by Philippe Daniel Coll , published on 29.05.2010

Those who follow my blog posts know it well: I’ve been a convert of converging media, the birth of new production models and the distribution of writing for a long time. In essence, transmedia is a synthesis of all these things.

In this way, it’s more than a new possibility for creatives and producers, more than a necessity even: it’s a necessary transition for the growth of the cultural industry as a whole (films, video games, books, etc).

But this still has to enter our general awareness.

The team at Orange wanted to set the debate in an open platform: through the Transmedia Lab, their barcamps, their trainings and coaching, they are actively and importantly participating to the implantation of Transmedia in France.

If a player as important as Orange starts taking on this role of its own initiative, it’s because the stakes are high: if we miss the Transmedia train, we will end up in the same slow lane where the film industries of our neighboring countries are now swimming! And we will be condemned, in the best of cases, to struggle for years to get back into the race with difficulty. If we ever do succeed.

So what to do in order for Transmedia to be seen by all as the unavoidable evolution that it is and for all these efforts not to end up as a flash in the pan?

Creatives, authors, script writers AND producers quickly have to become aware of the importance of transmedia. And that, believe me, is far from being the case yet.

A very concrete example: at the latest Cinema and Literature Forum in Monaco, I interviewed several important players from the world of cinema, television, novels and comic books for OnlineTV France.

To each, I asked the same question (among other questions, and changing it slightly depending on my interviewee): “How do you envision transmedia?”

In every case, the first answer was the same: “uh….what’s Transmedia exactly?”

Let one thing be clear, I’m not mocking or even criticizing these three men for whom I have immense respect, I’ve never published a successful novel or comic and my documentaries don’t have the same audience numbers as those of the film directors I’ve interviewed.

But their lack of knowledge of what Transmedia is precisely reveals two things:

1/ even though they’re immediately interested, once informed, the majority of authors still don’t know what transmedia is

2/ producers, editors and other program directors are just as ignorant, otherwise they would talk to their authors about it and ask them to develop Transmedia projects. Following that, scriptwriters would have gotten informed on the subject, and in the end, point number 1/ would only, in fact, concern a minority of professionals

In conclusion, as long as the professionals that participate in the first decisional steps of creation aren’t profoundly aware of transmedia (or that they’ll keep seeing it with superiority, as a passing fad), it will take more time for it to be implemented (and we know that any lateness is a handicap in this world where everything goes very fast), or worst: it will collapse and drag all the French creative industry (which is already very fragile) in its grave. A grave that we will have dug ourselves, and where we will end with it, in a supreme twist of irony.

Finally, when I say “us”, I only mean French professionals. Because on the other side of the Atlantic, this hasn’t even been a question for some time now, and all new productions are conceived in a transmedia fashion.

So yes, it’s common to hear that Americans are ten years ahead of us. I’ve been hearing that since I was a kid.

But is it a fatality? Does such a statement still make sense in this era of dematerialization and Internet?

Personally, I would answer no to both these questions.

Yes, Orange’s initiatives are creating bridges allowing professionals to better understand the mechanics of transmedia specific production. Such initiatives must last and multiply.

But as things stand right now, they’re mostly touching an audience that is already familiar with transmedia.

As we’ve seen above, the worst is to fear if the transmedia mutation doesn’t take on quickly and massively.

And neither Orange, nor the state, nor the C.N.C. nor anyone else can support all the professionals concerned with this: it’s up to each of us (and I’m putting myself in this group, of course) to fulfill our duty for continuous education that is a prerequisite of our amazing and constantly evolving professions.