Trandmedia Storytelling

Henry Jenkins, in his book, 'Convergence Culture' says that "A transmedia story unfolds across multiple media platforms, with each new text making a distinctive and valuable contribution to the whole." (Jenkins, 2006)

In the twenty-first century, digital convergence and the rapid adoption of new technologies allow the user to follow complex narritives across these platforms. The levels of immersion continue to expand. Devices such as the ipad allow the user to access these narrative levels simultaneously.

Jenkins goes on to say that "Reading across the media sustains a depth of experience that motivates more consumption." (Jenkins, 2006)

Transmedia story telling has always existed. The literate could read a Shakespeare play the day before it was due to be staged, thus heightening their experience. With the appearance of comic books and science-fiction narratives, the possibilities of expanding the stories has evolved.

A good example of transmedia storytelling is the X-Men, which started out as a comic book with a linear narrative. The storylines were contiguous, and most dramas were resolved within two or three issues. Then one day an island called Krakoa defeated the X-men and they needed to be replaced. The new X-men were so popular that they spawned a series of new titles. The old X-men appeared once again in their own comic book, and individual characters, such as Wolverine, were given their own series. Films were made, a number of cartoons developed and computer games appeared. In order to keep up with the universe of their favourite character, readers need to consume a greater quantity of media. They are driven by an impulse that requires them to satisfy their desire for knowledge. How did Wolverine get his metal skeleton? By gathering clues and information from different sources the reader is able to live out his or her fantasies through digital and textual interactivity.

Fantasy. That is the underlying impulse that fuels this industry.

 For the fantasy to work, the story needs to have mass appeal. Why do the X-men, Star Wars and Blade Runner have mass appeal? I feel that it is because they are absolutely infested with archetypes. Carl Jung, in his book 'Man and His Symbols,' says that archetypes are "without known origin; and they reproduce themselves in any time or in any part of the world - even where  transmission by direct descent or "cross fertilization" through migration must be ruled out." (Jung, 1964)-Archetypes reside, whether we like it or not, in the collective unconscious, and we respond to them when they are presented before us.

Transmedia storytelling is the perfect platform for a writer to expand his ideas. My career as a writer is just beginning, and a story I wrote, called 'The Last Puppet Show' has the potential to develop a life of its own. It can be made into a play. It can become a short film. It contains archetypes such as harlequins and kings, knights and clowns, so the essential plot can be reproduced in different cultures and on multiple media platforms. A video game, based on puppets and kingdoms could be created, where the kingdoms are linked by the level of madness online players can achieve. In a mad world, only the mad survive.

If I were interested in the creation of wealth, I would subject my ideas to "co-creation." Jenkins (who seems to be the man) says that in co-creation, "the companies collaborate from the beginning to create content they know plays well in each of their sectors, allowing each medium to generate new experiences for the consumer and expand points of entry into the franchise." (Jenkins, 2006)

A knowledge economy driven by social production.

Certainly there is the corporate side of transmedia story telling, and it cannot be ignored, but I am more interested in the creation of worlds. Applying collective intelligence (the generation of knowledge through networking) to transmedia storytelling (and other user-centred platforms) will lead us into an age undreamed of, one where the digital fabric of society fuels our knowledge and our fantasies.
Tim Dwyer in his book ‘Media Convergence’ says that ‘Levy’s view of the future (Pierre Levy, proponent of collective intelligence) is one where society is organized around two trajectories: the recreation of the social bond through our relation to knowledge, and the development of a collective intelligence.” (Dwyer, 2010) An addition to these trajectories is our relation to culture, and our cultural knowledge.

A world where intelligence and the unconscious are in harmony is an infinite playground for the writer.

An example of careless transmedia storytelling

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dwyer, T. (2010). Media Convergence. New York: Open University Press.

Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence Culture: Where old and new media collide. New York: New York University Press.

Jung, C. (1964). Man and his Symbols. London: Picador.

Star Wars - The Kiss. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2011, from You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb1-56aC9YY&feature=related