What is transmedia storytelling?

Transmedia storytelling is on the rise, with more and more production companies (and industries in general) trying to utilise it within their latest projects. It's possible that transmedia will soon be the prominent form of storytelling and will in fact be the main way in which we as an audience consume and interact with media.

But, what exactly is transmedia storytelling? Where did it come from? Why is it so important?

The 'new' transmedia world

Henry Jenkins, a media scholar who has written extensively about new media cultures, coined the term 'transmedia', describing it as:

"[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 its own unique contribution to the unfolding of the story."

Essentially, transmedia storytelling revolves around utilising different mediums and formats to tell one story. This isn't to be confused with more traditional media franchises that spawn spin-offs, sequels, reboots and merchandise. The key difference is that transmedia properties tell one story, instead of re-telling or branching out into territories with multiple stories.

Jenkins uses the example of The Matrix franchise:

"[K]ey bits of information are conveyed through three live action films, a series of animated shorts, two collections of comic book stories, and several video games. There is no one single source or ur-text where one can turn to gain all of the information needed to comprehend the Matrix universe."

'The Matrix' 'universe'

 Compare The Matrix with a similar, yet more traditional film franchise, and the distinction becomes more apparent. Sam Raimi's Spider-Man film spawned two sequels, video game adaptations of each film and was based off of an original comic book series. Yet, those video games simply retold the story of the films, and the film storylines themselves were adaptations of the comic book narratives. With each new property the same information was relayed - you could invest in one source and gain all of the needed information.

It won't come as a surprise that transmedia storytelling really took off with the advent of modern media technologies. With technological advancements came the ability to watch film and television on portable devices, the option to play mobile games relating to film and TV properties as you watched and the ability to interact with media properties using apps and interactive websites. Technology changed the way we consume media, and this naturally lead to a new type of storytelling.

Our new 'multi-screen world'

The reason all of this matters really ties together everything I've discussed. In a world of multi-screen viewers the need to engage an audience through interactivity and active involvement is more important than ever. New projects are constantly coming to the fore that try to innovate beyond the usual standard and that try to attract audiences using new, transmedia solutions.

In my next post I will assess just how successful current attempts at transmedia storytelling are, focusing on the Defiance TV show and video game project created by Universal Cable and Trion Worlds, as well as the Halo universe created by Bungie.

'Defiance'; TV show by Universal Cable & video game by Trion Worlds

In the meantime, you can check out Henry Jenkins' blog, as well as his posts on transmedia storytelling:

http://henryjenkins.org/
henryjenkins.org/2007/03/transmedia_storytelling_101.html‎
http://www.henryjenkins.org/2011/08/defining_transmedia_further_re.html

The use of sound as a narrative device in video games

Sound in film and video games isn’t something I’ve touched upon before as a narrative device. In all honesty, it’s something of a blind spot in my knowledge of both mediums – sure, I know the methods of recording, mixing and editing sound – but it mostly plays second fiddle to the visual side of things.

Sound does play a crucial role in narrative storytelling though, and it’s important not to forget that it too has evolved and changed over time, especially with the advent of digital recording methods.

Even at a glance the change from analogue to digital is apparent

I stumbled across an interesting article discussing sound within video games compared to film. Whilst it looks at the jump from analogue to digital as well as a general look at the history of sound, what’s more interesting is the elements that focus on how sound has evolved in both mediums creatively and thematically.

It’s well worth a read (if you can forgive the non-native author’s use of broken-English), you can find the article here.

Sound will always be a pivotal part of films and video games, but what's most interesting here is the assertion that sound plays a more active role in the evolution of these mediums and in the development of digital technology.

How video games are transforming the film industry

Here is a very interesting article from The Guardian a few weeks back discussing how, in a stark contrast to popular belief, video games are now changing the film industry:

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/shortcuts/2013/nov/17/video-games-transforming-film-industry

The main focus of the article is on how video game technology is changing the way movies are produced, with Andy Serkis quoted as saying "[t]here was probably a time when people in the games industry wanted to emulate films, but now it's very much the other way around: the technology is driven by video games".
 

Motion capture technology used in 'Ryse: Son of Rome'

The article also goes into how new video game technologies (specifically the latest generation of consoles) are allowing developers to craft increasingly emotional stories within games, bridging the gap between entertainment and art form. Peter Gornstein (Cinematic Director at developer Crytek) is quoted as saying that new technologies allow developers to overcome the "uncanny valley" - the notion that details within a game rendered improperly cause an unrealistic, creepy feeling. He says that "[t]hat has been a big problem with games in the past. But what we can do now, in real-time, is produce imagery and emotional experiences within a game, at a level where the uncanny valley is left far behind".

Capturing new levels of emotion in 'Ryse: Son of Rome'

It's certainly an interesting prospect, not only showing how the perception of games is rapidly changing, but also how the effect the video game industry is having on other popular media industries is growing immensely.