So now, 8 months later, after a long chain of very late nights in the office, the support of a Conference Council – many of whom have helped shape my MA and PhD studies for over 5 years – along with some new friends who continue to shine a light on the way forward,  a legion of phone calls, Skype chats, email introductions and lengthy explanations of what this is really all about, we’re only weeks away from me standing up in front of a room of 400 people to welcome you to the first StoryWorld Conference. (eeek!)

There is a lot to consider when strategising and developing a transmedia IP and I often liken the approach to spinning plates.  I’ve also discovered that the plate spinning theory extends to conference curation too…

StoryWorld Conference is bringing together writers, designers, filmmakers, producers, techies and digital mavens to make sense of and get a handle on User Experiences, User Interaction, Narrative Design, Monetization, Contracts, Branding, Community Management, Distribution, Analytics, Gaming Behaviors, Licensing and Tech Innovations – all of which, and possibly more – mark the touchpoints of a robust transmedia IP.

To claim this could be the ultimate in face-to-face entertainment convergence might be rather overdramatic, but I believe that it certainly could be the first global meetup of a large community that, in true transmedia style, are passionate about continuing the ‘story’, the sharing and the learning, over a series of platforms – from the fabulous 140 tweets of Gary Hayes, through to the insightful blog postings of Simon Pulman and Laura Fleming to a host of Facebook and LinkedIn groups.

There has been both an infusion of passion and energy around the transmedia, from the buzzword bingo to intense dissemination of the ‘term’ itself.  StoryWorld Conference won’t bring all of the answers, but it will bring a lot of smart people together to try and figure them out using case studies and hands-on experiences from practitioners that have earned their stripes.

Ad agencies are adopting transmedia/crossplatform strategies to build brand loyalty; film directors, publishers and writers are looking to crossplatform to extend their storyworlds over timelines, geographies and platforms.

StoryWorld Conference + Expo gets its name from the idea that the development of a cohesive universe, in which characters and storylines coexist and follow the rules of an established mythology—is at the center of any successful, lucrative, well-crafted transmedia effort.

There are no theorists speaking at StoryWorld.

I’ve done everything I can to remain focussed on amplifying the wisdom of practitioners who will share their real-life experiences.

There are a significant number of practitioners that I would have loved to be speaking at StoryWorld, but unexpected pregnancies (not mine!), changes in job title, vacation plans and workloads have meant that this isn’t THE collective by far.  (I have my sights on you for next year, so you haven’t escaped.. you know who you are…)  However we are proud to have an impressive collective of speakers that have direct practical experience in working on crossplatform properties and will speak from the heart about their lessons learned.

I hope you’ll join us too – to learn the art – and the business of cross-platform entertainment.

See you in San Francisco!

Alison.

Conference Chair

StoryWorld Conference & Expo

It’s no secret that the winds of change are blowing in the world of storytelling – StoryWorld Conference and the interest that it’s already garnered from writers, producers and media companies is testimony to that (and the fact that I have been granted a lunch date with the awesome Robert McKee)!  Panels have been popping up at global media events discussing issues such as brand journalism, new advocacies and ‘transmonetisation’ (just a sample from sxsw alone), preceded by companies such as Ernst & Young issuing reports advising on ‘monetizing digital media’ – and ‘tune in to emerging entertainment markets’.  It’s clear that business models are being restructured, writers are looking to rehone their skills and integrated storytelling is stepping into the spotlight.

These are exciting times.

Power to the Pixel – was pivotal in helping me initially shape the focus of the first year of my PhD in 2008 and continues to do so – year after year Liz Rosenthal and Tishna Molla work tirelessly on PttP and their first Cross Media Forum in New York -  on 19 April is loaded with savvy and successful transmedia experts such as Nina Bargiel, Jeff Gomez, Andrea Philips and Lance Weiler .

The Power to the Pixel Think Tank Report 2011 -  – is a must-read, touching on definitions, organic storytelling, connecting with audiences, financiers and new skills and kicks off by stating that the report uses the term ‘cross-media’ rather than ‘transmedia’.  I wrote a post last year called ‘Transmedia, Transmafia – hype and hyperbole or buzz and bullsh*t‘ – in response to a surge in  ‘transmedia WTF’ tweets. I suspected it was in danger of becoming a victim of the potential of its own success because of the buzzwordiness.  Over the last few weeks (possibly mostly after sxsw?) I’ve watched the emergence of antitransmedia hashtags and even more WTF tweets – @stitchmedia created a venn diagram to try and make sense of the arguments and points of view – and Transistoria wrote a blog post to draw some positive comments, linking to #antitransmedia twitter feed – some of which are hilarious (@gmdclark, @mikemonello,@vpisteve!) – ‘quantumtransmedia’, ‘neotransmedia’, ‘deep media’  .

In talking to advocates, practitioners and transmedia/crossmedia producers it seems that ‘the movement’ comes from a ‘those who GET it, don’t use THAT word’ philosophy.  The jury is still out and I’ve just noticed that Julie Stratton has written an informative post collecting varying perspectives on what to call IT.

Personally, I don’t mind what it is called.  I see it as a transitionary term that represents organic storytelling, fragmented over multiple platforms (digital or not) that allow for 2-way narratives, engagement opportunities and levels of immersion.

In a nutshell.

More importantly though, I like that the Pixel Think Tank goes on to recognise that the prefix ‘trans’ or ‘cross’ are used interchangeably and seamlessly amongst advocates without confusion – quibbling over terminology is simply a semantic side issue.

And THAT’s where the importance lies.

Semantic.

Conveys a message.

Is a gesture.

So let’s move on from quibbling over the word.  Who, after all decided that the shake of a hand to say ‘hi’ would be called a ‘wave’ – would there have been campfire debates as to WHY it was called a ‘wave’ rather than a ‘shake’ or a ‘wobble’?  And why has ‘thumbs up’ never been given a name?

Most importantly for me, the Think Tank Report hits onto a new stumbling block for writers (which is nothing to do with ‘traditional’ writers block – that is a drying up of creativity, this is more of a brick wall). It appears under the sub section of ‘rights’ and touches on a significant change that makes transmedia so exciting for writers and producers.  There are a host of elements that determine the success of a cross-media IP and many of them lie at the feet of the writer/producer.  A successful transmedia IP requires a visionary to steward the IP through to completion.  This creator/writer/producer needs to retain control of the IP rights in order to focus on platform strategies, media partnering, distribution and franchising whilst all the time keeping a watchful eye that the mythology of the story isn’t diluted. Telling a story over multiple formats requires a tight control on rights, which presents itself as a challenge to traditional distribution and broadcast structures.  Transmedia production will, in fact, turn acquisition, commissioning and production structures on their heads.  Gone will be the days where writers created stories and sold them in their entirety, probably for single platform production and distribution, but possibly with opportunities for repurposing on alternate mediums.  The producer/creator/writer will now control their IP with a deep-rooted knowledge of the story mythology, the storyworld and integrated opportunities for extension and engagement exploitation.  This puts the creator in a position of being in charge rather than ‘work for hire’ and helps ensure that the IP remains true to the vision of the story rather than being shackled by the distribution and production process.

And herein lies the ‘problem’.

There are few writers/creators/producers that have experience of controlling their own IP.  Traditional business models have pretty much dictated that writers create and produce – up to a point – then hand over (sell!) the work for publishing/broadcast/film to take control of distribution, parcelling up franchising with media partners and rights issues.

As Transmedia Producers writers need to acquire new skills to retain ownership and steward their IP through the entire process, from storyworld building, to production, introductions to potential media partners, rights issues and integrated storytelling as marketing.  As Transmedia Storytellers writers and producers will be taking on roles that have been outside the remit of a writer/storyteller.  I’ve said before that this new breed of consumer/audience/reader requires a new breed of writer and I’m excited by the number of emails and DM’s I get from writers keen to learn these new skills that encompass storyworld building, narrative design, audience interaction and transmedia production skills.  What is also needed though, is some explanation and guidance on retaining ownership of IP, control and franchising of rights and a new business model on which writers can begin to build their creative & business practice.

Bring on StoryWorld Conference & Expo.  It’s one thing to learn narrative design, transmedia strategies, storyworld building and the architecture of a robust and invigorated IP.  It’s yet another thing to learn what to do with all of that once you have it aligned and ready to go.

Story is everywhere – ad agencies are using story to sell and build brand loyalty, film directors, publishers, writers,  are looking to transmedia to extend their storyworlds over timelines, geographies and platforms.

Transmedia is great fun – there is no doubt, but the real hard work, the graft, comes long before consideration of platform and transmedia flow.  There is a dual development process when looking to produce a tight and relevant transmedia experience and that begins with your storyworld.  Storyworld architecture and storybibling are SO key, it nearly hurts.

So I am now SO excited to finally let you in on this.

I am delighted to have been appointed as Conference Chair for ‘THE most exciting conference of the decade!!’

StoryWorld Conference & Expo in San Francisco

Shaping the Future of Story Culture & Business in a Transmedia World

Save The Date:

October 31 – November 2, 2011
Parc 55 Wyndham Hotel
Union Square • San Francisco

The hype around transmedia is no secret.

Transmedia development takes a robust intellectual property and organically fragments it across territories, timelines and platforms to reach mass audiences, optimizing the rights holder’s revenue potential.

This is the era of convergence.

Publishers, filmmakers, producers, directors, broadcasters, writers and gamers
are seeing the huge potential that collaboration will bring, but Story is the key, the first base, the hub.  Without invigorating the potential of Story, building a storyworld and storybibling, the power of transmedia begins to dilute.

At StoryWorld Conference + Expo 2011, you’ll meet with professionals from the publishing, film, television, and gaming industries to examine planning, development, production, and execution strategies for storytelling across multiple platforms.

You’ll get feedback on your transmedia plans and connect with potential partners for the creation of content and tools to shape your story business.

As Robert McKee once said, “‘good story’ means something worth telling that the world wants to hear.  Finding this is your lonely task.  It begins with talent.  You must be born with the creative power to put things together in a way no one has ever dreamed.  Then you must bring to the work a vision that’s driven by fresh insights into human nature and society, coupled with an in-depth knowledge of your characters and your world.“

And if THAT’s what you’re talking about – you need to be at the very first StoryWorld Conference in San Francisco from 31 October – 2 November.

Visit storyworldconference.com to sign up for updates or don’t hesitate to contact me at storycentralDIGITAL@yahoo.co.uk

More info to follow real soon 

The workshop is 3 hours long.

And I wish I could spend those whole 3 hours talking about ‘story’ development …  but I can’t because although Transmedia Development includes a huge element of that aspect, there’s also a whole lot that needs to follow on.

Under the workshop heading of ‘Transmedia Development’ perhaps I could solely focus on storyworlds, incubation and the importance of an invigorated fictional landscape – as to truly develop a transmedia IP must begin with the storyworld. The bottom line is that a robust, water-tight storyworld is the backbone to a pleasing, genuine transmedia extension.

I recently watched a documentary about UK Channel 4 sitcom ‘Father Ted‘ – a series that ran for three years and received a cult following as well as critical acclaim, picking up multiple BAFTA awards throughout the 1990′s.  The  show followed the misadventures of three Roman Catholic priests who presided over a parish on the fictional  Craggy Island, located off the west coast of Ireland.  Father Ted Crilly, Father Dougal McGuire and Father Jack Hackett lived together in Craggy Island’s parochial house, along with their housekeeper Mrs Doyle, who often wanted to serve them tea.

In the documentary ‘Small Far Away – The World of Father Ted‘, writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews  discussed the initial concept for the series they had intended as a documentary about six Irish characters.  They began with an idea of wanting “the insanity of The Young Ones, the cleverness of BlackAdder and the farce element of Fawlty Towers“, but how they also wanted a place for this farcical insane action to take place.

Craggy Island was born.

They say (at 1:00 of this excerpt)  how they “wanted to create this odd world that was outside of everything” which would give them a free rein.  They also mention that to keep it authentic it “had to be a bit shit“..    They’d found their storyworld.

I was reading some #transmedia-tagged tweets recently raising the importance that a storyworld should be worthy of adulation and celebration and then I remembered this quote, from Henry Jenkins ‘Convergence Culture’:

“When I first started, you would pitch a story because without a good story you didn’t really have a film.

Later, once sequels started to take-off, you pitched a character because a good character could support multiple stories.

And now, you pitch a world because a world can support multiple characters and multiple stories across multiple media.”

Hollywood scriptwriter, cited by Jenkins in “Convergence Culture” (2008, p116)

Anyone who has heard Jeff Gomez speak on transmedia will be familiar with his term of ‘distant mountains’ – the suggestion and subtle references to wider, more-vast world than is immediately visible in the current context of a storyline or landscape.  This is something that Pixar have managed to do very subtley with many self-referential nods contained within Pixar films and shorts.

None of these specific ‘nods’ seem to have been developed (yet) in their fullest transmedial sense, but have the potential to be extended and built on because they have been weaved in from the beginning:

Pizza Planet

Pizza Planet – the fictional pizza restaurant introduced in Toy Story is a large restaurant with arcade games who runs a fleet of run-down Toyota Hilux pick-up trucks with a rocket on the roof with the Pizza Planet logo.  It has been reported that Pizza Planet is referenced in A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, Cars, Ratatouille, WALL-E, Up and Toy Story 3.  Pizza Planet restaurants at Walt Disney World,  Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disneyland Paris have been named after the site in the film and are designed to resemble it.

Buy n Large (BnL)

Buy n Large is a fictional company that first appeared in WALL-E and also featured in Up and Toy Story 3.

Dinoco

Dinoco is the fictional oil company that appeared in Toy Story as a small gas station and later in Cars and WALL-E.

From a development/acquisition point-of-view, identification and assessment of suitability for a story for transmedia is an essential and time-consuming task and must precede the storytelling.  This early commitment to detail will ensure that the story doesn’t become diluted as it organically flows over platforms.

Transmedia development is really a double-development process – the initial development of the storyworld and then the development of strategy, architecture, design and execution.  It’s a big call and getting it right takes a lot of planning and the ability to see both the big picture and then the many small pictures.  I’ll finish with another Don Draper quote (episode 3, series 2) as Sterling Cooper prepare to pitch a multi-platform campaign to American Airlines, “we got a lot of bricks…. but I don’t know what the building looks like.” As a transmedia producer/writer/developer you need to know that storyworld, your audience and platforms brick-by-brick and at the same time as the fully-furnished, 5-star IP that it deserves to be.

See you at Digital Book World, New York City on Mon 24th January for some more!

This advertisement by Sky Atlantic, ‘the exclusive UK home of HBO’ summarises our human need and engagement with a fabulous story….

“Stories?

We all spend our lives telling them, about this, about that, about people..

But some?

Some stories are so good we wish they’d never end.

They’re so gripping that we’ll go without sleep just to see a  little bit more.

Some stories bring us laughter and sometimes they bring us tears….

but isn’t that what a great story does?

Makes you feel?

Stories that are so powerful….

they really are with us forever.”

Robert McKee also has some theories on what constitutes ‘story’:

Story is about eternal, universal forms, not formulas.

Story is about archetypes, not stereotypes.

Story is about thoroughness, not shortcuts.

Story is about mastering the art, not secondguessing the marketplace.

Story is about respect, not disdain, for the audience.

Story is about originality, not duplication.

These are all valid and important points, not only in storytelling, but specifically in transmedia storytelling too, and by extending story over timelines and platforms we can only hope that we can begin to create stories that make people ‘feel’, that are so good that our audiences wish they’d never end (what a dream! to be able to write like that!).

Transmedia storytelling has been dubbed ‘fiction without barriers‘ and ‘limitless storytelling’ which I think is a little exaggerated (at least from a strategic planning, scale and scope perspective) – but from an engaged, lean-forward audience I can see how it might appear that way.

On the run-up to my Transmedia Development Workshop at Digital Book World (in two weeks time) I’ll be building on these concepts and theories of ‘story’, and other issues through a series of mini posts, here at storycentralDIGITAL so stay tuned.

14 days to go….

Simon had raised a thought-provoking issue about cultural perspectives and localization to which I’d responded, but wanted to show some examples of a fabulous (and equally thought-provoking) ad campaign that HSBC bank have been running for a couple of years now.

It hinges on cultural perspectives and how there are multiple perspectives on any given subject, so that something can be deemed culturally cool or accepted in one location or culture but then frowned upon or even offensive in another.  It’s definitely food for thought as our transmedia properties diffuse the barriers of geography, beliefs and behaviours.

This began as a response to a tweet from Simon saying, “Part of the role of #transmedia in coming years will be to raise awareness of a property among a wide audience prior to the core release” to which Jeff Gomez had replied, ““Transmedia will also widen core audience bases by offering engaging canonical content designed to appeal to different segments”.

I’d immediately interpreted the “offering of engaging canonical content to appeal to different segments” to mean that story elements told in different modes across varied platforms would appeal to different behaviours or even genres – rom com fans who love to watch movies but not necessarily read a novel, or sci fi addicts who only feel fully engaged if they’re game playing and leaning forward rather than sitting back and watching a movie…  So it was interesting to see that Simon had picked up on an interesting issue of localization.  The post is definitely worth a read as a reminder that the staples of transmedia should continue to include relevance and authenticity.

One of the things I love about transmedia strategy – being able to control what you lose control of and it’s exciting (but kinda scary too) to never be totally certain how that audience are going to interpret or react to the message that you’d hoped to convey!  Transmedia can cater to niche audiences, grouping them globally by interests or mutual goals, but there’s never a guarantee that they’re going to do with it what you’d hoped.  Hence the importance once again of knowing your audience and engaging with them on a level and tone that is genuine and current.  Storybibles? – vital!  What’s your main character’s perspective – the guy in the suit? A follower or a leader?  The stiletto shoe – pleasure or pain?  Knowing your characters, in terms of culture, language, behaviours and social interests? – vital!  Nina Bargiel was thinking on her feet as part of MTV’s Valemont and Savage County but notes that whilst the static content cannot be edited or altered, transmedia allowed different modes of presenting it.   Knowing your target market, your potential audience and underlying message of your story? – vital!

But it’s the comments on this HSBC ad that make me think how sensitive a truly global transmedia property needs to be.  Of course, a little controversy is a great tool for raising awareness and hype, but it’s still food for thought….

“In some parts of the world throwing stones to protect the tribe is obedient and in others it’s disobedient…”

More on the HSBC ‘yourpointofview’ campaign at http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2007/altruism-or-consumerism-your-point-of-view-at-hsbc/

Get over to transmythology.com and leave your thoughts/comments….

Oh, and Happy New Year!!

And it’s great.

Innovative, fun and a tongue-in-cheek slant on how the nativity story might be conveyed in our digital times.  (click to watch it – it’s worth it!)

It’s extremely well thought out and orchestrated – note the date on the iPhone when Mary gets a text from Archangel Gabriel – 24th March (not sure if that WAS a Friday 2010 years ago, but I’m not THAT much of a geek to find out!).  The timings are near on perfect for a 25th December baby.

Google maps locate the spot too.

But I’m disappointed.

In my transmedial playfulness I reacted to the ‘prompts’ and emailed joseph.carpenter07@gmail.com.  This is what I said to him..

“Hi Joseph

Looks like you’ll be getting some good news over the next few days – hope you’re ready for it.

As a single parent I want to highlight to you how important the support of both parents is – I know how unexpected pregnancies can be stressful..

If you need diapers I can get you a deal – not sure of postage to Nazareth though – will check online.

Good luck… Oh and a hint … if they tell you there’s no room at the inn.. try the stables!    “

Now, I KNOW he’s busy right now, but he hasn’t replied to me.

Yet.

My transmedia brain has been hard-wired to respond when I see that somebody has taken the time to reveal an email address…

So, with Joseph’s disappointing UNdigital response I went to Google to register joseph.carpenter07@gmail.com myself.  If he wasn’t going to answer his well-wishers then I was!

But the name has gone.

It’s been taken… ;(

So I followed the lead to Facebook to find his profile and ‘friend’ him – ready for some conversation….

No luck there either.

So I continued watching and found a dead-cert clue.  @Balthazar895 – he’d even begun tweeting.  So I went to Twitter..

and got this…

Then I tried one of the three wise men – @Melchior056

and I found him!!

So then I watch as Melchior sends an email to Balthazar…

So I do too.

I ask him whether he’ll take Frankincense or Myrrh and remind him that he doesn’t have long left to decide.

I get a <MAILER-DAEMON> response – “the email account you tried to reach does not exist.”

As for Joseph?  It looks like I’ll just have to sit and wait for another week and see whether he sends me an email announcing the birth of his new son…

I stopped watching at 2:10 minutes, disappointed.

My only thread of hope that this hugely viral clip might be a transmedia game are the continuation of  Melchior’s tweets.

This is a fun, fab idea and I refuse to believe it’s the end of it ;(

ExcentricPT (creators) are based in Lisbon, Portugal and their website is slick, polished and highly ‘digital’…

The 2:58 video clip has 2,446,726 views in 1 week.

They describe it;

“How social media, web and mobile tell the story of the Nativity.
Christmas story told through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google, Wikipedia, Google Maps, GMail, Foursquare, Amazon…  Times change, the feeling remains the same.

ExcentricPT, this might be a seasonal, fun viral that brings a lot of traffic and awareness to your slick website and agency but please don’t tell me that you wasted the opportunity to have a conversation with at least SOME of those 2.5 million viewers!

Watching this space!!

Please don’t tell me this is it…..

“May you have the hindsight to know where you’ve been…

the foresight to know where you are going…

and the insight to know when you have gone too far.”

Now that’s multi-tasking – forget 3-dimension vision for a minute – this is 3-directional vision, simultaneously looking behind, ahead and within – and whether you call it juggling or plate spinning, or even whether you have the glasses – they are the constant reminders of focus for developing a transmedia IP.

Not just writing it, but planning, strategising, developing and producing it too.

So, let’s look 3-ways with the luck of the Irish on our backs…

Hindsight is a curious notion that only has huge value after an event or incident.  In fact, it doesn’t exist until after.

Period.

I’m not one for looking over my shoulder. My Mum always told me not to live in the past as it turns you to stone, but there is huge value when considering a transmedia project in assessing where you’ve already been – in terms of storyworld, character growth and drip-feed (perhaps even subliminal?) calls-to-action.  From a writing perspective, as I progress through writing my story I find it vital to refer again and again to my storybible as a reminder of where those mind-mappy tendrils, the immersive moments, the content I want fans to pick up and run with, appear.

Foresight is a gift and something that might have you crossing a palm with silver for.  But a canny producer won’t be relying on a palmreader or tarot cards for their foresights.  From a planning and strategising perspective an on-the-money transmedia writer and producer will have one eye firmly on their target audience – will allow themselves to become immersed in their social media spaces whilst remembering that the best approach to transmedia strategy is rooted in simple, fluid, human behaviours.  I know this might come as a shock, but not everything revolves around Facebook.  There, I said it.  Earlier this year I had a student – a mature lady who wrote beautiful, elegant prose about her garden.  She wanted to use the notion of transmedial play to allow her readers to ingest her story and make it their own.  Dream student and immensely visionary!  She was frustrated bythe constraints of  Facebook for the spread and reach of her story, feeling that the retired communities who were tending their allotments and might enjoy her stories weren’t too visible on Facebook.  So I suggested she go elsewhere.  She began contributing to discussions on forums about horticulture and seasonal gardening.  She joined the community at the Royal Horticultural Society and began to seed (no pun intended!) story strands from a fictional character.  I suggested that she might follow and perhaps add content to Flickr’s Your Kew photostream and she also began to tweet with some #RHA and #gardening hashtags.  No surprise that her story ‘blossomed’ quickly…

Another student at a transmedia workshop I was running asked for some advice about writing an urban story involving real-life references to rapper Soulja Boy.  He’d created his EMCEE profile on MySpace and was garnering some followers in preparation and pre-production mode, but after a little collaborative surfing and brainstorming we soon found Soulja Boy’s urban community with over 243,000 specific ‘Soulja Boy’ fan members.

Of the three visions in the Irish blessing though, it’s possibly insight that’s the toughest of all.  For me it’s an elegant balance combining gut-feeling and informed decision and is defined as;

• the act or result of understanding the inner nature of things or of seeing intuitively
• an introspection
• the power of acute observation and deduction, discernment or perception
• an understanding based on identification of relationships and behaviors within a model, context, or scenario

A fine-tuning of hindsight and foresight, along with a well-researched strategy, a clear focus on story and a comprehensive mythology will help nurture insight.  The storybible will contain not only a detailed timeline of story, but also a detailed timeline and synchronicity of transmedia production and rollout.  The choices can be daunting, there’s no doubt.  By focussing on story – on the heart of what the storyworld is about and what message it’s giving, and keeping a constant eye on that – the other elements begin to fall into place.  Audiences are already engaged with stories as transmedia, whether intentional or not, consumers don’t seem to generally differentiate between a TV show, a game or a book – when well told and executed it remains the *story* that is shared, discussed, passed on and followed.

Fragmenting *story* isn’t to be belittled.  It’s a painstaking and rigorous process (and the main reason storycentral has been rather quiet of late)!  Our natural responses and organic reactions to reasoning with story take us through a series of processes ranging from meaning, perception, relationship, memory and choices at the initial stages and then right through to relevance, identity, evolution and prophesy at the final stages of comprehension.

Stephen Dinehart (click to view!) eloquently and passionately revealed his thoughts on *story* at TEDx Transmedia a couple of months ago, sharing how he favours classical storytelling over minimalism or anti-structure.  He reinforced this by reasoning that classical storytelling has positive values – virtues of love, hope and belief in the ability to change.  Stephen then suggested that transmedia storytelling is “classical storytelling, ‘squared’“.  And he’s right.  Story holds us together and defines us as humans. Transmedia storytelling has the ability to put us, the audience right into the heart of that story.

So back to our multi-tasking, plate-spinning transmedia producer…  The great thing about transmedia planning, production and execution is the collaborative nature of it.  For all the elements to seamlessly and elegantly slot together requires a conductor to orchestrate the fluid ‘dance’ of a transmedia rollout – somebody to watch, time and co-ordinate those mutually spinning plates and responsibilities.

With a transmedia IP you don’t need to be the sole plate-spinner – in fact it’s hugely beneficial if you’re not.  The beauty of transmedia is that it moves with you, but that initial focus of that Irish blessing for hindsight, foresight and insight will play an important role in your transmedia IP strategy avoiding the lyrics of Beverley Knight in ‘Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda’…

” Shoulda woulda coulda,” means I’m out of time“

Once a transmedia IP is launched and is ‘live’ there’s little time or space for regrets due to short-sightedness.  The rollout might depend on you ‘live tweeting’ as a character – which allows a little movement and loose structure.  It might require you to work as a community member to solve a riddle or crack a clue.  Regrets are what will reinforce and help develop hindsight, foresight and insight and there will be fluid spaces for movement and change within your transmedia IP.  However precise, concise and comprehensive transmedia planning will tap into your constantly evolving hindsight, foresight and insight and lead you to write, strategise, produce and execute a compelling storyworld.. ‘squared’.

Just don’t forget your 3-Directional goggles!

Looking beyond the ‘buzz’, there is huge value for publishers in fragmenting stories, extending their longevity, scale and scope by adopting a transmedia strategy; by nurturing networked connections with audience and tapping into a market that increasingly demands choice and accessibility.  Demands on our time and attention are everywhere and that’s why a compelling, fabulous story must be at the heart of a transmedia property.  The thing with this too, is that a reader won’t enter a transmedia experience knowing that’s what they’re doing – it would defeat the object and without a huge element of ‘discovery’ transmedia falls flat and becomes a one-dimensional map.  (I’ve found that when people are told to ‘go’ and ‘click’, they tend to shake their heads and bristle.. When they discover that ‘this’ is a part of ‘that’, they’re excited and start to spread the word.)

In a sense, it could be debated that there are few literary worlds that a “reader is going to want to spend a disproportionate amount of their reading time in before leaving them entirely for the next book on their nighttable”, however nobody is asking for a disproportionate amount of time – it’s not a demand, it’s an option.  Transmedia behaviours are built on ARG’s and there are legions of ‘non-players’ who are hooked on Farmville, Bejewelled, solitaire even who might have said that they’d never ‘waste’ time in such places.  An immersive literary world has the power to draw readers in, make them want to unpack their bags for a while.  This ethos, coupled with a transmedia strategy can encourage interaction, conversation and natural behaviours  when readers choose to be a part of the bigger jigsaw puzzle, or simply enjoy the book, for books sake.

It’s great that the London Book Fair are excited about transmedia possibilities, and storycentralDIGITAL will be running an intensive workshop as part of Digital Book World (NY, Jan 2011).   For some magic discount codes don’t hesitate to email at storycentralDIGITAL (at) yahoo (dot) co (dot) uk