Transmedia: Storytelling for the Digital Age

Alex Kane:  '“Today’s most innovative artists are always looking for new ways to push boundaries, with their music and their means of connecting with fans,” says [Lucas] Wilson. “[...] We’re used to going to concerts, but very few of us have actually been on stage. We’ve grown accustomed to hearing from our favorite artists on social media, but rarely do those words come directly from their mouths. VR is changing all that. It’s the most personal way of connecting with your fans.”'

Derek Thompson:  "The problem for Hollywood isn’t that audiences are ignoring sequels. The problem for Hollywood is that audiences are ignoring everything that isn’t a sequel, adaptation, or reboot. The market for films based on stories that aren’t already famous is threadbare. These sort of stories exist in entertainment, but consumers, and particularly young consumers, are looking for them outside of darkened theaters."

Adam Rosenberg:  "How do you turn a video game series with a 20-year history and tens of millions of fans into a cohesive movie? According to Warcraft director Duncan Jones, you go back to the start."

Christy Admiraal:  "There’s no question that anyone who considers himself or herself part of a fandom will have a different read on a piece of media from someone on the outside—whether it’s due to taking in all supplemental material, shipping a certain pairing, participating in fan theorizing, or some combination thereof—but exactly how does their experience differ from a reader or regular viewer who’s never dived any deeper into non-canonical material?"

Elizabeth Segran:  "These brands were built on Instagram. They share their strategies for creating a loyal following and driving sales on the platform."

John Fink:  "We discuss the thrilling multimedia documentary experience at Tribeca, along with select highlights from the festival’s VR arcade."

Kent Bye:  "Conflict and growth is the heart of drama, and a lot of films and video games use the trope of external combat to express this. But Rob [Morgan] sees the potential to explore stories in VR and AR that are much more about internalized emotional conflicts within the main protagonist / player of the experience."

Simon Staffans:  "We have all heard the value of getting something to a viral stage and the need for either robust strategies for social media or an enormous amount of good luck to make that virality happen – most often a combination of the two is needed."

Anne Zeiser:  "If you're feeling dread because the plug has been pulled on your drug of choice -- the soapy period costume drama set in post-Edwardian England -- don't lament,Downton will live on. In today's world of digital and transmedia content, strong brands live on forever. And the juggernaut Downton brand will be everywhere after the broadcast series ends."

Joe Carmichael:  "It’s still in the proof-of-concept phase. But we’re sold."

Caty McCarthy:  "Before Winston, a glasses-clad gorilla scientist, was leaping across maps to crush his enemies in the chaotic multiplayer battles of Overwatch, he was merely a young ape with big aspirations and an affinity for peanut butter. But you wouldn’t know that from merely playing the game."

Simon Staffans on applying lean development principles to content creation ....

Jon Evans:  "Even in stationary DomeVR, you can twist and turn and spin and look at a full 360 degrees of immersive environment [...] there is no clear demarcation between “story space” and elsewhere, as there is with a TV or movie or game screen. Your mind keeps telling you that everything is story space."

Simon Staffans:  "Storytelling and media [...] definitely have a future. It’s just going to be a future that is nothing like what we know now."

Sharang Biswas:  "Will games ever really let us tell our own stories? And if they did-- what would that even look like?"

Blooloop:  "Visitor attractions are racing to embrace Virtual and Augmented Reality technologies.  But what are the potential opportunities and possible pitfalls of VR and AR?"

Brian Moylan:  "Deloitte’s annual Digital Democracy Survey was released and with it came the usual predictions of what it means for the future – but there were some surprises" ...

Tiffany Tsai:  "Not only does this new technology allow viewers to explore their favorite films from a new perspective, but it can also help directors determine how to film a particular scene."