Prezentacja Marty Gomes z beActive PT wygłoszona 22 września 2011 r. podczas Filmteractive Festival w Łodzi.

1. Producer's Guide to Transmedia

2. What is Transmedia?

Transmedia answers the demands of today's
audiences lifestyles: content anywhere, on
any device.

Transmedia content is more immersive,
it's a social experience.

Transmedia allows audiences to have an
active role in the storytelling process.

3. The Story-world

A Transmedia project develops
storytelling across multiplatforms.

Content becomes invasive and fully
permeates.

A Transmedia project begins with a
story-world, begins with characters living
on that world.

The different platforms are windows to
that world.

4. Why Transmedia?

For the first time, producers can directly
connect with their audiences.

In Transmedia, Producers are “brand
managers” and are in charge of creativity and
also distribution and marketing.
Producers can be owners of their Intelectual
Property, of their brands but are required to
take more risks.

5. Our focus

Put the audience inside the show.

Make the audience participate, be part of it and
decide the outcome.

Make it personal and immersive.

Use “all medias” to make it a truly 360 degrees
show. The show becomes part of your daily life.

Use the Internet, Social Media and Mobile
phones to establish relationships and build
communities.

Use traditional medias as TV and Radio to bring
the content to the mass market.

Use brands as sponsors and/or produce mobile
and off-line products for monetizing the content.

6. The Bible

Defines the story-world, its geography, its
timeline and the characters that live on this
world.

The Premise.

The World.

The Timeline.

History and Facts that may influence
the story-world.

Defining the characters.

The Plot (for the different outputs).

Dressing your bible: be visual.

7. The Bible evolves

The bible is the reference document for your
Transmedia project.

It evolves through time.

Is the reference document for the different
outputs of your story-world: TV Series, Games,
Films, Web sites, Web series, Books, etc..

It allows you to avoid contraction and have a
clear view.

8. The outputs

Webisodes

TV series

Feature Film

Book

Newspaper/Magazine columns

Web site

Blogs and Characters blogs

Facebook Fan Pages

Twitter accounts and other Social Media
experiences

Comic Books

Casual Games and Apps (On-line / Mobile)

Radio

Live Shows and Live events

9. Transmedia Strategy
Which medias to use in your Transmedia Strategy?

Medias that bring something to your project (audience
engagement, marketing, revenue) and can also work as stand
alone pieces (and do not require audiences to jump from one
media to the other).

The use of different medias must provide a better user
experience but not exclude “non-participate” audiences.

The roll-out of different medias should focus on audience build
up to the key media in your marketing strategy.

Make every media experience unique and rewarding to the user.

Be aware of each media limitations, traditional user experience
(content length), and impact on the user (the distance to the
screen and personal connection to the media).

The “time slot” of the user/media.

10. Our Strategy
First Stage: Establish your Transmedia Project and
authorship of your entertainment brand. 6/12 months.

The Web site / Channel inside a Portal or
Broadcaster.

The Web series.

The Blog.

The Social Media Experience (Push elements).

Mobile Games and/or Apps.

Off-line Media: Radio, Article on Magazine.

11. Our Strategy
Second Stage: Expand your World to Off-line medias
to enlarge your audience. 1-2 years.

Cross the Web series to Television.

Create a Radio show or publish articles in
newspapers.

Find Partners to Publish books, Comic books.

Extend your presence in the Mobile phones.

12. Our Strategy
Third Stage: Your Brand grows.

Create a higher budget TV Series.

Produce a Feature Film.

Produce or Organize Live Events.

License your brand to manufacturers.

Go International.

13. The Challenge

How to manage all the partners involved in the
distribution of your content.

How to define a marketing strategy and work
with your partners to optimize exposure (eg.:
combine launching of a TV Series with Books in
the stores).

How to plan the release of your content where
you keep building a community and brand
awareness without loosing an ownership.

14. Writing for Transmedia

The Bible will guide the development of
content for each media.

What is allowed and what is not allowed.

Project needs to be supervised by a head
writer, the “project” owner, the showrunner.

15. The Showrunner

Creating a Transmedia show demands
someone that can oversee the big picture
and coordinate the different writers, the
content production and its delivery: Blogs,
Photos, Videos, Podcasts, Games and/or
Game Elements, Interactivity...the user
experience!

16. Creating the Experience

Writing a movie or a TV Episode is about
“telling a story”!

Creating a Transmedia show is about
providing an “experience” (at the same time
you tell a story).

17. The User's Experience

Intimacy (user is closer to the screen).

Characters become “friends”.

User demands interaction.

Length of the experience: user can switch
“channels” faster.

Multitasking: different windows / activities
(attention).

18. Characters and Drama

Standard Protagonist vs Antagonist Story.

Hero wants to achieve something.

User is invited to help (participate in the
storytelling process).

Identifiable “dayly life” situations bring the user
closer to the story.

Antagonist make the journey difficult.

Cliffhangers make the “user” come back.

“Teasers” by Email, SMS or Twitter alerts make
the user “remember” his mission.

19. Some lessons

Story told by one character (or 2/3 characters
connected) vs Ensemble pieces.

Make the story clear (Blogs, Posts, Comments
are there to tell the back story).

Turning points: highs and lows.

The “soap on speed” concept: scenes start
already with the action.

The “hero” concept: hero wants to achieve
something and invites you to be part of the
journey.

Shoot it to a small screen – highly compressed
video files.

20. Challenges and Opportunities

Transmedia shows offer the possibility to attract
audiences worldwide.

The subject matters: comedy tend to work better as
a short format.

It's difficult to tell an on-going engaging story in 2
minutes episodes (advertising/radio writers).

Tools to capture audiences: cliffhangers, side
elements, “alerts/teasers”, etc..

Mix reality with fiction: make it look like it's real.

Mis different performance arts: mix fictional stories
with real events.

Gaming is an important element to target audience.

An “on-line series” is a communication tool.

21. Make it Work!

Be original.

Clear ideas: ideas that you can pitch in one sentence.

Ideas that are clear are meant to be told on these medias:
have a reason to tell that story!

Story lines that can be better told if the user is immersed
on them.

Concepts that can be serialized.

Characters that can be 3-Dimensional.

Characters that can live outside the show.

Not with low cost, badly done network shows wanna-
bees!

22. And now... a REAL example!!!

23. Final Punishment

24. Final Punishment
o
Cross-media Show launched in Brazil in 2009.
o
Premiered in Rio de Janeiro Film Festival – Oct. 2009.
o
Web content broadcasted on IG.com.br and Youtube.
o
Mobile content exclusive to OI clients.
o
TV Broadcast in December 2009 on OITV (Digital TV)
o
An ARG was made available for 8 weeks to allow the audience to “save” the
characters of the show.
o
+115.000 registered players.
o
TV Show wrapped the experience.
o
Show received a Digital Emmy nomination, a Rose D’Or Interactive nomination and
a Tela Viva Award in Brazil and a MIPCOM International Format Award.

25. Final Punishment: Starting Point?
•
The Briefing and the Challenge:
•
The FP Briefing: Create a 3 window concept that could show OI Telecom services:
Mobile, Digital TV and Internet Portal.
•
We had a script that we were unable to fund as no sponsor wants to be associated with
“women getting killed in a prison”.
•
The Challenge: how to make a story about “women getting killed in a prison” relevant to
an audience that reads a similar story in the newspapers, everyday.
•
The solution: make it personal => “You can save them!”.
•
The 2nd Problem: how to make audiences like and care for women that were convicted
of murder.

26. The ARG Started
•
Game against time to allow audience to save the 8
women.
•
Back-story was introduced in the form of blogs,
photo albums, news articles, etc to make women in
prison more lovable.
•
Detective based game to tease audience to find out
more about these women, what’s the connection
between them and who’s killing them.
•
Audience need to collect 30 photos and a decoder
that will allow them to find the right code.

27. The Final Punishment ARG
The Game Master
The Journalist
InMates Back-story
Youtube/IG Video Channel
Mobile Content

28. The Planning
•
1/10/2009: Premiere on Rio Film Festival and event in the streets of
Rio de Janeiro and Festival lounges.
•
3/10/2009: Fake news about the “Prison” broadcasted on OI Radio
and published as Ad News in several newspapers and blogs.
•
7/10/2009: Partnerships with top Brazilian Blogs to initiate
discussions about “Is this prison the solution for Brazil’s overcrowded
prisons problems?”.
•
9/10/2009: Blacklords hack the Web site.
•
10/10/2009: First inmate dies – The game starts: you have 7 weeks
to save the remaining 7 women.
•
10/10/2009: Social media campaign starts with Adwords, Text Ads,
Facebook Ads, Banners, and the support of some hired bloggers.
•
15/10/2009: The ARG campaign starts.

29. The Planning
•
15/10/2009: Off-line campaign starts on the Office “Lifts” media in S.
Paulo and Rio de Janeiro teasing office workers to “save the girls”.
•
15/10/2009: Partnership with two “Game” based Web sites in Brazil
to promote the ARG and create separate communities and forums to
enable discussing and hints and codes sharing between users.
•
17/10/2009: Youtube channel and IG.com.br Video Website set up
with some “leaked” videos from the prison and inmates: surveillance
cameras videos, prison psychologist tapes, etc.
•
Mid-November: first users decode the password. Prison Web site
shuts down.
•
December 2009: Broadcast of the 4-part mockumentary with the real
truth about what happened in the Ivo Kermartin Prison.

30. Additional Content
•
“You’re being investigated by the police” Facebook
viral application.
•
“Stop investigating” IVR pre-recorded phone calls.
•
SMS Alerts with clues and teasing the audience to
come back to play.
•
Twitter alerts planned to guide the audience.
•
Facebook / Forum / Blog Comments moderation.

31. All the Content Produced
•
Cinema: 1 60m length CUT for Rio de Janeiro Film Festival.
•
TV: 4 part mockumentary, 1 making of TV show, 2 TV ads and 2 TV Teasers.
•
DVD: 1 90m Feature Film Cut + Extra material.
•
Web Video: 8 confessional videos, 8 lost tape videos and 4 additional 22’ videos.
•
Mobile Video: 8 * 38s character presentation videos.
•
2 Mobile (JAVA) games.

32. All the Content Produced
•
2 Facebook/Orkut Applications.
•
3 Twitter Channels and 3 Facebook profiles and pages.
•
3 Flickr channels: +100 photos were produced and/or edited.
•
8 Blogspot blogs. / 45 different banners. / +1000 tweets from the game.
•
20 SMS alert messages + 1 WAP web site. / 1 IVR – Pre-recorded voice mail
system.

33. The Planning: Excel is your Friend!

34. What worked really well!
•
Partnerships and exclusive previews for
“bloggers” and opinion makers paid off.
•
Be personal: marketing campaign in the
elevators was really successful.
•
Clues based on photos allowed audiences
to collect them.
•
Focus on the Video elements. After all it’s
what 90% of your audience will only see.
•
Game master entity “Blacklords” helped to
explain the game but…

35. Some Challenges
•
Game needs to be really clear and audiences
entering later real need to know where they are.
•
Partnerships with Videogames communities didn’t
work as expected. Core gamers don’t like ARG’s.
•
PR is Key to get the buzz out and increase the
community around the project.
•
Social Media services: Orkut, Twitter and
Facebook. Excess of Facebook apps.
•
Shooting a TV series 100m from a Favela will
always be an “adventure”.

36. THANK YOU!
Thank You!
For more info:
Marta Gomes
mag@beactive.pt
Avenida Duque d'Ávila, 23 – 1º Dto
1000-138 Lisbon
Portugal
www.beactive.pt