Transmedia sorting hat

Transmedia
Sorting Hat
Understanding the Emerging Market for Transmedia

I will make this available if you leave me your email address or business card.

Presentation to
FIELDING GRADUATE UNIVERSITY
January 16, 2012

These slides were produced for a presentation to the Fielding Graduate
University, January 16, 2012

The famous Harry Potter sorting hat. It’s a ﬁtting metaphor for this
presentation, as I sort through the emerging history of transmedia storytelling.
I will start by discussing my own background, and sharing my current
obsessions for certain stories, explore deﬁnitions, precursors, breakthroughs,
current examples and resources.

WHY ME?
Movie Geek
Journalist
Filmmaker
Marketer
Strategist
What qualiﬁes me to give this talk?

I am a movie geek.

I am an ex-journalist, ﬁlmmaker and marketer.

And I spent 20 years running digital programs and initiatives at the American
Film Institute, some of which are listed here.

To learn more about my career, check out my website at http://
www.nickdemartino.net

WHY ME?
20 years at AFI:
Computer Media Salons
Enhanced TV Workshop
Digital Content Lab
DigiFest
I discuss a few highlights of my years at AFI and the relationships I developed
with innovators at the intersection of Hollywood and Silicon Valley. I discuss a
few highlights of the training-based programs and the showcase programs,
leading into our signature approach: collaborative prototype development
around content.


WHY ME?
Nick DeMartino Consulting
Digital media strategy

Content, distribution, markets.

I started a consulting business last year after leaving the AFI in which I help
companies make the transition occasioned by the disruption that the Internet is
bringing to every market. Most of my work is in the content production and
distribution markets.

WHY ME?

Having heard the word ‘transmedia’ for some time, even as we were incubating
many cross-media applications at AFI, I became intrigued by the rise in the use
of the term last spring, especially because there seemed to be a lot of ﬁghting
going on. This lead to a lot of research and a series of interviews with many of
the leading practitioners in the transmedia ﬁeld, and a three-art series “Why
Transmedia is Catching On” which was posted on the Tribeca Film Institute’s
“Future of Film” site, and syndicated to sites around the world, including
Huffington Post, The Wrap, MIPblogs, x-media Lab (Australia) and others. The
series lives on my own blog: http://www.nickdemartino.net/blog (Here is a post
that includes the links to all the different versions: http://
www.nickdemartino.net/blog/2011/7/11/where-to-read-my-transmedia-
series.html )

TRANSMEDIA:

What is it?

Why Should You Care?

So… what is transmedia, anyway….

DEFINITION

Commercial
transmedia
supersystems
From “Playing with Power in Movies,Television
and Videogames” by Marcia Kinder (1991)

The first citation I could find that uses the “transmedia” adjective was this one, from USC’s Marcia
Kinder, who is famous for launching the “Labyrinthe” project –http://dornsife.usc.edu/labyrinth/
about/about1.html
In my Tribeca post, I added my own attempt at a definition:

“Transmedia” is shorthand for a grab bag of production and distribution practices and audience
engagement techniques that have emerged over the past decade, and when taken together, promise a
new kind of media experience.

DEFINITION…
Transmedia Storytelling:
> Across multiple media
> Each contributes to story
> Multiple entry points into story

Henry Jenkins:Transmedia Storytelling

The term transmedia storytelling is, by all accounts, a coinage from Henry Jenkins, a much-published academic from
MIT, now on the faculty at the University of Southern California. Henry is a good source for info, particularly his
courseware, which is published on his blog: http://www.henryjenkins.org/
The speciﬁc article is from MIT Technology Review, "Transmedia Storytelling.”
Jenkins, Henry (2006). Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York: New York University Press.
ISBN 9780814742815. Jenkins, Henry (2006). Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York: New
York University Press. ISBN 9780814742815. Jenkins, Henry (2006). Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media
Collide. New York: New York University Press. ISBN 9780814742815.

DEFINITION…
> Immersion in story & its world
> Game-like play
> More than an adaptation

Henry Jenkins:Transmedia Storytelling

Henry Jenkins also says that most of the “transmedia” projects he has studied tend to focus upon one
of three goals:
•Building out the “back story” of the “primary” story
•Providing a different view of the world from the subjective point of view of one or more characters
(swapping subjectivity).
•Mapping the world in which the story takes place.

DEFINITION…
“The art of conveying messages
themes or storylines to mass
audiences through the artful and well
planned use of multiple media
platforms."

Jeff Gomez, Starlight Runner

Jeff Gomez is a game designer who cofounded a ﬁrm in NYC called Starlight
Runner which consults with media properties and brands to create transmedia
properties. He has been very active in evangelizing the term “transmedia,”
including within the Producers Guild of America. This is his deﬁnition.
http://www.starlightrunner.com/

DEFINITION…
“A Transmedia Narrative project or franchise
must consist of three (or more) narrative
storylines existing within the same fictional
universe on any of the following platforms:
Film, Television, Short Film, Broadband,
Publishing, Comics, Animation, Mobile, Special
Venues, DVD/Blu-ray/CD-ROM, Narrative
Commercial and Marketing rollouts, and other
technologies that may or may not currently
exist...

The PGA defines criteria for various credits on films and television. In 2010 a
new credit was approved for “transmedia” producer. Certainly in the years prior
to this development, a new class of creative professional had emerged to
collaborate with the primary creative team on extending the story-world of
media properties, especially television. The PGA credit is an answer to that, but
it seems to have triggered a lot of controversy, including a movement against
using the term.

DEFINITION
…These narrative extensions are NOT the
same as repurposing material from one
platform to be cut or repurposed to different
platforms.”

This is the last part of the deﬁnition, which makes a key point, which is that
transmedia is not what we used to call “shovelware” – e.g., dumping content
from one medium into another platform.

DEFINITION
“Transmedia storytelling” is the

label for when you’re creating a
story as the primary storytellers
and intending to tell your story
across multiple channels.”

Brian Clark, GMD Studios

Brian Clark is a very active transmedia producer and a leader in the field. GMD Studios is based in
Florida. http://www.gmdstudios.com/ Clark’s Facebook post in mid-2011 tried to define the
differences between the “East Coast” school of transmedia (where he counts himself) and the “West
Coast” wing, which is what the PGA definition came from, e.g., mother-ship type entertainment
properties with extensions on additional platforms. http://www.facebook.com/notes/brian-clark/
reclaiming-transmedia-storyteller/10150246236508993

DEFINITION
“Transmedia storytelling is the future
of marketing. And those who can
span across formats and share their
expertise will stand out in an age of
Digital Relativity.”

Steve Rubel, Edelman Digital

This quote from high-proﬁle PR guru Steve Rubel sent shivers down my spine, only because I thought
the transmedia storytelling term was focused upon the artform, not commerce, per se. This is a good
example of how the methods of the multi-platform storyteller, having been proven to be attractive to
fans, are irresistable to marketers. http://www.forbes.com/2010/10/11/google-eric-schmidt-
bieber-facebook-social-networking-storytelling-steve-rubel-cmo-network.html

EXAMPLE?

So, is the Royal Wedding a transmedia story?

EXAMPLE?

Or the Bible & Jesus Christ?

EXAMPLE?

Certainly Star Wars is transmedia, with many different media and formats.
Though, there are those in the ﬁeld who prefer to think of Star Wars as the ﬁrst
major storytelling FRANCHISE, not really transmedia. What is the distinction?
Whether new elements to the story are added in every platform, and therefore
make the experience of all platforms necessary for a full experience of the
work.

YOU COULD SAY:
Franchise.
Multiplatform.
ARG.
Interactive.
Multimedia.
Connected Entertainment
These are related words describing various story forms. Some would say that
none is as complete as “transmedia.” Others say, to hell with the language
wars. Let’s get to storytelling!
(Note: ARG=alternate reality game)

Is It Really Transmedia START
Storytelling?
Is it on multiple Is it a single
media YES story or multiple
platforms? stories
NO
SINGLE
It's not
Transmedia! Was the story
transmedia
from inception? MULTIPLE
NO
YES
Are the pieces of
Do you own the content linked and
YES in narrative sync
IP?
YES
with each other?

NO
NO

Is it an Is it really a
Alternate NO story, or is it a
Reality Game? story universe? STORY It's not
UNIVERSE Transmedia
YES STORY Storytelling, it's
just a crummy
Entertainment
THEME Franchise.
C'mon, is it
*really* a story,
or is it a theme?

It's not STORY
Transmedia
Storytelling, YES WHAT'S MOST EFFECTIVE
it's an TO REACH YOUR TARGET
adaptation. AUDIENCE
Are there action
ﬁgures? Which is more
important when
deciding how content
NO will be delivered?
IDENTICAL
It's not
UNIQUE Transmedia
Are the pieces of WHAT'S MOST ORGANIC
story content
Storytelling,
TO THE STORY
unique or it's integrated
identical? marketing.
YES
Is the story just
a light narrative
Are there YES wrapper?
casual games?

NO NO NO

Congratulations! Do the content
You're a YES fragments link
Transmedia to each other?
Storyteller!

2011 Steve Peters (www.about.me/stevepeters)

Steve Peters (@vpisteve) has created a very engaging (and amusing) info graphic
“Is it Really Transmedia Storytelling?” You can download here from Scribd:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/59897583/Is-It-Really-Transmedia

Is It Really Transmedia START
Storytelling?
Is it on multiple Is it a single
media YES story or multiple
platforms? stories
NO
SINGLE
It's not
Transmedia! Was the story
transmedia
from inception? MULTIPLE
NO
YES
Are the pieces of
Do you own the content linked and
YES in narrative sync
IP?
YES
with each other?

NO
NO

Is it an Is it really a
Alternate NO story, or is it a
Reality Game? story universe? STORY It's not
UNIVERSE Transmedia
YES STORY Storytelling, it's
just a crummy
Entertainment
THEME Franchise.
C'mon, is it
*really* a story,
or is it a theme?

It's not STORY
Transmedia
Storytelling, YES WHAT'S MOST EFFECTIVE
TO REACH YOUR TARGET
Steve Peters (@vpisteve) has created a very
it's an
adaptation.
engaging (and amusing) info graphic AUDIENCE
“Is it Really Transmedia Storytelling?” You action download here from Scribd:
Are there can
ﬁgures? Which is more
important when
deciding how content
NO will be delivered?
IDENTICAL
It's not
UNIQUE Transmedia
Are the pieces of WHAT'S MOST ORGANIC
story content
Storytelling,
TO THE STORY
unique or it's integrated
identical? marketing.
YES
Is the story just
a light narrative
Are there YES wrapper?

IS IT REALLY TRANSMEDIA?
✴ Is it on multiple media platforms?
✴ Was the story transmedia from inception?
✴ Is it a single story or multiple stories
✴ Are the pieces of content linked and in
narrative sync with each other?
✴ Is it an Alternate Reality Game?
✴ Is it really a story, or is it a story universe?
✴ Do you own the IP?
✴ C'mon, is it ‘really’ a story, or is it a theme?


✴Are there action ﬁgures?
✴WHAT'S MOST EFFECTIVE TO REACH YOUR
TARGET AUDIENCE
✴Which is more important when deciding how
content will be delivered?
✴Are the pieces of story content unique or identical?
✴WHAT'S MOST ORGANIC TO THE STORY?
✴Are there casual games?
✴Is the story just a light narrative wrapper?
✴Do the content fragments link to each other?

Steve Peters (@vpisteve) has created a very engaging (and amusing) info graphic “Is it Really Transmedia Storytelling?”
You can download here from Scribd:

✴ It's not Transmedia!
✴ It's not Transmedia Storytelling, it's just a
crummy Entertainment Franchise!
✴ It's not Transmedia Storytelling, it's an
adaptation!
✴ It's not Transmedia Storytelling, it's
integrated marketing!
✴ Congratulations! You're a Transmedia
Storyteller!

PRECURSOR

1981: TAMARA. Interactive Theatre
In keeping with some of those words, I’ve collected a few examples of
“precursors” from past decades. Tamara was a theatrical event launched in
Toronto in which the audience moved into different rooms and interacted with
the actors. The story would unfold differently, depending upon your journey
and what happened in each room. The show ran for many years in Los Angeles
and New York, and was revived in Toronto. This is interactive, but not really
multi-platform, though a CDROM was attempted.

PRECURSOR

1990: Hyperland
BBC & Douglas Adams

Douglas Adams, the creator of A HITCHHICKERS GUIDE TO THE UNIVERSE built
this work with the BBC at the dawn of the interactive media age in order to
explain and explore hyper-media. It could be said to be multi-platform
because the links took the user into different environments and domains. You
can tell that the ideas were ahead of the technology by looking at the clunky
fonts.

PRECURSOR

1992: MYST from Cyan & Broderbund

MYST was a ground-breaking game series on CD-ROM back in the 90’s, which
remained the highest grossing title until the SIMS overtook it. Unlike the classic
“videogame” format, which were usually shooter or role-playing games, MYST
was a journey of discovery in which users proceeded into environments and
worlds by ﬁnding clues and activating elements of the system. Again, not really
multi-platform, but a new way to tell a story. MYST and its sequels are now
available in the iTunes store in both a free and $4.99 version.

PRECURSOR

1992: Bram Stoker’s DRACULA
Game based on Coppola’s Film

Francis Ford Coppola created a successful film adaptation of the Bram Stoker
novel about the original vampire starring Gary Oldman, and Sony released a
game version that utilized footage shot on the set of the film, which nudges
into the terrain of multi-platform. We were excited to show it at the time
because of the high profile of the director, who created iconic films like THE
GODFATHER trilogy.

PRECURSOR

1995: In the First Degree
Interactive CD-ROM from Broderbund

Another CD-ROM title from Broderbund was created by my friend Haney
Armstrong, a ﬂlmmaker who came up with this extension of the traditional
police procedural story by allowing the user to interrogate people.

PRECURSOR

1995: Johnny Mnemonic. CD-ROM from Sony Imagesoft

This William Gibson classic was made into a ﬁlm with Keanu Reeves, not well
reviewed, but signiﬁcant because Sony released a CD-ROM game
simultaneously which allowed gameplay in a movie-like setting based upon the
same story. The casts were different.

PRECURSOR

2002: Push, Nevada: ABC & LivePlanet
Play along with the mystery to win $$

TV interactivity is a whole topic in and of itself. I included PUSH NEVADA in this
presentation because it did represent a breakthrough. Clues were peppered
throughout the show and the website that allowed users to amass points
leading to a winner. I think I remember that some clues involved mobile calling
as well, Even though the show was not popular enough to be renewed, it was an
early example of multi-platform enrichment of a primary story.

PRECURSOR

2003: Battlestar Gallactica. AFI team: Schematic, Syfy, others

When the Sci-Fi Channel wanted to bring back the classic Battlestar Gallactica,
representatives of the company, as well as Universal’s game division, came into
the AFI’s Digital Content Lab to create a multi-dimensional viewing experience.
The user interface, created by Schematic’s Dale Herigstad, allowed seamless
movement by the user in and out of the primary story (TV), a ﬁrst-person
spaceship ﬂying experience (game), and deep data about the ship, the
characters, and the backstory, which also included clues. This was not the
version launched at the time of the show, but inspired lots of others.

DEFINITION

“STORYTELLING
WITHOUT
BOUNDS”
Filmmaker and Transmedia Producer Lance Weiler

Lance Weiler has what is the most inclusive and inspiring deﬁnition of
transmedia. BTW, he gave a wonderful talk at Ireland’s Darklight Festival.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=8Gzo6gel2mo&feature=player_embedded#at=146 His work is displayed at
his home page. http://lanceweiler.com/

2006: LOST EXPERIENCE
From ABC & Hi-ReS

So what might we consider breakthroughs in the development of this artform?

The Emmy went to the LOST EXPERIENCE, an alternative realtiy game from ABC
and Hi-ReS, a design and experience company. The TV Show’s millions of fans
could deepen their experience of the story world via this comprehensive site.

2007: HEROES 360 (later Evolutions)
From NBC & Jesse Alexander

Ditto with HEROES, which launched its 360 experience, later renamed
EVOLUTIONS. Producer Jesse Alexander worked closely with the TV series
creative team.

2007: The Truth About Marika
ARG from Company P.

My mind was blown by this Swedish alternative reality game from Company P,
headed by Christopher Sandberg. They used TV, newspapers, the web, live
events and kind of took over the whole country for a few weeks. The premise
was a fake event, but it was treated as real, and people engaged with the story
in a sort of ambiguous way, not knowing for sure what was real, what was fake,
what was conspiracy, etc. Such a ﬁctional trope is often part of ARG work, and
many would date it back to Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre’s radio
adaptation of H.G.Welles’ WAR OF THE WORLDS in the 30’s.

2008: WHY SO SERIOUS?
ARG from WB & 42 Entertainment

42 Entertainment created this multi-platform alternative reality game that
invited players during the period bridging the release of the two Batman films,
especially the much-anticipated DARK KNIGHT from director Christopher Nolan.
Because the Gotham setting and the tone and elements of the franchise are so
well known, the creators could play off of that with newspapers and other
media released in sequence that contained clues and links to fill in the complex
world of the films.

YEAR ZERO: From Nine Inch Nails & 42E

YEAR ZERO is an ARG that involved fans of the band Nine Inch Nails at concerts
by leaving USB drives in restrooms. Those who activated the ﬁles contained
therein on a computer got instructions that involved them in launching the viral
game, which depicts a theocratic dystopian future, the subject of the album.

I LOVE BEES: For Microsoft’s HALO launch

42 Entertainment produced an ARG called I LOVE BEES to support the release of
Microsoft’s HALO game.

2010: CONSPIRACY FOR GOOD.
Tim Kring & Nokia

Tim Kring created Heroes and in 2010 launched a global ARG called Conspiracy
for Good which was sponsored by Nokia. There were extensive live events that
contained clues that could be retrieved via mobile augmented reality
technologies, as well as many other events. The ﬁctional elements, especially
those about the evil corporation, were quite elaborate. There was a real-world
charity in Africa that beneﬁted from the activities as well.

2010: HEAD TRAUMA/Hope is Missing
Lance Weiler/ Seize the Media

This is just one of the properties created by Lance Weiler, whose breakthrough
ﬁlm THE BIG BROADCAST was itself a precursor to more complex storytelling
components being added beyond the ﬁlm “platform.”

2010: COLLAPSUS. From Submarine & VPRO

COLLAPSUS was a documentary ﬁlm on Dutch television that was expanded
into a broader transmedia experience that integrated game-play, global
mapping, animation and other elements. Directed by Tommy Palotta, who
produced Waking Life and A Scanner Darkly. Won the best interactive ﬁlm award
at the SXSW festival in 2011.

UNSPEAK (2011) From Tommy Pallotta

Unspeak extends this idea even more by making short ﬁlms that are outward manifestations of the world wide web. We
are a web browser with 20 tabs open at once all playing video and hyperlinking the universe. The effect is hypnotic, we
don't know what will happen next, we don't know why the images are related to the words and our brains search to
make the connections. This is powerful propaganda. Think of it as propaganda about propaganda. We are now planning
to make the clips available and a simple drag and drop editor. People may also upload their own videos and are
encouraged to make their own unspeak transmissions. All of this is nice and egalitarian, but it doesn't really matter if
we don't activate and empower the viewers. Our aim is to turn consumers into activists. To get people creatively
invested is to truly interact. If they are spending the time creating, we know they are invested and spread the idea of
Unspeak like a media virus. We give them the tools, inspiration, and encouragement.

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL

Tommy Pallotta and other collaborators created a game to support the release
of the ﬁfth Mission Impossible Movie called Cobalt, requiring a Facebook
Connect log-on. http://cobalt.missionimpossible.com/

FACEBOOK CONNECT INTEGRATION

This is the image generated at the end of the Cobalt game, which is then
sharable on Facebook.

TAKE THIS LOLLIPOP

“Interactive Live Facebook Connect Experience”

Take This Lollipop is a cinematic website created in HTML 5 that requires users
to launch Facebook Connect and authorize the use of content in the account,
which is integrated into a creepy, serial killer type short ﬁlm. http://
www.takethislollipop.com/

ARCADE FIRE

LEVERAGES HTML 5 VIDEO
The Wilderness Downtown. http://thewildernessdowntown.com/ : Indie Rock
Band Arcade Fire, working with ﬁlmmaker Chris Milk, released a song “We Used
to Wait” produced with HTML5. Users enter the zip code of the place they lived
as a kid, and the video incorporates street scenes grabbed via Google Map
Street View feature. Milk has a slew of experimental video/web projects on his
site, including the 2012 FWA Best website (voted by fans), another collaboration
with a band, this time Danger Mouse. http://portfolio.chrismilk.com/

LEVERAGES HTML 5 VIDEO
AIM HIGH is a web series about a teenaged spy. http://www.imdb.com/title/
tt1730374/ “Viewers log on via Facebook” and by giving permission, become
part of the story. https://www.facebook.com/AimHighSeries.

LONELY GIRL 15

Lonely Girl 15 was a very inﬂuential early use of YouTube in which actors
portrayed young people’s lives as if they were really opening up to the world via
video. Most people thought these were real people, and responded in kind with
video uploads of their own, creating a tapestry of video storytelling that was
quite unique. What has become a standard feature of YouTube was pioneered
by Lonely Girl, and the lessons are being applied by the ﬁrm founded by its
producers: EQAL. http://www.eqal.com/

THEATRICS

Beckinfield (2011) – User submitted videos tell the story of a town

Beckinfield is a new site that creates a story world, e.g., a mythical California
town, and a storyline that comes from the site, but the unfolding of the story is
created by users who upload videos to the site that they have made in
characters. The originator is an actor who had been helping fellow actors
upload “audition” type videos to YouTube, and yearned for a way to let actors
use their improv skills to further their careers. The site’s platform company,
Theatrix, hopes to license the software to other content companies who want to
leverage their experience.

http://www.beckinfield.com/

Registered users get a weekly newsletter that provides a framework for “events”
in the mythical town against which users can create their characters’
performances in video, and then upload them. There are also auditions and
contests conveyed thru the newsletter.

L.A. NOIRE

2011: Rockstar Games
Immersive décor, real photos, ebook

A slightly different type of platform game from Rockstar Games, creator of the
ultraviolent GRAND THEFT AUTO series. The creators used extensive historical
research and photo and ﬁlm collections to create 1940s Los Angeles. Like a
great ﬁlm, the game creates a story-world. Technologies allow a much richer
experience than games and CD-ROMs from 15 years before. Plus, they
commissioned short stories, available as an e-book, from writers, including
Joyce Carol Oates and Andrew Vachss.

NEXUS HUMANUS

2011: Nexus Humanus from Michael Grant

Nexus Humanus is a new project, just launched, from Michael Grant, a best-
selling children’s book author, and a transmedia team which has created a
web-based story world for his next story, which is focused on a mind-control
organization. http://nexushumanus.com/

HOLLYWOOD

Fourth Wall Studios - ﬁrst-look deal with Imagine Entertainment

Fourth Wall Studios has a ﬁrst-look deal with Ron Howard’s and Brian Glazer’s
Imagine Entertainment, which got a lot of attention in Hollywood. We should be
looking for original work coming from these guys. http://
www.fourthwallstudios.com/

HOLLYWOOD

RIDES and ELSEWARE: proprietary platforms
They raised $15m from LA’s richest man, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, with access
to up to $200m for individual properties. They spent more than 3 years
developing their platform and toolset.

RIDES and ELSEWARE: proprietary platforms
A GHOST STORY is the proof of concept for RIDES. Other announced projects
include DIRTY WORK, a comedy, ZOMBIES!, a horror-musical, GANGSTER GEEKS,
post-apocalyptic story FLARE, and a kinetic action serial called CASCADE. Their
content is “delivered via Internet browsers, smartphones, game consoles, TVs,
movie screens and in the physical world.”

HOLLYWOOD

New transmedia studio from Guillermo del Toro

Another of the many recent developments on the Hollywood transmedia
storytelling front is Mirada, from fantastical ﬁlmmaker Guillermo del Toro
(Pan’s Labyrinth, HellBoy, etc.) As a recent New Yorker proﬁle details, Del Toro
has a fantastical vision of the world, perfect for storytelling without limits.

http://www.deadline.com/2010/12/guillermo-del-toro-in-mirada-studio-
launch/

TEST SUBJECTS NEEDED

42 ENTERTAINMENT has created HUMAN PRESERVATION PROJECT,
an ARG backed by Wrigley Gum

HUMAN PRESERVATION PROJECT

http://survivalcode.com/
Test subjects needed
Project ICEFLY

COMPLEX & IMMERSIVE
Online rumors > Live events > Phone
Calls > YouTube videos > Website A >
Backstory/Themes Revealed > Register
> Objects with QR code mailed >
Website B > Back Story > Videos >
Gameplay & Levels > Codes from
Gum > Facebook > Secrets… > ???


Project ICEFLY

RUMORS


Project ICEFLY

EVENTS


Project ICEFLY

OBJECT


Project ICEFLY

WEBSITE


Project ICEFLY

FACEBOOK SITE


Project ICEFLY

INDIE MODELS
• No-budget aesthetic
• Grass-roots / DIY / “some budget”
• R&D
• Fan Incubation
• Fan Funded (think pre-sale)
• Arbitrage plays
• Audience Product
• Infrastructure Play

A review of the Brian Clark talk at Henry Jenkin’s transmedia class can be found
at http://metascott.com/2011/09/21/brian-clarks-the-business-of-
transmedia/

REMEMBERING 9/11

Clark’s GMD Studios created an interactive experience with the Smithsonian to
remember 9/11. Simple, text and image-based. http://conversations.si.edu/

ROBOT HEART

Lance Weiler created an educational transmedia experience for kids in two
schools, one in Montreal and one in Los Angeles, who manipulated a robot
across the U.S. He calls this storytelling R&D. http://robotheartstories.com/
about

He used IndieGoGo to raise funds to support the rollout of the project: http://
www.indiegogo.com/Robot-Heart-Stories

CHRISTY DENA

Australian Christy Dena offers “pre-orders” for her new transmedia experience,
which involves audio overlays of the story elements. http://
www.authenticinallcaps.com/

SNOW TOWN

Jan Libby has turned to Kickstarter to raise development funds for her
interactive app platform within which she hopes to create a more fully realized
version of her story SNOWTOWN. http://www.snowtown.me/

KICKSTARTER

A search on Kickstarter shows 14 “transmedia” projects, and quite a few were
funded.

BOOKS

The best single book on “immersive media” is The Art of Immersion by Frank
Rose.
http://www.frankrose.com/index.htm. He also posts on his blog which he calls
“Deep Media,” another term that describes the transmedia universe well. http://
www.deepmediaonline.com/

Henry Jenkins’ CONVERGENCE CULTURE is a seminal work. http://
www.amazon.com/Convergence-Culture-Where-Media-Collide/dp/
0814742815

E - BOOK

http://cl.ly/Cxb3

Simon Staffens ebook, “One Year in Transmedia” http://cl.ly/Cxb3

WEBSITES

There are a large number of blogs and other sources about transmedia and related topics:
ARGN.com
unﬁction.com/
movieviral.com/
jawbone.tv
powertothepixel.com
workbookproject.com
yousuckattransmedia.com

EVENTS
Story World
DIY Days
Futures of Entertainment
Transmedia Hollywood
Upcoming conferences in transmedia-related ﬁelds include:
http://www.storyworldconference.com/ehome/index.php?
eventid=20801&tabid=29548&
http://diydays.com/
http://www.convergenceculture.org/
http://legacy.tft.ucla.edu/transmedia/

MEET UPS

The Los Angeles Meet-up has a website, in addition to its Meetup board: http://
transmediala.net/. Also, check out the new wiki, which has a lot of interesting
content: http://transmediala.pbworks.com/w/page/48427037/FrontPage

MEET UPS

The New York Transmedia Meetup has just transformed itself into a non-proﬁt
called StoryCode.org. The website is not yet launched but to contact, write:
Info@storycode.org

Thank you for your
attention.

Let me know how I can help.

Nick DeMartino Consulting provides strategic services to companies in the
digital media and content markets, including marketing initiatives, strategic
alliance and partnerships, business development and more. Details available at
http://www.nickdemartino.net

NICK DEMARTINO
• TWITTER: • WEBSITE:
@nickdemartino www.nickdemartino.net
• SLIDESHARE: • BLOG (and newsletter):
www.slideshare.net/ www.nickdemartino.net/
nickdemartino blog
• EMAIL: • DELICIOUS:
nrdemartino@gmail.com www.delicious.com/
aﬁnickd/transmedia

Please feel free to contact me with questions. I will be posting this presentation on
SlideShare. If you give me your card after the talk, I’ll send it to you, as well. Please
check out my website, and if you like my blog posts, sign up for my newsletter. Much of
the research for this talk can be found on my Delicious site, under either transmedia
tag.

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