A Masterclass with Transmedia SG, Singapore Media Academy, May 29, 2013

1. Designing for attention
Transmedia’s New Narrative Practices Part 1
Siobhan O’Flynn, PhD
Interactive Storytelling c. 2001
Transmedia SG Singapore Media Academy
May 29, 2013

2. • David Trottier’s High Concept
• ‘what if?’ premise... core of pitch
• familiar... with a twist
• a great, original idea so you can see
‘movie’ in an instant
Power of Story

3. archetypal myth with a twist

4. High Concept today...

5. what’schanging?

6. Designing for
multiplescreens
• consider context of use
• design for many
• design for distinct affordances
WHICH IS FIRST SCREEN?

7. Web 2.0
• networked intelligence
• communities of interest
• sharing vs. commercial economies
• participatory media
Context is now
M2M & DIWO
social connectivity...

9. User-Defined Footer Text

10. User-Defined Footer Text

11. http://www.slideshare.net/wearesocialsg User-Defined Footer Text

12. Twilight Brazil
subway kiosk campaign
Case Study Vidieo: http://vimeo.com/2508720

13. Twilight Brazil
subway kiosk campaign
DEC. 2008
Aaron Kim image 2: http://bit.ly/7H6wUn

14. DIGITAL CAMPAIGN
RESULTS:
Over 4.5 million people reached by the
subway campaign in over a month.
One of the top 10 box-offices in 2008 in
Brazil.
Over 180,000 content downloads via
Bluetooth.
website, banners, and a strong community
created for the fans in Brazil.

15. • Transmedia experiences can lead
audiences across platforms
• Create new opportunities for
engagement & consumption
Context is now
SECOND Screen

16. Content is now
mobile

17. Or are we looking for good stories?
Attention Fragmentation?

18. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJpSqeQbh4o
Digital Natives & the Myth of ADHD

19. Transmedia Stories
are those which ‘unfold across
multiple media platforms with
each new text making a
distinctive and valuable
contribution the whole.’
Henry Jenkins, Convergence
Culture 2006
Power of ...

20. multiple points of entry

21. ‘Branded entertainment comes and
goes in a flash, but transmedia
storylines are timeless because they
are built on a foundation of classic
narrative structure.They’re good
stories.’
‘Transmedia bibles build on
archetypal patterns & identifying the
core theme & values of a story.
Jeff Gomez
TransmediastoryWorlds
multiple entry points lead to ...

22. traction of immersive storyworlds

23. • mythic story: the Dying & Rising God
• Osiris, Innana, Persephone, Jesus, Optimus Prime...
Stereotype?? why does it work?
Steve Peters, No Mimes Media

24. we know stories sell...2700% markup

25. define the following:
story to..
storybible...
•the story: everything that is
known...
•the key characters, the secondary
characters, & important backstory
•individual and societal conflicts,
•the social structure, beliefs,
ideologies
•snapshot of the world (its past,
present and future), & its
conflicts, stresses,
accomplishments, unusual
characteristics (physics,
magic,social order).
•create a detailed vision of a story
world
•identify the genre of your story
and its core themes (timeless),
then consider, is there an
archetypal story or myth that
your story comes close to?
•define the vision of present &
future of the story & storyworld
•what is your brand?
•decide whether your property will
be open-ended allowing for new
directions & properties? or will it
end?

26. how do you design for interactivity?
begin with understanding your audience &
think through user experience
< UX >
Storytelling changes when you add interactivity

27. Transmedia
• A STORY & A STORYWORLD
• TRANSMEDIA NOT CROSS-PLATFORM
• BLURS THE FOURTH WALL
• DIGITAL & PHYSICAL COMPONENTS
• PARTICIPATORY EXPERIENCES
• SCARCITY VS ABUNDANCE
• AUDIENCE DRIVEN NARRATIVE
• STORIES COMMUNICATED VIA UNEXPECTED
MEANS
• BUILT-IN GAME MECHANICS

28. people & human interaction

29. design for what people do...
& what you think they may do...

30. story in context
Theme/
core
Experience
Narrative / Story
concept to story
Key?

31. story in action = experience
Theme/
core
Experience
Narrative / Story
story to experience
Key?
Case Study Vidieo: http://vimeo.com/2508720

32. context... we expect interactivity

33. context... creating experiences...

34. design as invitation to engage...

35. live where your audience lives...

36. ‘Kotex first looked through thousands of women’s
pinboards in search of 50 power users with a large
number of engaged followers on Pinterest who could be
future Kotex customers. They then studied the 50
women’s boards to get a better understanding of some of
the things they are passionate about. After the analysis,
they created custom gift boxes for each woman filled with
goodies they believed would resonate with them. I would
estimate they invested between $50 and $100 per gift
box.
The surprise gifts created the response Kotex had aimed
for in almost all 50 women. They chatted online about
Kotex and shared images and stories about their
customized and unexpected gifts on Pinterest, which then
further extended the campaign into a wider community.
When the case study video was posted on YouTube,
Kotex had 2,000 interactions between the 50 women and
their friends and almost 695,000 generated from the
campaign.’
M2M & DIWO
http://www.casestudiesonline.com/kotex50/

37. M2M & DIWO
The surprise gifts created the
response Kotex had aimed for in
almost all 50 women. They
chatted online about Kotex and
shared images and stories about
their customized and unexpected
gifts on Pinterest, which then
further extended the campaign
into a wider community.
When the case study video was
posted on YouTube, Kotex had
2,000 interactions between the
50 women and their friends and
almost 695,000 generated from
the campaign.
http://www.casestudiesonline.com/kotex50/

38. In interactive design,
people are your medium
Susan Gorbet UX Designer

39. Siobhan O’Flynn, PhD
NarrativeNow
TMCResourceKit.com
transmedia-101.com
sioflynn@gmail.com
@Sioflynn on Twitter
thank you