29. Transmedia storytelling
…represents a process where integral
elements of a fiction get dispersed
systematically across multiple delivery
channels for the purpose of creating a
unified and coordinated entertainment
experience.
36. STORY
EXPERIENCE
STORY
GAMING
REAL WORLD
CO-CREATION
Importance of
narrative
Audience ability to change or
contribute to story
Extent to which experience
pervades real locations &
times, real people &
events
Audience has goal, use of puzzles,
use of game mechanics (trophies,
levels, leader boards etc.);
AUDIENCE PLATFORMS
PREMISE
www.ActiveStorySystem.com @robpratten
Definition…
1. The reason given in support of a conclusion
2. What the writer sets out to prove with their story
3. The core dramatic issue built around a human need
It’s what you’re trying to say – a point-of-view of the story (writer).
It’s not a synopsis (that’s in STORY)
STORY
Short synopsis of the story. It’s helpful if you can use this format
“When <protagonist> learns that <inciting event> he must <overcome/battle> in order to <goal>.
But <what’s stopping her?> . Finally <what’s the final resolution?>
NOTES
EXPERIENCE
To play this story the audience must <what actions do the audience need to take?>
PREMISE
AUDIENCE
Who is this experience aimed at?
PLATFORMS
What platforms are used? Mobile apps/social media/games consoles/street theatre/ playing
cards/ posters etc.
TYPE of STORY-EXPERIENCE
Create a radar diagram that shows the relative importance of these four dimensions. Here’s some
examples.
STORY
GAMING
REAL W ORLD
CO-CREATION
AUDIO TOUR
STORY
GAMING
REAL W ORLD
CO-CREATION
PERVASIVE GAME
STORY
GAMING
REAL W ORLD
CO-CREATION
SCAVENGER HUNT
STORY
GAMING
REAL W ORLD
CO-CREATION
ONLINE TEXT ADVENTURE
Transmedia Story Pitch Activity
39. There is no transmedia formula.
Transmedia refers to a set of
choices made about the best
approach to tell a particular
story to a particular audience in
a particular context depending
on the particular resources
available to a particular
producers.
- Henry Jenkins
Transmedia 202: Further Reflections
40. Packaging a brand into a narrative which is being
communicated across mostly participatory channels, with
the story and the media content morphing and developing
as consumers and others enter the discussion.
Extend to Branding
49. Go Forth
Together
Activity
Answer the following questions:
• How do we Go Forth with the awareness
of the different worlds and characters of
SMG’s program?
• Besides the call to individually Go Forth,
how do we collectively Go Forth
Together?
• What actions do we need to seed in the
SMG program campaign to foster
participation from local to global and
support multicultural conversations about
SMG?
At table – introduce self, name, company, main responsibilites and your most playful experience this week
What were you doing, where were you, who were you with
I trust you’ll all share something PG 13
Debrief
Introduce marshmallow challenge – simple exercise with some powerful lessons about innovation.
Thanks to Tom Wujec for some great graphics – Ted Talk
There are three bags of material. Don’t look yet.
I’d like you to form groups of no more than 5 people. Each group will have their own page with instructions for the challenge.
Each bag contains:
20 sticks of spaghetti
1 yard of tape
1 yard of string and one marshmallow
Your challenge is to build the highest tower.
You have instructions but let’s briefly review
End with Ready on your mark get set go! – [post time
Play a drum roll
Debrief and give prize, standing ovation – play track of applause
Done all over the world from CEO’s to kindergarten, engineers, mba’s, archetects, graduate students, teachers
So, let’s ask the winners, - why do you think you won?
Why?
We train them to plan to get the one best way and “drive it home” - harder and faster, failures are punishable by excommunication.
I teach com. Students and they are not always so planful – last year I had an MBA refuge. He tended to “exert a great deal leadership”
So, if MBA’s are poor performers, who performs well…
How did we do against the Kindergarteners?
Let’s look at the usual process, build off of what happened in the groups
PeePee
My MBA planned a lot longer than that – what aobut you
Execute,
Add the marshmallow and Ta Da – a masterpiece!
Or as frequently happen oh- oh
Before I started to do this exercise I thought that marshmallows were light
Story of mba
Tom Wujac has spent a lot of time researching this activity – the things people do for a living huh
The business students don’t deal with the marshmallow . The kindergarten’s are always touching and playing with the marshmallow
They have a very different design process –
One of the tennets of innovation, they are always taking “little bets” they try things out and see how it works and then, without much executive function, they try again.
My daughter only one in my family who can actually do anything She’s been able to do this since she was 4
I’m a Phd my husband is a tax attorney so when our ice maker broke, we were at a loss.
When my daughter was four the ice maker broke and she fixed when I asked her what she did she replied I played with it.
1:30 – 2:00
Three Groups share their Transmedia Story Pitches (10 minutes each)
We decide which one to further explore as a group for the afternoon
Transmedia Brandiing started out as a research network and has morphed into a process to help companies but along the way several who participated in the original think and do wanted to educate their own organizations about think and do so, what started as a research project has turned into the development of a process to help companies look at their own ability to do transmedia branding, along the way the education orientated folks amongst us have developed a great D-book on Tis for Transmedia.
Most iconic transmedia brand campaign – 2010 Old Spice The Man Your Man Could Smell Like
Pre-aired before the 2010 Superbowl …spread like wildfire to 20 million YouTube views in just 3 days
Campaign consisted of
186 short videos of Mustafa – Old Spice Guy
Numerous Parodies and Remixed videos like Remix videos: Grover; Smell Like a Monster: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkd5dJIVjgM
Fan following with Old Spice (FB, twitter, youtube, reddit, digg)
Old Spice response videos to fans: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPlg9ez4L1w
Combination of brands (Bounce & Old Spice) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvYP_d2S1Pg
Memes are very important to brand spreadability – marriage proposal from Mustafa
ROI
In first 6 months, Old Spice sales increased 27% year-to-year …with month to month increase of 107%
2 billion plus total campaign impressions
40 million views on the videos within first week
3000% increase in twitter followers
2000% increase in google searches
800% increase in FB interactions
300% increase in traffic at oldspice.com (notice more increase across SNS than brand hub website)
2:15 – 3:00
Three Key Pillars of a Transmedia Branding Activity
Three teams will each dive deep into one of the three pillars, brainstorming possibilities for what the “world,” “timeline,” and “characters” might mean not only within the context of the chosen SMG program, but also in relation to one another.
Already discussed through the Flotsam Transmedia Play Experience from the morning
** Think of the different places where the story can flow in and out of (ie: The octupuses, the turtles…)
** Timeline …what is the backstory? What happens after the event? Is this continuous or for a certain amount of time?
** 2ndary characters, tertiary characters, you as a character, the creator as a character….
3:00 – 3:30
Teams will share Activity and Group will Reflect
Ivan Askwith’s Typography of Engagement
3:30 – 4:00
Going Forth Together Activity
Individually, participants will answer some questions and connect them to either 1) transnational connections or 2) cultural events in relation to the SMG program being explored.