Via Scoop.it – Transmedia: Storytelling for the Digital Age
“The Mobile Games Forum featured three speakers from studios that carry out brand extension and advergaming projects [...] Their success stories all share similar points of advice about transmedia game design” …
Via www.gamesbrief.com
As you may have noticed, I’ve been a bit quiet on my blog of late … I’ve been spending my time with Scoop.it!
Scoop.it! is a new content creation tool, and boy is it fun! Check out my efforts at Transmedia: Storytelling for the Digital Age
As I was writing my last “spacies” post, The Hollywood Reporter was revealing that producers Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Odd Lot Entertainment’s Gigi Pritzker were bringing Space Invaders to the big screen.
The announcement certainly engendered a lot of discussion on the wisdom of this move, so I thought I’d share some of my favourite viewpoints with you.
In the negative corner, with a they’ll-just-screw-this-one-up-too approach, is Mike Fahey at Kotaku. His is a valid reaction, given Hollywood’s patchy track record in adapting video games for film. Also in this corner is Pete Davison of GamePro who offers the following insight:
In some ways, basing a movie on a game with no backstory might be a brilliant idea, as it will make it very difficult to upset those who are invested in the game universe and its characters — because there aren’t any. If that’s the case, though, why call it Space Invaders at all?
The Guardian newspaper, with their post: What does Hollywood want with old arcade games?, falls into the Hollywood-must-be-stuck-for-ideas camp, and suggests more arcade classics for their attention. Here’s an example:
Frogger (Konami, 1981) John Lasseter directs this magical story of an amphibian hero who just wants to find his way home. Thri
ll as he dodges busy traffic in the exciting freeway sequence; become confused as he loses a life for drowning in the river, despite belonging to a species that practises cutaneous respiration; leave the cinema when it becomes clear that the film re-starts the moment you eventually make it to the other side…
Over at the IFC, you can find a link to Futurama‘s fabulous Space Invaders’ parody, plus this (air quotes here) insightful description of the game itself.
… “Sp
ace Invaders” sees the player take control of a small, mobile, gun-thing at the bottom of the screen. The gun-thing (technical term) can be moved side to side as you fire off rounds at the titular space invaders, who move consistently down the screen.
Screen Rant states: “what is undeniably frustrating is Hollywood’s obsession with only developing projects that have some sort of pre-established standing or brand value.” But, even so, they have a more positive outlook on this commonly held view …
Bizarrely enough, though, a lot of these board game movies (like Battleship) or arcade game pics (like Space Invaders or Asteroids) don’t sound quite so blatantly unoriginal or lame in execution as they do upon their initial inception.
Screen Rant’s post also has some great links for those interested in further reading on the movies-from-brand phenomenon.
Lastly, and still in the positive corner with “Nostalgia fans rejoice”, is moviefone. They 
show a great YouTube game play video, which includes that unmistakable Space Invaders’ sound.
In summary, many commentators think Hollywood is stuck for ideas, and that movies-from-brands are generally bad … maybe even worse than bad. As for my take on all this, I don’t think that Hollywood is running out of ideas, they’re just risk averse.
It makes sense, in the high stakes world of big budget Hollywood filmmaking, to develop films from existing properties. These properties come with a track record and a fan base, thus making them easier to finance and market. They have a built-in audience. Check out the buzz around Comic Con if you doubt this line of thinking.
However, in other business sectors, where there’s the potential to reap big rewards you must also be prepared to take big risk. In Hollywood … not so much. Hollywood tends to use these brand-to-film properties as vehicles for pushing the VFX boundaries, whereas the real innovation, and risk, would be in telling the story from a completely new perspective … and expanding on the existing universe. In other words, take a transmedia approach to storytelling in these films, not just with the marketing of them.
Space Invaders
Earlier this week, whilst I was Link Surfing Jeremiah Warren’s YouTube Channel, I hit upon his Space Invaders in Real Life video, and had a Digital Rocking Chair Moment. For those who don’t know, that’s an “I remember when moment ….”
The number of hours I spent in the “Spacies” Arcade, when I should’ve been at university lectures, is just a little too scary to remember. But, although I liked Space Invaders, Galaxian was my favourite … perhaps because I was particularly good at it … or, maybe I was good at it, because I liked it so much.
Galaxian
Either way, it just goes to show that youth, spending way too long at the gaming console, is no new phenomenon. But, reinterpreting those games for YouTube, now that’s something new. Here’s Space Invaders in Real Life.
And, triggering yet another Digital Rocking Chair Moment, do you remember Player One’s 1980 Space Invaders single?
Then, for an additional “blast from the past” check out the reel-to-reels, line flow paper, and video game graphics in Mi-Sex’s 1979 Computer Games video.
Today’s link is to Nathan Field’s NZ Herald article: Hollywood finds gold at bottom of barrel. Check out the comments at the foot of the article for my transmedia perspective.
This one’s for the Tech Heads … or, for those of you, who, like me, think “Wow! That’s cool! How can I use one of those?”
Videographer, Jeremiah Warren, has posted his Fourth of July video on YouTube and it’s getting a lot of attention. In it, he’s mounted a tiny camcorder, the HD 808 #11 camera, to his fireworks.
This camera is used a lot by RC groups to remote capture aerial video. This is due to it’s small size and high quality. These same attributes make it ideal for capturing spontaneous live events included in transmedia works. (Check out ChuckLohr for a detailed technical discussion of the camera.)
The other camera frequently used for this kind of application is the GoPro HD (also available in a stereo version).
As well as changing the face of story telling, new media is providing more avenues for project financing. One such avenue is crowdfunding, and this is becoming increasingly popular amongst independents.
In his blog post, The Tao of Crowd-Funding: Three Ps for a Successful Film Campaign, John T. Trigonis gives some great advice on using IndieGoGo to successfully fund a film project.
Courtesy of Sesame Workshop
I was catching up on my reading when I came across Primal Screen’s press release on AWN: Primal Screen Conjures Transmedia Experience For Sesame’s Electric Company. Obviously, the word “Transmedia” caught my attention, so I checked it out.
The Adventures of The Electric Company on Prankster Planet consists of: 12 animated stories; an interactive game; plus an “outreach experience centered on math and literacy skill building” – this takes the form of a magazine. Occurring at the end of each Electric Company television episode, the Prankster Planet animations star Electric Company members, Jessica and Marcus, in a mission to stop the Pranksters from stealing all the words on earth.
In the words of Sesame Workshop:
The pranksters are using Manny’s latest gadget – the Wordsuckeruppernator – to suck up all the words on earth, giving them total word domination. Electric Company members, Jessica and Marcus, must stop Manny’s dastardly gadget by pushing a series of off-buttons hidden all over Prankster Planet, but they are thwarted by the pranksters at every turn.
Courtesy of Sesame Workshop
Each of the animated segments ends in a cliffhanger with Jessica and Marcus making a direct plea to the viewer to go online and help by shouting, “Hey You GUUUUUYYS!”
The entire experience features 12 new two-minute animated segments, 12 complete online quests, 60 mini-games, an avatar creator, a rewards system to encourage repeat play and the magazine, The Lost Guide to Prankster Planet. Coming early summer 2011, there will also be a progress tracker for parents to follow what their kids are learning online.
The Adventures of The Electric Company on Prankster Planet is a really good example of both transmedia and serious games for kids. It expands the story experience for its audience, as well as providing a fun learning environment. (If you click through to Primal Screen’s Prankster Planet page, you’ll find a great case study of their work on the project.) I must admit, even though I’m obviously not in the target demographic, I did enjoy the online quests … but, if you want to view the animations without working your way through the game, you can find them on The Electric Company’s YouTube Channel.
The Electric Company is a TV show, an online destination and a community outreach experience that offers 6-9 year old children a hip portal into the world of literacy.
In each episode, The Electric Company is called upon to solve a problem created by a naughty group of neighborhood Pranksters. In every instance, the Company prevails with the power of their words.
While I was thinking about what my first post should be , and getting caught up in being terribly erudite, I came across the NZ advertising campaign for Ford Fiesta.
All Blacks Put Their Mark On The Ford Fiesta
The All Blacks and Ford New Zealand have teamed up to create a one-off limited edition design of one of New Zealand’s biggest selling cars, the Ford Fiesta.
FORD NZ Press Release 2/5/2011
And, whilst it can’t be considered terribly erudite, it’s a really good example of what’s become, almost de rigueur, for basic new media usage.
The Story:
Called Project AB35, this advertising campaign takes the form of a quest. Our hero (Ford NZ, by way of presenter, James Coleman) needs to give the new 2011 Ford Fiesta a bit of “All Blacks’ attitude”. The challenge being: “It’s already pretty good.”
And, as with Jason, Ford enlists the aid of some trusty Argonauts. In this case, it’s a “hand picked team of specialists,” and, of course, the All Blacks. Then, over five weeks, they must take the car to the “next level”. Challenges include: the look, feel and handling of the car; plus, the all important, sound system. Progress is kept under wraps, literally, until the “big reveal” at the end of the journey.
It’s not meant to be “high drama.” But, it is an effective use of classical story structure.
Thirty-five of these limited edition cars will be created. Hence the name, Project AB35 … that’s All Blacks 35 for anyone unfamiliar with rugby.
On the following pages, we’ll look at the campaign’s use of new media.
Model T, courtesy of Ford Media
This blog’s name comes from a mental picture I’ve always had in my head, of someone who lived through the advent, and proliferation, of the motor car. They’re elderly now, sitting on their porch, in a rocking chair, surrounded by neighbourhood children, telling stories about the way it used to be. “I remember when …” and “In my day, before cars had ….”
Well, I’m not elderly, and I’m not surrounded by children, but the advent of computers, and all the digital age has to offer, has happened so quickly that I can already picture myself saying things like … “I remember when computers took up the entire basement of a building …” and “When I was at university, we learnt to program using mark sense cards ….”
So, why wait until one’s dotage? This blog is my digital rocking chair ….
