by Olivier Godest, published on 3.05.2011

For several months now, we’ve been analyzing transmedia works and projects, reflecting on methodologies to write them, giving our point of view on some of them and trying to define criteria to understand why a work is transmedia or not.

Now, the Producer’s Guild in the US and the CNC in France, have drawn up guidelines to know if your project can be called “TRANSMEDIA” at least as far as getting financial support is concerned.

But despite these criteria, it’s not always easy to know how to classify your project in the jungle of multi-media works that exists today.

 

Let’s go back to the start. How do we define a transmedia work based on the studies of a certain Henry Jenkins ?

“As opposed to cross-media (or pluri-media) which spreads a core content across complementary media, transmedia articulates an original narrative universe on different media. This universe is carried by different media (TV, Internet, Mobile, Radio, Print, Tablet, etc), which bring new and complementary perspectives on the universe of the story, depending on their technological capacity. The different elements that compose this universe can be explored and understood independently of each other: we talk about multiple entry points into the story.”

However, I’m often faced with works that approach these criteria, but don’t always include them totally.

On the other hand, Dr Christy Dena references two types of transmedia works (I invite you to read her much more detailed analysis here):

- either a collection of several stories told in mono-media in a given universe (ex: franchises)

- or a collection of media telling one story (ex: an entertainment program that takes place on tv and on the web simultaneously)

There are then two types of transmedia narrations:

- those that start from a pre-existing content (she talks about an “expansion” of the universe)

- and those that are conceived according to the criteria of a transmedia work from the beginning

This approach seems to me to be the most accurate for the present market. My analysis on the perception of transmedia works today is therefore based on these criteria and is divided into three parts:

1°) One story told on several media

Let’s take the example of “Cathy’s book”. This young people’s novel tells the story of the mysterious disappearance of a young teenager. The book is her diary, which she left for her sister.

On the cover of the book, an intriguing detail: a phone number…

At the back of the book, the author invites readers to resolve a series of mysteries to find Cathy. In order to do this, she explains that you can use the phone numbers, but you are also pointed towards the web to do your research. The goal: to move ahead in the resolution of the investigation and find Cathy.

This book also includes an envelope containing clues: photos, business cards, newspaper articles…

Can this be considered a transmedia work?

The question deserves to be asked. At first glance, there isn’t a complete independence between the different media… (see definition: “The different elements that compose this universe can be explored and understood independently of each other: we talk about multiple entry points into the story”)

The mobile and web are extensions of the book medium. These media allow us to delve deeper into the story, to participate, but they don’t bring a new point of view of the main story (then again…this notion is also a subject of debates).

There is also an iPhone application serving as another entry point into the story.

And on the web, multiple sites and forums on which amateur detectives can exchange tips.

From there on, how can we qualify this work? An alternate reality game, an ARG? A digital book?

From my point of view, it’s transmedia, whether or not the different media are independent… This example is ONE illustration of a type of multi-media storytelling. It shows one universe spread out on several media, a good measure of interactivity and audience participation at different levels of involvement.

In the same category, we could talk about our french example : Detective Avenue

2°) Transmedia transformation and franchises

These are the most common examples since they are, first and foremost, based on minimal risk taking.

It’s the story of a producer and a broadcaster, who bring a TV series to the screen, let’s take Dexter for example. We’ve already done a full article on it. It all started with a book. The first season of the show is based on this book. At this point, we’re closer to adaptation, cross-media.

But with the growing success of the series, the story between our producer and our broadcaster goes to the next step.

Why not take over other media while the “Dexter” brand is successful? Once the trust is established, it’s much easier to find the financial means to spread a universe on several media. Other media are then developed in parallel with the series: web series, games, marketing operations, smartphone application, etc.

The goal is to fill the fans’ waiting time between two seasons in order not to loose a community that is so hard to build. But also, if possible, to generate business. And the master in that domain is obviously George Lucas.

This is the same logic that was exploited by this great name of filmmaking with Star Wars. Yes, there are a lot of derived products (that don’t bring anything new to the story), but there are also books, video games, an animated series, etc, that bring new perspectives on the universe. Why? Because at the start, there is a successful film, a trilogy, a brand! Minimal risk taking and presumably, a very interesting return.

The transmedia universe is deployed in the second step, it’s only the extension of a work that was originally mono-media.

Another example that we’ve explored recently: Tron and transmedia

Here, we touch upon two points brought up by Chrity Dena: “a collection of stories that are told in mono-media” and “writing based on expansive universes”

3°) “Pure” transmedia works

They’re the hardest to find in France today… Still too often in the project stages, they are narrative universes that meet all the criteria of the basic definition quoted above.

A global media strategy is set up from the conception stage, in order to create the links between each medium in the most harmonious way possible. It’s a narrative universe deployed on several media, not a unique story, which is an important difference from the first point. The difference is tiny but it exists.

One of the best examples to illustrate this strategy is “The Blair Witch Project” that I’ve recently written about.

We could also talk about the numerous ARGs that were a great inspiration for these mechanisms.

A good example is that of the HBO campaign for the launch of the True Blood series. Here, the marketing budget was used to extend the universe of the story before the TV broadcast…and the result in terms of audience circulation was excellent.

 

Conclusion

From my point of view, there are two possible perceptions of transmedia works today:
- the reality of the market and the concrete experiences that are offered, which aren’t perfect but at least they exist
- “pure” transmedia projects such as we imagine them (with all the criteria that we know), but that still have trouble blooming (especially in France).

The total independence of media is probably one of the most questionable points in the qualification criteria of a transmedia project. Often, the main medium takes the lead in the global universe, which makes it an almost unavoidable step to get through the first layer, since the other entry points rarely have the same narrative intensity. From then on, can we really talk about a true independence of the media from one another?

Furthermore, in some works, several media are available to the spect’actor to resolve an investigation or simply to move ahead in the story, such as the example of Cathy’s book and Detective Avenue. Here, each medium is not really a new entry point into the story, but rather an additional communication vector to progress in the investigation or enrich the story of the main medium. From there on, should we say that it’s not transmedia? I don’t think so.

The perception and differentiation of all these innovative projects is a real source of inspiration for international creation, but, as is the case for many works of art, it’s not always easy to fit them into boxes (and that’s a good thing!).

I would be happy to hear your thoughts on this topic!