Transmedia: Storytelling for the Digital Age

Simon Staffans:  "[...] I’m quite convinced that a well crafted story, standing on the foundation of a thoroughly thought-out and fleshed-out story world, filled with engaging points, calls to action, smaller arcs within the larger arcs… that such a story can accomplish almost anything you would want it to do, especially targeted in the right way and on the right media platforms to reach a well-researched target audience."

Simon Staffans:  "If we think of our story on different layers, it is logical that certain layers should have different purposes and different traits than others."

DRC:  Simon Staffans continues his series of fascinating posts on "layered storytelling".

Simon Staffans:  "I think we can all agree that the world is a pretty complex place. It would be easier for most of us if it was simply cleary black and white, right and wrong, for and against, like a LOTR movie with all nuances wiped away."

Simon Staffans:  "User Centered Design is – to quote Wikipedia – a method or framework of processes in which ”the needs, wants, and limitations of end users of a product, service or process are given extensive attention at each stage of the design process."

Simon Staffans expands on his five golden principles of audience engagement ....

Simon Staffans:  "This summer I’ve put almost everything on the shelves and concentrated on not being the producer [of stories] but rather the consumer. I will admit, it has been a bit of an alarming experience."

Simon Staffans:  "These past couple of days I was kindly invited to BoostHBG, an organisation doing great things for the cross- and transmedia practicioners (and VR producers and short film producers etc and so on) in the south of Sweden. My mission was to help some projects a little bit further along the way to fruition."

Simon Staffans:  "A couple of years ago I wrote that I believe the term ”transmedia” will become utterly redundant in a few years’ time. Looking at how the audience and the audience’s engagement has evolved, how new technological possibilities, startups and solutions enable all kinds of new producers, and how the market has started leaning towards a new economy and a new way of approaching content creation, distribution and monetization… I think we’re getting there, quicker than I thought."

Simon Staffans:  "Lately virtual reality has been the buzzword to throw around whenever any kind of content discussion has taken place."

Simon Staffans:  "And all of this comes down to knowing whom your creating your story for, what their needs and beliefs and habits are, and what you would like for them to do as an outcome of you telling them your story."

Simon Staffans:  "When we have connected and engaged with the audience, how do we turn that engagement into funding; funding that will help us make more of what we’ve already made and give us something to point to when we want to enthuse future partners and financiers about new ideas and new ventures."

DRC:  "@Simon_Staffans talks with transmedia guru @Jeff_Gomez for 'One Year in Now Media vol V.'"

Simon Staffans:  "Last week I had the pleasure of talking at the Documentary Campus Masterschool in Cologne. I’d been asked to speak about things transmedia (which is a term I still find myself using, not for pitching but definitely in my own development work) and multiplatform, and how to use these methods and ways of thinking to engage with an audience in a fruitful way."

Simon Staffans:  "At the beginning of any project there is (hopefully) a solid story waiting to be told and explored. Most often, this story also has a main platform it’s attached to [...] If it’s developed in true multiplatform or transmedia mode, it also has a suitable number of other possible – or even probable – platforms to spread the story out on or continue affiliated stories on."

Simon Staffans talks with the team behind Dark Detour: Season 2, a multi-platform horror story ....

Simon Staffans:  "It's not a coincidence if Nordic TV is at the fore of the digital revolution, these local execs explain" ...

Simon Staffans:  "This is the first article in an in-depth series focusing on the Nordics. We’ll take you behind the scenes and talk to the people who know what’s up, where the Nordics are heading and why you need to keep tabs on what’s happening in the lands of the North."