There are lots of ways to tell a story these days: websites, comicbooks, videogames, movies are but a few… So if you’ve got a great story to tell, which should you choose? Increasingly, the answer is “as many as make sense”… Welcome to transmedia storytelling.
The Matrix is an example of Transmedia storytelling, as there is no one medium that conveys the entire world in which Neo (the central character) lives. As one professor wrote: “key bits of information are conveyed through three live action films, a series of animated shorts, two collections of comic book stories, and several video games.”.
Michael Moore is a fantastic example of someone who understands the benefits of transmedia storytelling – in the lead up to the 2004 US presidential election, Moore went to town on George W. Bush… he was attacked on Moore’s blog, in his book, Dude, Where’s My Country?, in his film, Fahrenheit 911 and during his Slacker Uprising national speaking tour. By choosing to tell his stories on multiple platforms, Moore reached diverse audiences in a manner that appealed to them, but a complete picture was only possible by experiencing each of the media in turn.
The term was introduced to me by edwardharran via twitter.
Wow, what an interesting term, and introduced via Twitter, love twitter.
I’m not sure if that’s amazing or scary. I guess it depends on the motive of the company/message/intention?
The companies are pushing out so much data, or sucking people in soo deeply to consume so much.
Peace,
Wade
Hey Tim
Transmedia planning has been around for a good long while, it’s not just about using multiple channels, it’s about how you can create a storytelling experience where the participant is involved in the narrative as they interact.
Here’s a couple of presentations that bring it to life:
http://farisyakob.typepad.com/blog/2008/07/transmedia-presentation.html
http://www.slideshare.net/zeusjones/aaaa-future-of-planning-zj
and to address Wade’s point Jane McGonical (a bit of a hero of mine…really!) has a couple of great presentations on slideshare too that you might want to check out…I posted her thinking on happiness as the new capital thinking here http://katiechatfield.wordpress.com/2008/05/23/happiness-hacking/
and I see she gave the Keynote at SXSW 2008 http://www.slideshare.net/avantgame/alternate-realities-jane-mcgonigal-keynote-sxsw-2008
Ah the power of Twitter. Great meeting you this morning – and valuable post. Something I’m definitely going to consider with future projects.
i agree with previosly autor… tnx
I find it really interesting that most movies turn into computer games, but Max Payne has gone from a game to a movie – I’m looking forward to seeing it!
[…] Tim Longhurst. “Transmedia storytelling – media trend / innovation” (4/9/2009) http://www.timlonghurst.com/blog/2008/09/04/transmedia-storytelling-media-trend-innovation/ (geraadpleegd op […]
[…] A combinação do consumo de todos esses “pedaços” da narrativa traz experiências distintas ao espectador, visto que informações relevantes e que alteram a compreensão do andar da trama eram distribuídas em várias plataformas. Para que a compreensão seja coesa pelos usuários há a necessidade de “pistas migratórias”: elementos da narrativa que se repetem ou são referenciados em diferentes mídias em diferentes tempos e que fazem com que haja o reconhecimento da coerência do universo ficcional criado. “Nenhum meio contempla o universo completo em que vive o personagem principal Neo“ […]
[…] A combinação do consumo de todos esses “pedaços” da narrativa traz experiências distintas ao espectador, visto que informações relevantes e que alteram a compreensão do andar da trama eram distribuídas em várias plataformas. Para que a compreensão seja coesa pelos usuários há a necessidade de “pistas migratórias”: elementos da narrativa que se repetem ou são referenciados em diferentes mídias em diferentes tempos e que fazem com que haja o reconhecimento da coerência do universo ficcional criado. “Nenhum meio contempla o universo completo em que vive o personagem principal Neo“ […]