promises to be bigger and better with an exciting lineup of projects, speakers and industry attending the three day event.

WorkBook Project: What’s new at this year’s Power to the Pixel and for people who don’t know can you explain briefly the types of programs you offer?

Liz Rosenthal: The key expansion of this year’s Cross-Media Forum is The Pixel Market – our new finance summit for international cross-media projects running over 13 & 14 October. We’ve selected 18 international cross-media projects whose stories span across film, TV, gaming mobile, publishing and real life events . We’ve set up one-to-one business meetings for the project teams with potential commissioners, financiers and partners. Nine of these projects have been selected to compete for the ARTE Pixel Pitch Prize £6k/ $10k (approx).

The event runs 12-15 October. There are two open days.

12 October is The Conference Day at The National Film Theatre, BFI Southbank. A day of keynotes, candid case studies and presentations from an array of world-class experts who are working at the vanguard of cross-media content creation, production and finance including Michel Reihac (ARTE), Mick Monello (Campfire), Mauren McHugh (No Mimes), Tommy Pallotta (Director & Producer) & Lance Weiler (Seize the Media),

Raafi Rivero and Michael Hastings-Black winners of the Pixel Pitch Award 2009

13 October is The Pixel Pitch Day at The National Film Theatre, BFI Southbank The Pixel Pitch is the public day of The Pixel Market and presents an ideal opportunity to discover first hand what types of projects are getting financed and by whom.

Nine international producer-led teams have been chosen to present their projects to a select jury made up from international decision-makers, commissioners and executives from across film, advertising, broadcast, the arts, online and games. They will compete for the £6,000 ARTE Pixel Pitch cash prize.

The Pixel Meetings take place on 14 October and this year’s Power to the Pixel Think Tank on 15 October is dedicated to finding the practical steps that will allow the film and media industries to grasp the opportunities of cross-media change. The results will be freely available in a Think Tank report to be produced by Power to the Pixel.

WBP: What are some interesting projects that have caught your attention over the last year or so that you feel are good examples of transmedia projects?

LR:There are a number of projects that we are showcasing at this year’s event.

Three documentary projects illustrate how interactive platforms can enhance and transform the possibilities for documentary storytelling to interpret and synthesize many sources of information to explain a situation or express a POV.

Collapsus is a brand-new transmedia project from SubmarineChannel, directed by Tommy Pallotta, producer of Scanner Darkly and Waking Life, and director of American Prince. It combines interactivity, animation, fiction and documentary and looks into the near future to show you how the imminent energy crisis affects a group of ten people, who appear to be caught up in an energy conspiracy. Collapsus is the transmedia project associated with the documentary, Energy Risk.

Prison Valley is the latest interactive documentary produced by Upian and ARTE by by David Dufresne & Philippe Brault It investigates the prison industry in Fremont County, a remote part of Colorado, USA, in the French documentary. The two reporters explore an area that has 36,000 inhabitants, over 7,000 inmates and 13 jails. Prison Valley is made up of a linear 59-minute film, which was aired on television channel Arte (who co-produced the documentary) on 12 June, 2010. But besides this, web users can view extra footage, interviews and statistics online.The documentary uses many of the possibilities provided by the Internet, including photography, text, audio, video and infographics. Viewers can explore the content using a navigation system similar to a video game.

Waterlife is a stunning ode to the last great supply of fresh water on earth, the Great Lakes, as well as the award-winning full-length documentary feature directed by Kevin McMahon and produced by NFB Canada, the online interactive experience immerses us in their extraordinary beauty, ecological complexity, and extreme state of distress.

Another project that hit the headlines this was Conspiracy For Good an augmented reality drama that took place on the Internet, on mobile devices and offline in four live action events in London. It was developed by Heroes creator Tim Kring and sponsored by Nokia. The audience played the part of activists and supporters of the eponymous organisation, Conspiracy For Good, and joined in to help direct the action by solving various puzzles spread across different media.

WBP: In terms of emerging trends what do you think is most interesting for those who are telling stories?

LR: Evolving devices, software and applications are enabling a whole new Renaissance in storytelling possibilities. Film and TV storytelling until recently has been essentially confined to distribution formats and release windows. Now the possibilities of extending stories in a multitude of new ways across different media platforms and devices is huge. As well as the creative aspect there are powerful ways of engaging new audiences and increasing the discoverability of projects and also attracting a whole new pool of finance and media partners. The personalisation of media is also one of the biggest trends that is effecting storytelling. Audiences are frequently no longer passive consumers of story but active collaborators and stakeholders in terms of co-creation, marketing, distribution and sometimes even in terms of financing.

WBP: What do you hope people will take away from this year’s event?

LR: The projects above and new ones that we are showcasing at The Pixel Market demonstrate that filmmakers and storytellers of diverse formats and genres are embracing these new trends. Many of the stories that we have heard about in terms of cross-media or transmedia storytelling have been huge studio franchises and often been seen soley in terms of marketing not storytelling or in any form of increasing the value of the property itself. In a world where the value of traditional media formats is steeply declining and where audience behaviour is rapidly evolving, we are keen to demonstrate at Power to the Pixel that cross-media storytelling is an essential way for creators and media businesses to reach new audiences, extend the values of the properties they are developing and to find sustainable business models in a rapidly evolving media world.

Transmedia Talk Podcast – Episode 5

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 03:50:23 GMT

EVENT: OPEN VIDEO CONFERENCE

Sat, 25 Sep 2010 20:02:12 GMT

The Open Video Conference returns to NYC with a stop at FIT for two days of conference Oct 1st and 2nd and a special hack day on Oct 3rd. We caught up with Ben Moskowitz who’s pulling the event together to get a better sense of what to expect.

WorkBook Project: What is OVC and what’s new this year?

Ben Moskowitz: OVC is a two-day gathering for anyone who’s interested in the future of web video. The event draws a big and diverse crowd of businesspeople, technologists, lawyers, academics, artists and others. At one level it’s a showcase for creative and technical innovation in online video, especially some of the exciting things happening with HTML5 and open video. But we also grapple with some larger questions—with so much free content out there, how will artists get paid? Who decides what you watch? Who knows what you watch? We are very much about the top-level concerns of this emerging web video medium, the web, and the mass media system generally.

OVC is presented by the Open Video Alliance, which is a coalition of organizations and individuals building open tools, policies, and practices for web video. This is the second time we’ve produced OVC. This year’s event is bigger, featuring a small film festival and hack day. But on a deeper level, what’s new this year is that HTML5 video and open video generally are really picking up industry support, and lightbulbs are beginning to go off in people’s heads. So some of the really advanced stuff that we’ve been forecasting and building toward is becoming tangible. OVC is a great place to get a peek at some of that stuff.

WBP What’s the most pressing issue facing Open Video and why?

BM: At OVC we’re interested in all facets of web video. To have an “open” video ecosystem, we’re going to need to ensure that creativity is compensated; that the software and hardware tools for making and watching video are accessible and widely distributed; that the network for delivering video is open to all producers, big and small; and that public policy supports the ability of mass numbers of people to participate in the video conversation.

We’re discussing all of this at OVC, and it’s all important.

WBP: HTML5 what’s it mean to storytellers and what are some of the exciting things you’ve seen done with it? Any examples you can share?

BM: Mozilla is opening an HTML5 video workshop to show what’s possible when video is woven into web pages. It’s much different than simply “embedding” a video—it’s experimenting with the possibilities of connecting video to the rest of the web, and really embracing new ideas about interactivity and iterability.

There’s the popcorn.js demo floating around, which pulls live-updating data from across the web and displays it along with the video. But that’s early stage stuff. There are lots of cool concepts which show users interacting and manipulating video in real time. It’s not just about augmenting the viewing experience—it’s about creating new experiences which weren’t possible until now. Check out the Arcade Fire HTML5 music video, “The Wilderness Inside.” In fact, do a Google search for “HTML5 video demo” and you’ll see all sorts of possibilities; when you realize that creators will be able to tinker with and build upon these examples in mass experimentation, your head will spin.

Of course, all the tech demos and gadgetry are nothing unless they’re in service of a great story. One of the coolest things to see at OVC is open source developers and creatives putting their heads together to imagine how the web can advance the craft of storytelling. We will have some cool stuff to show, for sure. But I don’t want to spoil the surprise.

But beyond that, the energy at OVC is infectious. It’s a meeting of the minds and people will be pitching new ideas all weekend. We’re delighted to be working with over 15 organizations, including the visionaries at the Workbook Project.

WBP: You’re adding a hack day this year can you explain the reason and what will be taking place?

BM: The hack day is free and open to the public. We’re organizing the hack day so everyone will have a space to start executing on their ideas immediately after the conference.

It’s taking place at NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program at 721 Broadway. Though it’s an open space gathering, we have some confirmed activities: a Mozilla WebMadeMovies working group; Kaltura hackathon; a working group with WITNESS on building solutions for human rights video; and a lot more. For the folks working on the fundamental mechanics of web video, we have the highly technical Foundations of Open Media Software Workshop.

But anyone with a project is welcome to come and collaborate—it’s going to be fun.

WBP: What tech do you think is exciting right now?

BM: Beyond the possibilities of HTML5 video, I’m really interested in how video on open knowledge projects like Wikipedia can improve learning, And generally speaking, the expanding universe of tools for making and sharing video—from the capture end all the way up to cloud computing resources—is really amazing to consider.

———–

If you’re interested in new forms of storytelling, technology, policy issues or just want to catch a glimpse of some innovative projects make sure to attend OVC.

Discount available for WorkBook Project community…

Register now— they’re filling up. It’s a great deal, with 60+ sessions, screenings, parties, and more. For readers of WBP use this discount code FILM20

EVENT: OPEN VIDEO CONFERENCE

Sat, 25 Sep 2010 20:02:12 GMT

WorkBook Project: What is OVC and what’s new this year?

WBP What’s the most pressing issue facing Open Video and why?

We’re discussing all of this at OVC, and it’s all important.

WBP: HTML5 what’s it mean to storytellers and what are some of the exciting things you’ve seen done with it? Any examples you can share?

WBP: You’re adding a hack day this year can you explain the reason and what will be taking place?

BM: The hack day is free and open to the public. We’re organizing the hack day so everyone will have a space to start executing on their ideas immediately after the conference.

But anyone with a project is welcome to come and collaborate—it’s going to be fun.

WBP: What tech do you think is exciting right now?

———–

If you’re interested in new forms of storytelling, technology, policy issues or just want to catch a glimpse of some innovative projects make sure to attend OVC.

Discount available for WorkBook Project community…

Register now— they’re filling up. It’s a great deal, with 60+ sessions, screenings, parties, and more. For readers of WBP use this discount code FILM20

Transmedia Talk Podcast – Episode 4

Fri, 24 Sep 2010 07:30:52 GMT

Transmedia Talk Podcast – Episode 4

Fri, 24 Sep 2010 00:26:11 GMT

Profile: SubmarineChannel

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 13:11:15 GMT

Dutch media innovators Bruno Felix and Femke Wolting, co-founders of Submarine.com, collaborated to produce Submarinechannel.com, an initiative designed to explore and promote innovative approaches to media. Submarinechannel.com positions itself as both a distribution and production platform for artists looking to create interactive, cross-media projects.

Both Felix and Wolting previously worked at Dutch Broadcasting Organization, VPRO, in the 1990’s, an experimental period in the industry. Felix is credited with the development of new media strategy for VPRO during this time, and both are recognized as early moguls for new media. Their devotion to creating interactive relationships between media and consumer inspired Submarine.com, which ultimately led to the birth of Submarinechannel.com. The site highlights creative participation in various projects and films, and aims to question the multicultural and multifaceted digital identity of the Internet. The content highlighted relies on new modes of storytelling to break down the barrier currently separating arts, media, and politics.

United Vloggers, the guide for understanding the nature of vlogs, is a feature under the tab “Internet” on the site. Introduced in 2007 by Michael Schaap to support vloggers, the project quickly became a catalyst for connecting talent on a global scale. UnitedVloggers filters out quality vlogs and the selection varies from video art to grass roots journalism. Check out the recently posted “Touch My Body” a project where music videos are manipulated into green screens and posted on youtube.com for viewers to respond.

Navigate through Chunks under Film on Submarinechannel.com, the channel’s personal 24/7 online film festival featuring picks from all over the world; there are currently more than 50 to browse through. Another cool project about to debut is Collapsus, their upcoming project that epitomizes the site’s aim to broach the integral nature of global perspectives in digital culture.

Tommy Pallotta, renowned for blending technology, filmmaking, and animation, directs the project. Pallotta produced Waking Life, the groundbreaking computer animated feature film.

Collapsus places the viewer as director in an interactive, documentary-esque, animated film, replete with political agendas surrounding the future global energy crisis. As an active participant in the story, the viewer is required to take action in seeking solutions to the energy crisis; with each decisive click of the mouse the narrative changes to present viewers with varying futuristic crisis scenarios.

Submarinechannel.com hopes to instigate thought, but similarly looks to inspire artists working in every medium. The innovative site also features projects like DUTCH PROFILES, where viewers can learn about innovative projects at the heart of Dutch culture, in a documentary series featuring interviews with various designers in the region. Some other well known projects include: Minimovies, documentaries for the digital age. Sneakers: a guided tour through sneaker culture. Pretty Cool People Interviews: video interviews with creators. The Killer: Motion comic based on graphic novel by Matz and Jacamon.

Ultimately, Submarinechannel.com is an incredible source for those looking to further experiment with the potential of the Internet. Well-curated posts and projects permeate the website, and validate the portal as a content rich aggregator for projects aimed at young audiences ripe with global perspectives on digital culture.

Profile: SubmarineChannel

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 15:23:56 GMT

Tommy Pallotta, renowned for blending technology, filmmaking, and animation, directs the project. Pallotta produced Waking Life, the groundbreaking computer animated feature film.

Transmedia Talk Podcast – Episode 2

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:21:05 GMT

Welcome to the second episode of Transmedia Talk a new podcast covering all things story. Transmedia Talk is co-hosted by Nick Braccia and Robert Pratten and looks to shed light on the topic of transmedia storytelling with commentary, interviews and tips on how storytelling is moving into the 21st century. This edition of Transmedia Talk covers the following… NB: If you’d like to give us feedback, recommend yourself as a guest or suggest topics to cover – please email us at talk@workbookproject.com or Tweet away with the hashtag #tmediatalk Topics (start time shown in bold) 0:00:54 Apple’siTV, Google TV, Boxee, Roku and Amazon on Demand 0:07:25 StoryLabs – international network of transmedia & new technology mentors 0:10:18 TransmediaNext – 3 days intensive transmedia training in London Sept 8th-10th 0:14:30 Transmedia funding – public vs private? 0:30:23 YouSuckatTransmedia, Christy’s top 5 tips for transmedia consultants and discussion about what can go wrong 0:46:11 J.J. Abram’s Super8 ARG: Scariestthingieversaw.com, http://www.rocketpoppeteers.com/, http://www.hooklineandminker.com/ Hosts Nick Braccia from Culture Hacker Robert Pratten from TransmediaStoryteller.com Guests Christy Dena from Universe Creation 101 Anita Ondine from Seize the Media Dee Cook from Dog Tale Media

A Content Strategy For Audience Engagement

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 21:29:46 GMT

When audiences connect well to your content, they go through three stages of engagement: Discovery, Experience and Exploration as shown in below.

The key to a successful content strategy is understanding (a) that there are these stages of engagement (b) what content is required for each stage and (c) what the goals are for each stage.

Failure to appreciate or acknowledge that there are these stages of engagement typically results in audiences being expected to do too much work too soon – which most won’t do – and hence the content fails at the Discovery stage and the real experience never begins. Or, expositional-type content that belongs in Exploration is offered as Experience content and hence fails to engage because it doesn’t tell a story.

Ignoring these stages is like expecting a kiss from a stranger before flirting with them or expecting to run off and get married after only the first date. Maybe in Vegas, but usually not anywhere else.

With transmedia, one media may act as Discovery content for another. For example, the comic book serving as Discovery content for a movie or, in the example of the Xbox game Alan Wake, six webisodes act as Discovery content for the game. However, it’s important to remember that each media also has its own Discovery>Experience>Exploration stages as shown in below.

This is particularly important for indies who may think that creating a comic book for their movie will result automatically in an audience for their movie. It won’t. The comic book first has to be discovered and experienced and it’s only if the content is good enough will the reader begin exploring and “discover” the movie.

Note that I’m fond of encouraging an iterative approach to creating transmedia projects but here I’m also proposing a recursive approach: each and every piece of content should attempt to lure, convince and deliver.

Engaging the Five Senses

The next illustration uses the metaphor of sensory engagement to illustrate how audiences connect to your content. The concept is that audiences are at first suspicious of new content and that if we are to draw them in and lead them to the highest level of engagement – contributing to the canon – then we must resolves their reservations and satisfy their needs at each stage.

Smell and teasers

The first sensory stage is smell. The audience approaches tentatively and sniffs: is there a whiff of the familiar?

We are creatures of habit because evolution has shown it serves us well. Repeating past satisfying experiences is a successful strategy for survival in the wild and with entertainment it’s a good indicator too.

The audience needs to be reassured that your content is worth its time and attention. You need to reduce the perceived risk by communicating “trustworthyness”, “coolness”, “quality”, ”appropriateness” – whatever values are sought by the audience for this type of project.

To communicate the correct values, I’ve created a content class called “Teasers”. Of course the “teaser” is familiar to indie filmmakers – a 30 second or less video intended to bait the trap; not to explain or reveal too much but only to temp further engagement. In this model however, I’ve broadened the teaser into a full content category to include all content that can be digested with the minimal amount of attention.

The figure shows the five content classes I’ve defined for each stage of engagement: Teaser, Trailer, Target, Participation and Collaboration.

Note that I had to create a name for the “target content” to avoid confusion with all the other content! Because of the recursive nature of this approach, any content might be at one time the target content and another time Discovery content.

Note too that because of the need to communicate quickly, visual clues from pictures, photos and web design are going to dominate the Teaser content class. But it’s also the headlines you communicate: well-known cast or crew, one-line quotes from reviewers and so on.

Taste and trailers

If your project smells familiar then the audience can progress to a more specific, personal question: will I like it?

The teaser has convinced the audience your project is something they might like, but what can you tell them to reassure them it’s worth their additional time and (possibly) money?

The movie trailer is a commercial. Its intention is to convince the audience that this movie is for them. In this model I’ve expanded the trailer to a class for all content that persuades. By which I mean content that removes the barrier between Discovery and Experience: it’s the barrier between the known – the Teaser and Trailer content – and the unknown – the target content.

This barrier is represented by toll gate 2 – TG2.

Tollgates

In this model, tollgates are barriers between one stage and another.

TG1 is tollgate 1. It’s the barrier that prevents audiences knowing that your project exists. TG1 can be breached by search engine optimization (SEO), recommendations, links and anything that puts your content on the map. But the first audience encounter should be with your Teaser content.

Tollgate 2 requires a little more explanation.

Think of TG2 as a wall that the audience must climb. The first tollgate image below shows how the project and business model will unavoidably create barriers to your content – some unintentional, some intentional.

Content that you provide in Discovery helps the audience scale the wall – as shown in below. In this example, price creates a barrier to entry that of course can only be scaled by the audience paying the fee. However, the tollgate is far higher than solely the price and the audience will only part with its money once the perception of the tollgate is lower than the payment. Stated simply, buyers rarely make decisions not to purchase based on price – it’s all those other barriers that have to be overcome first: value, suitability, risk, convenience, context and so on.

Touch and sight

It’s only when the audience touches the target content that it can see it for what it is. If your Discovery content has done its job then the audience’ expectations will be met or exceeded. But if you have deceived or misled them then they’ll be disappointed.

There is nothing more you can do at this point. The target content is what it is. This is what the audience came for and it has to deliver.

After – though sometimes during- the Experience comes the Exploration. The tollgate TG3 is the barrier to be climbed to have the audience increase its willing engagement. Sometimes there can be confusion and this will lead to unwilling engagement: the audience experiences the content but doesn’t quite “get it” and hence searches for an explanation or for help. In these situations of unwilling engagement, a high barrier at TG3 will lead to resentment.

Ordinarily we want the audience to engage further so reducing the height of TG3 should be a priority: make content easy to find and easy to access; signpost what content should follow the target content.

Listening and Participation

Although content in the participation stage may be available before the Experience, its goal is to aid exploration – not to tease or persuade (even though audiences might use it for reassurance to lower TG2).

Having experienced the target content – either in part or in full – the audience now listens for affirmation. They ask questions to themselves and to others and seek content that answers their questions or fulfils their desire for more.

Good content stimulates debate. Audiences want to discuss and share their experiences with others. They’ll also want to extend the experience and will search for add-ons or new target content.

Some audience members will want to show their affiliation to the content by buying merchandise or embedding widgets; they’ll want to encourage their friends to try the target content.

Content in this Exploration category is intended to reward and empower the advocate and to educate: it provides additional understanding and value to the target content. In this regard it may be acceptable to have “expositional” content such as character biographies, backstories and so on.

Collaboration

In this engagement model the ultimate audience engagement is collaboration or contribution. Not everyone in the audience will progress to this stage and some authors may think this undesirable.

Collaboration is not that same as participation. Participation might be passive (reading additional content and exploring the world) or active – voting, sharing, commenting, discussing, Tweeting and so on. Collaboration is adding to the storyworld: writing fan fiction, creating videos or illustrations. It’s providing new content that you, as author, are free to embrace or reject.

Between participation and collaboration is tollgate 4 – it’s a barrier created by the audience’ perceived lack of time and skills, fear of ridicule and lack of information about how to contribute to the world. You can lower this barrier by providing tools, methods, encouragement and a supportive environment.

How To Use The 5-Senese Engagement Model

The premise with this approach is that a transmedia storyworld maybe too vast to expect an audience to jump right in. They have to be teased and led like Hansel and Gretel by a trail of breadcrumbs. Imagine your world to be a huge cavern – if you blindfold your audience and then first open their eyes once they’re inside, the vastness is overwhelming – it’s a new and scary place. Your audience needs orientation. They have to be guided through an entrance tunnel and see the cavern open up before their eyes and at their own pace. The more complex the world, the more handholding you need to do.

There’s also the issue of the time, energy and cost required to digest a whole storyworld. Far better to give the audience smaller snacks at first until their appetite grows for larger, more time-consuming content.

Note that this content strategy is for audience engagement. When combined with the platform selection methodology, start first with revenue-generating target content and see how it might be prioritized by platform. Then use this engagement model to understand the relationship between the platforms and to identify additional content to aid Discovery and Exploration.

Transmedia Storytelling: Getting Started

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 18:38:33 GMT

Having decided that you want to get into transmedia and write a transmedia story, where do you start?

Well, I’d recommend that you start with what you know and branch out from there. But knowing where and how to branch out means considering the type of experience you want to create.

There are five questions to ask yourself (shown in Figure 1):

What is the story I want to tell?
How will I deliver the story?
What kind of audience participation do I want or need?
How will audience participation affect the story over time?
How much is based in the real world vs a fictional world?

Figure 1: Transmedia Storytelling: Getting Started

The more audience participation you want or need, the more you’ll tend towards writing the storyworld before the story. Figure 2 illustrates what I mean by story and storyworld.

Think of a “story” as one implementation of the world of the story among many potential implementations. I guess you might think of story as one plot line and associated characters from a world of many plots, subplots, and characters and so on – I’ve called this a single “narrative space”. Figure 3 illustrates how an author might take a single narrative space (one story) and develop it into additional narrative spaces (new stories).

Figure 2: Story vs Storyworld

Figure 3: Narrative Spaces

When thinking about delivering the story, put aside the specifics of particular platforms (just for now) and think about the experience in terms of:

the narrative spaces you want to cover (location, characters, time – see above)
the number and relative timing of the platforms (sequential, parallel, simultaneous, non-linear)
the extent and type of audience involvement (passive, active, interactive, collaborative) .

There’s a lot to consider here so let’s tackle it as a two-stage process:

Step 1: decide the narrative space, number of platforms and their timing
Step 2: decide the extent of audience involvement.

Step 1: Narrative Space and Relative Timing of Platforms

Figure 4 shows a “typical” Hollywood transmedia project. It’s a series of single-platform deliverables – a book, a movie, a game. In many ways the platforms are independent except that they often cover different narrative spaces: prequel, sequel, flashback which may dictate a release order or schedule. In any case there’s no apparent audience interactivity between the platforms.

Figure 4: Transmedia Franchise

By contrast, an Alternate Reality Game (ARG) might cover a single narrative space across multiple platforms – each alone insufficient to carry the complete story but like jigsaw puzzle pieces they must be assembled to complete the picture (well… you know… story).

Figure 5: Portmanteau Transmedia

These different types to transmedia can be represented by the diagram in Figure 6. Of course it’s also possible to combine different types of transmedia as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 6: Types of Transmedia

Figure 7: Mixed Transmedia Types

Step 2: Audience Involvement

Audience involvement in the story often bothers indie filmmakers. It’s not just that the indie wants to tell his story without interference; it’s also the fear that amateur involvement will sully the final result. And for those who have tried involving audiences there’s concerns about the effort of “community management” – the time and trouble to guide, motivate, appeal and appease.

It’s not only indie filmmakers that worry about how to tell their story and yet still find room for audience participation. Talk to game designers about audience (i.e. player) interaction and story and they’ll tell you that the more control you give to players (audiences), the less control is retained by the author. In fact the problem is even more pronounced in MMOs where virtual world guru Richard Bartle says “Virtual world designers can’t add story, they can only add content. Content provides experiences that can be made by those who come through or observe them into story.” So at its most open-ended, the virtual world (or transmedia experience) creates a world with lots of actionable content and choices but no plot?

This player-author struggle is tackled by games like Fallout3 and Red Dead Redemption (which are console games, not MMOs) by offering players the choice to explore (create their own stories) or tackle quests (follow the author’s story). Cut-scenes of course offer the most extreme authorial control.

It’s clear that transmedia experiences can borrow from the lessons of games and virtual worlds – creating a storyworld into which the author places a mix of story and content with opportunities for sit-forward and sit-back participation.

Looking further into audience participation I discovered the “storytelling cube” (Figure 8 ) first presented at the 2002 Game Developers Conference by Raph Koster and Rich Vogel to describe how narrative is explored in online virtual worlds. It applies particularly well to ARGs. The three axes are control, impact and context:

Control: How much freedom does the audience have to create their own experience and how much control will you have as the author?
Impact: What long-lasting impact will the audience have on the evolution of the experience?
Context: How much of the experience is based in a fictional world and how much exists in “real life”?

Figure 8 Storytelling Cube (Raph Koster & Rich Vogel)

There’s no right or wrong position to be inside this cube: it’s up to you to decide based on experience, preference and resources. At one extreme you might have an entirely fictional world, tightly controlled by the author with no audience interaction and at the other you could have an experience based around real-world places & events in which the audience is free to completely change how the story evolves and is experienced. And of course the two can be mixed and there’s a lot of space in between.

To be continued….

Transmedia Storytelling: Getting Started

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 18:38:33 GMT

Having decided that you want to get into transmedia and write a transmedia story, where do you start?

Well, I’d recommend that you start with what you know and branch out from there. But knowing where and how to branch out means considering the type of experience you want to create.

There are five questions to ask yourself (shown in Figure 1):

What is the story I want to tell?
How will I deliver the story?
What kind of audience participation do I want or need?
How will audience participation affect the story over time?
How much is based in the real world vs a fictional world?

Figure 1: Transmedia Storytelling: Getting Started

The more audience participation you want or need, the more you’ll tend towards writing the storyworld before the story. Figure 2 illustrates what I mean by story and storyworld.

Figure 2: Story vs Storyworld

Figure 3: Narrative Spaces

When thinking about delivering the story, put aside the specifics of particular platforms (just for now) and think about the experience in terms of:

the narrative spaces you want to cover (location, characters, time – see above)
the number and relative timing of the platforms (sequential, parallel, simultaneous, non-linear)
the extent and type of audience involvement (passive, active, interactive, collaborative) .

There’s a lot to consider here so let’s tackle it as a two-stage process:

Step 1: decide the narrative space, number of platforms and their timing
Step 2: decide the extent of audience involvement.

Step 1: Narrative Space and Relative Timing of Platforms

Figure 4: Transmedia Franchise

Figure 5: Portmanteau Transmedia

These different types to transmedia can be represented by the diagram in Figure 6. Of course it’s also possible to combine different types of transmedia as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 6: Types of Transmedia

Figure 7: Mixed Transmedia Types

Step 2: Audience Involvement

Control: How much freedom does the audience have to create their own experience and how much control will you have as the author?
Impact: What long-lasting impact will the audience have on the evolution of the experience?
Context: How much of the experience is based in a fictional world and how much exists in “real life”?

Figure 8 Storytelling Cube (Raph Koster & Rich Vogel)

To be continued….

CALL FOR ENTRY: The Pixel Pitch

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 05:50:45 GMT

Power to the Pixel has just opened calls for it’s annual Pixel Pitch. Now in its second year the Pixel Pitch offers transmedia projects an opportunity to present their work to an international panel of judges consisting of producers, funders, sales agents and distributors. This year’s top project will be award a cash prize thanks to support from ARTE. To find out more read below or visit www.powertothepixel.com

The Pixel Market – How Does It Work?

Power to the Pixel will select up to 20 cross-media projects to be presented to potential international financiers, investors and partners at The Pixel Market, part of Power to the Pixel’s annual Cross-Media Forum held in association with The BFI London Film Festival. Selected participants will also gain free accreditation to Power to the Pixel’s Conference Summit on the first day of the Forum.

The Pixel Pitch, 13 October 2010
Up to half of the selected projects will be presented In Competition at The Pixel Pitch, a public event on the first day of the market on 13 October 2010 at NFT1, BFI Southbank. These project teams will compete for the £6,000 ARTE Pixel Pitch Cash Prize.

Producer-led teams will present to a hand-picked roundtable jury made up of financiers, commissioners, tech companies, online portals and media & entertainment companies.

Each team will have 10 minutes to pitch their project (including visual presentations) with a further 20 minutes for comments and feedback from the roundtable.

The Pixel Meetings, 14 October 2010
Day Two of the market is a by-invitation-only event. The 20 international teams selected for The Pixel Market will attend a day of one-to-one business meetings with potential creative and financial partners from across the tech, online, interactive, film, broadcast, arts, publishing and gaming industries.

This will be followed by an evening networking drinks reception where the Winner of the ARTE Pixel Pitch Prize will be announced.

Submission Guidelines

1. Projects must have a Producer attached and be submitted through a production company
2. Submissions must be made by the Producer
3. Producer(s) must own the rights to develop and produce the project in all required media
4. Applications from producers who are students on the dates of The Pixel Market will not be eligible
5. A maximum of 2 members per team will be allowed to present In Competition at The Pixel Pitch (if selected) one of whom must be the Producer or Director
6. Applications and supplementary materials must be delivered in the English language
7. Power to the Pixel will give preference to projects whose team members have a track record within their sector (eg. broadcast, online, gaming, theatrical, publishing)
8. Projects must be at an advanced stage of development
9. Application forms and all supplementary materials must be delivered online eg. stills, storyboards, moving imagery (10 mins max) by uploading files and providing urls to where materials have been uploaded
10. All application forms and supplementary materials must be received by 18.00 BST on 6 August 2010 at market@powertothepixel.com

Key Dates

16 June 2010 Call open for submissions
6 August 2010 Deadline for submissions (18.00 BST)
3 September 2010 Successful applicants informed
13 October 2010 The Pixel Pitch at NFT1, BFI Southbank in London
14 October 2010 The Pixel Meetings (venue tbc)
ARTE Pixel Pitch Prize Winner announced

CALL FOR ENTRY: The Pixel Pitch

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 05:50:45 GMT

The Pixel Market – How Does It Work?

Producer-led teams will present to a hand-picked roundtable jury made up of financiers, commissioners, tech companies, online portals and media & entertainment companies.

Each team will have 10 minutes to pitch their project (including visual presentations) with a further 20 minutes for comments and feedback from the roundtable.

This will be followed by an evening networking drinks reception where the Winner of the ARTE Pixel Pitch Prize will be announced.

Submission Guidelines

Key Dates

My Thoughts on E3

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 19:01:16 GMT

At a spectacle known as E3, I witnessed everything from 3D games without glasses to controller-free gaming. Before this conference I didn’t think Star Trek-like technology could be available in 2010. Can Hollywood learn from the constantly evolving game industry?

Below are some highlights from E3 and how I think they will impact filmmakers.

X-Box 360’s Kinect created by PrimeSense

Audience members could place themselves into scenes and those clips will automatically be shared on Facebook. How many girls would love to have an appearance in Twilight? Maybe, Kinetic could track where a viewer is in a living room to change the perspective of how they watch a movie. Additionally film environments could be interactive e.g. you can pause a film and then run your hand through raindrops.

Nintendo 3D DS

There aren’t any TVs on the market that deliver 3D film viewing on a budget. 3D DS gives consumers an incentive to purchase a movie vs. watching it through Netflix, pirating, or Red Box. With over a 125 million of the previous DS models sold, this could be a big market. The LA Times reports that Nintendo has already made deals with Warner Bros, Disney, and DreamWorks.

What are your predictions? Let us know in the comments.

Transmedia Storytelling-Fishing where the fish are

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 18:56:46 GMT

Multiplatform Storytelling: A Master Class with Tim Kring at SXSW brought a rock star–sized following of fans and some press excited to see the architect behind Heroes. Brian Seth Hurst moderated it. Their discussion started with them revealing how George Lucas invented transmedia storytelling. Prepare to be shocked-it all started November 17, 1978 with The Star Wars Holiday Special. A mysterious new character appeared on this show. His name was Bobba Fett. Before long Bobba Fett could also be purchased as a limited edition action figure in toy stores. Fans were confused and excited about this bounty hunter who came out of nowhere. About a year later when The Empire Strike Back was released Bobba Fett showed up again. Many fans were already aware of him. It was the first time a character originated on one platform then moved to the “mother ship of the property”.

Next Tim talked about his experience in the TV biz, then and now. When he started out a viewer had limited options: passively watch a show, at a certain time, via their TV. Now technology has offered new ways to distribute content at anytime to viewers e.g. smart phones and computers. It’s a double-edged sword; this has also brought about new competitors-including social networks and casual games that can steal eyeballs from a TV show.

Here is data that shows how things have changed:

Casual game FarmVille surpasses 80 million users http://mashable.com/2010/02/20/farmville-80-million-users/

Nielsen data shows that U.S. Facebook users now spend an average of seven hours per month on the site.

Apple announced that more than three billion apps have been downloaded from its App Store by iPhone and iPod touch users worldwide. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/apples-app-store-downloads-top-three-billion-80694707.html

Some people have looked at transmedia storytelling like a novelty; Tim knew it was a necessity. So for Heroes his strategy was to “fish where the fish are”. He created Heroes Evolution, which expanded his stories beyond a TV screen with weekly web graphic novels connected to the show, interactive puzzles that engage fans with text messages and phone apps, among many other techniques to reach an elusive audience who have migrated all over the place. Tim’s closing remarks were he recommended that young producers should prepare to pitch TV executives their shows with a transmedia strategy. For future projects Tim is considering making his story the mother ship where everything is connected vs having his TV show at the hub.

Transmedia Storytelling-Fishing where the fish are

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 18:56:46 GMT

Here is data that shows how things have changed:

Casual game FarmVille surpasses 80 million users http://mashable.com/2010/02/20/farmville-80-million-users/

Nielsen data shows that U.S. Facebook users now spend an average of seven hours per month on the site.

Quick Hit: You Suck at Transmedia

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 12:45:17 GMT

Transmedia designer and sometime WBP contributor Chrisy Dena launched a new site last night called You Suck at Transmedia, which plans to catalog transmedia failures and the lessons we can learn from them.

How do you/we/us stop sucking at transmedia? Well, this site is a step in that direction. This site welcomes contributions that really do aim to progress the state of the art. Here we can discuss the consequences of transmedia design, production and execution decisions.

In short, this site will cover transmedia decisions that never, sometimes, and always work.

The site already hosts one lovingly-rendered account of a failure scenario, as well as a great article on event scalability which asks my favorite question: “How can props be delivered in a replicatable manner to screens across continents?”

The blog is written toward encouraging discussion between creators. Drop by and join the conversation.

Quick Hit: You Suck at Transmedia

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 12:45:17 GMT

How do you/we/us stop sucking at transmedia? Well, this site is a step in that direction. This site welcomes contributions that really do aim to progress the state of the art. Here we can discuss the consequences of transmedia design, production and execution decisions.

In short, this site will cover transmedia decisions that never, sometimes, and always work.

The blog is written toward encouraging discussion between creators. Drop by and join the conversation.

Transmedia documentation

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 20:06:07 GMT

Last year I posted an idea of how to document transmedia projects. I’m now back with an improved version

Note that this is another two-part post… kinda… with more downloadable content related to documentation and project bibles over here.

To illustrate my latest documentation, I’ve use the 10 minute ARG created by No Mimes Media LLC called International Mimes Academy. If you’re not already familiar with this game, you can download an explanation at the Unfiction forum.

This pictorial flowchart is pretty good because it shows the media and links or calls-to-action between the media and there’s an implied sequence of experience (from top to bottom).

Updating my earlier ideas, the diagram below shows how the NoMimes flowcart would be represented if the media were separated onto it’s only timeline.

What’s good about this approach is that it hits a lot of the goals desired by Christy Dena:

* indicate which part of the story is told by which media

* indicate the timing of each element

* indicate how the audience traverses the media (what’s the call to action?)

Separating out the media like this is particularly useful if it’s being created by partners or collaborators: it shows what has to be created and how it relates to other media. The colored vectors represent the different platforms and the thin arrows between them document the calls-to-action or bridges between the platforms. I’m sometimes a little inconsistent with how I use these linking arrows, erring on the side of better explanation than rigid documentation dogma.

One “exception” I made here is the inclusion of the final phone call. Typically I wouldn’t include the audience in the diagram but as it’s a concluding part of this experience it felt incomplete without it.

Although this is a nice example to start with, it doesn’t illustrate the strengths of my approach. Hence, let’s take a more complicated example.

The transmedia project documented in the following figures is called Colour Bleed created by Rhys Miles Thomas at Glass Shot in Wales, UK.

The first thing you see at a glance is the experience runs for six months in three phases each lasting two months and you can see that there are Offline and Online platforms.

You can also quickly see what platforms are being used and their relative timings. So, for example, you can see that “live performance” plays a significant role in this production – starting the experience and ending it. Indeed, Colour Bleed kicks-off with impromptu live dance performances at shopping malls and other public place – I’ve called them “flash dances” – intended to immediately draw a crowd and attention. But this is the start of a futuristic story in which kids rebel against an authoritarian regime that’s banned color and creative expression.

At the flash dances, members of the project team hand out business cards that contain the call-to-action to go online and check out the History of Colour website. Note that I’ve shown two types of video production – “our video”, that produced by the project, and “UG video, for user-generated video that we hope will be captured by bystanders on their mobile phones.

Both types of video are hosted at the website and shown as “uploaded”. This isn’t a call-to-action but it does link and explain how video features in the live performance and on the web. It identifies media that needs to be produced and can be assigned a responsibility.

Other notable things in Phase 1 and Phase 2 are the use of a “rabbit hole” to gain access to the ARG, graphic novels given as rewards for completing phases of the ARG and a series of barcodes given in newspapers to access the second phase of the ARG.

Note that the ARGs are shown as a single platform in this diagram but might they will have their own additional documentation showing a second layer of complexity that’s hidden here.

Phase 3 has slightly more complicated documentation because merchandise given away at a series of live events (DJ-led music events and dance offs) offers two paths to revealing the date and time of a final performance:

* A URL to an augmented reality app on the community website that requires the AR marker on the merchandise to unlock

* A phone number to a voice message.

The first video in Phase 3 is shown to require two pieces of information to unlock it – the webcam app and the AR marker on the merchandise.

Note that the final cinema screening is partially colored indicating that although the date & time is revealed, the event can’t happen until the location is unlocked.

Conclusion

This is a pretty good method for documenting the flow across platforms in a transmedia project.. unless you think otherwise?