Transmedia: A Definition
Written on Sunday, March 02, 2014 by Unknown
I've ranted a lot about transmedia in previous posts. Mostly in this one and this one. However, neither of those were official thesis posts, so I am going to reiterate a few things for clarity's sake. This post will contain some basic definitions and I will try to be as straightforward as possible.
All citations for books and academic articles can be found in my bibliography.
What is transmedia?
I've used this definition before, and I'm going to use it again. This is from Henry Jenkins' blog:
"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. Ideally, each medium makes it own unique contribution to the unfolding of the story."
(from Confessions of an Aca-Fan posted in 2007 under Transmedia Storytelling 101)
Jenkins' definition is actually much longer than that, and goes on to highlight 7 points in total. But this piece is a good starting point.
And while we're at it, why don't I explain what transmedia is not.
These definitions have been taken directly from Andrea Phillips' book A Creator's Guide to Transmedia Storytelling (p. 18-19). Why did I quote her word-for-word? Because if someone else says it clearly, then I will let them say it. No need to butcher it by trying to paraphrase. So here are some definitions for things that people often confuse with transmedia:
Multimedia: On the surface, multimedia sounds like it describes exactly what transmedia is meant to be: multiple media. Unfortunately, in the 1990s, the term took on a very specific connotation: text, video, audio, and images delivered together through computer. Multimedia CD-ROMs of atlases and encyclopedias were common and profitable for a few years. They vanished when the new king of multimedia experience arose: the World Wide Web.
Interactive fiction: You might think a story that you can interact with is interactive fiction. But this phrase has been taken for decades to mean a very specific kind of computer game: the text adventure, as in games like Zork or Moonmist. These were the particular specialty of a Massachusetts company named Infocom, which was taken over by Activision in 1986.
But there's another reason why transmedia storytelling can't be called interactive fiction, and that's the growing interest in transmedia documentaries and serious games. The same tools you can use for telling a story that isn't true can just as easily be used to call attention to real-world information,
Cross-Media: Until very recently, cross-media was the top contender to mean the same thing as transmedia. Now, a consensus is growing that cross-media refers to releasing the same content (like, say, a TV show) over multiple platforms. So cross-media is what lets you see the same episode of Yo Gabba Gabba on TV, on your phone, and on a DVD.
Alternate Reality Game (ARG): An alternate reality game is a social media narrative that plays out in real time, using real communications media to make it seem as though the story were really happening. Sounds a lot like transmedia, right? And in fact the ARG is a subset of transmedia – Perplex City was an ARG. But the accepted formula for an ARG requires elements that a transmedia project doesn't always have, such as direct communication with characters or puzzles for the players to solve.
Thanks Andrea. She also talks more about it on her blog.
Need a little more info? No problem.
Examples of transmedia storytelling:
Need a little more info? No problem.
Examples of transmedia storytelling:
- The Beast - An ARG tie-in game to go along with Stephen Spielberg's film A.I. It was one of the first to be labeled a transmedia project.
- The Blair Witch Project - A feature film with a website, books, comic books, and computer games.
- Assassin's Creed - An extremely successful transmedia franchise that originated with a video game, and now includes more games, comic books, short films, and websites.
- Why So Serious? - An viral marketing ARG tie-in game to go along with the release of The Dark Knight film.
- Year Zero - An ARG and concept album combo by Nine Inch Nails.
- Defiance - A television show and video game by the SyFy network and Trion Worlds.
- MyMusic - A YouTube scripted sitcom by the Fine Brothers, in many ways similar to LBD.
- Cathy's Book: If Found Call (650) 266-8233 - A YA novel and ARG with an online following.
- Star Wars - Surprised by this one? This franchise is gigantic, and I wont be able to name everything, but the films, TV shows, books, comic books, games, theme park rides and so on all contribute to the greater Star Wars universe. It is transmedia on a massive scale.
- (and finally) The Lizzie Bennet Diaries - A webseries with a wide array of social media accounts/content.
Now this is just a small sampling of the variety of transmedia stories out there. I didn't go into much detail here because they are not my focus, but if you want to learn more I highly suggest you check some of them out.
You also may have notice that a lot of them involve ARGs, and why not? It is a fantastic way to get an audience involved and have them participate in the narrative. Unfortunately, ARGs can have some negative connotations attached to them, but really they aren't all guild with quests that only geeks like to play.
Sometimes they can be much more than that. For example, in Why So Serious? was very much a scavenger hunt with players searching and finding clues that provided the background for the opening sequence, which were able to see prior to the release of the film. One rabbit hole, for example, involved people finding an address and the name Robin Banks, who apparently had a "very special treat" waiting for him. Another participant(s) would go to that address which turned out to be a bakery. They asked for an order under said name and were given a cake which told them in icing to call a number, which they did and the cake started to ring. They cut the cake and discovered a phone and instructions to call another number which triggered a text message response. With the phone was also a Joker playing card. Participants were now bank robbers for the Joker. So the game went on and findings were always shared with the community. Some people played in real life, like those who traveled to the bakeries, and some simply played online (and of course there were probably many that did both). The game was very successful as was the film.
So what are you thinking about ARGs now?
That was a bit of an off topic rant. But still interesting stuff.
Information about Why So Serious? came from Frank Rose's book The Art of Immersion (p. 9-15). If you want to find out more about this particular ARG experience, check out this link.
More to come on transmedia. It's about time to start analyzing.
-Danny
Update: I just want to say, that regardless of all of the above, transmedia is still a tricky things to define as it is constantly changing and evolving. Not everyone's definition will be the same. But I need to stick with something in order to analyze, so this is what I've got. And in a non-thesis capacity, I am always open to other interpretations.
Do some of these franchises continue indefinitely? Do they all have start/stop points? Do they web out to other/new media? Interesting yes. Did you call me a geek on purpose?
Huh. You know, I think they rarely do. I mean like Star Wars goes on forever because they just keep releasing new stuff. I'm sure the Defiance game will be able to be played long after the show is canceled (which it isn't yet!) but probably not forever because they keep making new game consoles. Cathy's Book I'm not sure. All of the ARGs are games, so once played they are over.
Fun discovery: The LBD twitter accounts had some post-book activity recently because they wanted to participate in some twitter storytelling day or something. I was so excited to see new stuff. So I guess it can always be resurrected.
Haha are you a geek? I just meant that's a stereotypical impression that people have.
Very useful definitions! I feel like I understand all of the listed topics a lot better now. And I definitely respect your attitude about not trying to change fix things that aren't broken.
Thank you! I'm glad it all made sense.