Transmedia storytelling in films

1. Johansen Quijano
University of Texas
Arlington
English Department
Transmedia
Storytelling

2. But First… About Your
Responses…
For your responses to digital texts
• A short summary of the text:
• What happens?
• How does it happen?
• Your reaction to the text:
• How did you feel as you engaged
with the text?
• What did you think about?
• Linking the Text to an Idea
• Can you connect any of the ideas
discussed in class to the text?

3. …And About Your Discussions…
For your discussion on issues:
• State the issue in question and your claim
on the issue.
• Write a brief statement about why you
think as you do.
• Give one or two examples.
• Explain how the issue affects you or
society as a whole.

4. OVERVIEW
• What is Transmedia?
• Transmedia Storytelling: A Story Across
Multiple Platforms
• Transmedia 1.0: “Pushed Media”
• Transmedia 2.0: “Extended Media”
• Transmedia 3.0: “Adapted Media”
• Transmedia 4.0: “Experiences in Media”
• The case of The Matrix
• The case of Pokemon
• The case of YuGiOh!

5. What is Transmedia?
“The way interactive media is becoming
immersive is through the newly coined term
transmedia” (Henderson).
“Transmedia is the process of taking a story,
for any form of media, and expanding and
developing for all media” (Henderson).
“Most often, transmedia stories are based not
on individual characters or specific plots but
rather complex fictional worlds which can
sustain multiple interrelated characters and
their stories” (Jenkins).
There are various levels of transmedia.

6. “Transmedia Storytelling”
• The type of transmedia that is going to be immersive
is transmedia storytelling (Henderson).
• Trasmedia storytelling would be the expansion of
the universe or world created telling the story
of many inhabitants of a world (Henderson).
• “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” (Jenkins).
• Ideally, each individual episode must be accessible
on its own terms even as it makes a unique
contribution to the narrative system as a whole
(Jenkins).

7. “Transmedia Storytelling”
• “Transmedia storytelling is about immersion,
participation & experiences in an authored
environment which will not only attract existing
readers, but bring new audiences and modes of
fragmentation” (Norrington).
• “The fact remains that successful and credible
transmedia novels must focus primarily on story
and, without that focus, will be in danger of shifting
from a viable ‘immersive experience’ to one of
those transparent ‘cross-media marketing initiatives
and/or brand extensions’” (Norrington).
• “Transmedia storytelling is the ideal aesthetic form
for an era of collective intelligence” (Jenkins).
• “The audiences around the world want to be
involved with their entertainment” (Henderson).

8. Cross Media 1.0
“Pushed Media”
Pushed media happens when the same
content is delivered in the same form or
with very minor modifications or editing
across multiple platforms.
The user in this case could create their
own cross media linkages by watching
half of the episode on mobile and the
rest on broadband.
This level does not have strong cross
media triggers but may promote the
same content on another platform.
One Piece Multicast
Transafaring
Kindle Books
Wii U Gamepad-compatible games
What is it?
How does it
work?
Good examples:

9. Cross Media 2.0:
“Extended Media”
Extended cross media happens
when additional content is produced
alongside a main production but
delivered through different platforms.
This 'extra' cross media content is
naturally different from the main
property and not necessarily
dependent on it - temporally or
editorially.
Derived downloadable content.
Flash / Facebook games.
Online “making of” videos.
Editing software for computer games.
What is it?
How does it
work?
Good
examples:

10. Cross Media 3.0:
“Adapted Media”
Adapted media happens where a specific
existing narrative is specifically re-
authored for a new form of media.
The content placed on the original
platform is adapted for a different
platform. Elements of the original content
can be lost in the transmediation process,
but new experiences can be gained
because of the process.
Harry Potter
Lord of the Rings
Twilight
Dante’s Inferno
What is it?
How does it
work?
Good
examples:

11. Cross Media 4.0:
“Experienced / Bridged Media”
An aggregation of the first three levels, this is
also where the content is distributed across many
platforms in a non-linear way.
It is producer ‘hands-off’- in that they have
created an environment, much like a game, that
the participant/s ‘lives’ inside of, following their
own path and therefore personalizing the
experience.
A crossmedia 4.0 property is co-creative,
collaborative play with the audience across many
devices, which evolves and grows a life of its
own.
Blair Witch Project
The Matrix
YuGiOh!
Pokemon
What is it?
How does it
work?
Good
examples:
This level of cross media is also called
“Transmedia Storytelling”.

12. The Matrix as a Transmedia Text
“The Matrix is entertainment for the
age of media convergence, integrating
multiple texts to create a narrative so
large that it cannot be contained
within a single medium” (Jenkins, 95).
Movies introduce the world, the story,
and the mythology.
The comic books and animations
expand the world and mythology.
The games allow for exploration of
and immersion into the world.

13. Pokemon as a Transmedia Text
By design, Pokemon unfolds across
games, television programs, films,
and books, with no media privileged
over any other (Jenkins).
Movies can introduce the world.
TV series and comic books can
introduce and expand the world.
Players explore the world through the
games.
Players can integrate the world of
Pokemon into their reality through the
card game.

14. YuGiOh! As Transmedia Text
Transmedia Storytelling is perhaps at its
most elaborate, so far, in children’s media
franchises like YuGiOh (Jenkins, 128).
Movies can introduce the world.
TV series and comic books can introduce
and expand the world.
Players explore the world through the
games.
Players can integrate the world of
YuGiOh! into their reality through the card
game.
Special events enhance the transmedia
experience.

15. Discussion Questions
•How can transmedia storytelling serve as an aesthetic?
•How can transmedia be used as a marketing tool?
•What are the most effective ways to bridge boundaries between media?
•How are new tools for media production (mobile devices, etc.) changing the
aesthetic and the impact of transmedia projects?
•How can transmedia transcend media and cross over into reality?

16. References:
• Henry Jenkins – Convergence Culture
• Marie-Laurie Ryan – Narrative Across Media
• http://www.futurebook.net/content/transmedia-
storytelling-–-what’s-it-all-about
• http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/13052/pa
ge1/
• http://www.henryjenkins.org/2007/03/transmedia_storytel
ling_101.html
• http://criticalcommons.org/Members/CTCS505/lectures/tr
ansmedia-interactive-becoming-immersive
• http://books.google.com/books?id=raDNu1lThHQC