Considering
the profession I intend on working in is film and television, my profession
will be greatly affected by the growth transmedia story-telling, because that’s
what this concept is about. It’s the art of “conveying messages, themes or storylines to a mass audience through
the creative and well planned use of cross-platform media”
(Tactica). Some of these messages can even be advertisement for a product unrelated to the film such as a beverage, like in the Grand Theft Auto commercial; a type of car, like in the Italian Job; or even a restaurant, like in Harold and Kumar go to White Castle. Films are always sending their audience subliminal messages that affect our choices unconsciously, but transmedia takes it even one step further, by creating products based on the film itself. One example of this mentioned in the lecture was the film
the Matrix. This film developed a storyline across three films, created a
series of animated shorts, two collections of comic book stories, and a bunch
of video games. This example of transmedia storytelling shows how one story can
now be adapted into other media forms for other types of entertainment and has
also created new opportunities for new types of revenue. This one example can
be applied to so many films now a days, it’s a way of stretching one project
into many more projects in all types of areas and giving people more
opportunities.
Jenkin’s
explores his theory by looking into this example of the Matrix; “Filmmakers plant clues that won’t make
sense until we play the computer game. They draw on the back story revealed
through a series of animated shorts, which need to be downloaded off the web
and watched off a separate DVD...fans raced from the theatres to plug into
Internet discussion lists, where every detail would be dissected and every
possible interpretation debated.” The consequences of this are
that it creates deeper context, and emotional and intellectual commitment,
which then translates into commercial success (SMLXL). For example, action figures, posters, soundtracks, board games, etc. But there are alsothe UGC, User Generated Content such as blogs, tweets, facebook and online computer games, that don't just allow people to engage in entertainment, but interact with the world that has been created from the film and reach out to others with similar interest.
In
this profession it will be interesting to see how far it will go, what
other lengths we will take to push this concept forward. As the filmmaker we
are set out to make a great film, but with all these other media outlets
wanting a piece of the action we are forced to not just make a great
entertaining film, but a marketable one where elements of it can be sold for profit
as well. This expands the film and allows it to create it’s own brand. “Immerse your audience in your story or
brand…build loyalty, and long-term relationships with your audience” It
allows our film content to reach across many different types of platforms so we
are reaching more people and more diverse sources. “Naturally attract and build a large group of interested audience
members, and convert them into fans or customers” (Tacita).
I
look forward to seeing how this growth of transmedia effects the film industry
because it often starts from a book, a film, or a game and then crosses
platforms to all other sources of media that created an established brand and
fan base. And as always, there are so many jobs that haven’t even been invented
yet, so who’s to know how much this concept can/will grow?
Other exampled of transmedia story-telling:
Sources:
August 29, 2009. Transmedia storytelling and the multi-dimensional brand. SMLXL From
Interruption to Engagement. Retrieved from http://smlxtralarge.com/2009/08/29/transmedia
storytelling-and-the-multi-dimensional-brand/Transmedia Storytelling-A Strategy for Deeper Engagement. Tactica Interactive. Retrieved from
http://tactica.ca/transmedia-storytelling-a-strategy-for-deeper-engagement/
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