Transmedia: Storytelling for the Digital Age

Darren Emerson:  "Unlike the wall of noise that comes from 24 hour news coverage, and commentary via Twitter and Facebook in the aftermath of a tragic event, the VR headset delivers an experience that allows the viewer space to get closer emotionally to the subject matter and create a deeper level of understanding."  [Interviewed by Jess Linington]

Megan Logan:  "An entire feature film released on Snapchat, 'Sickhouse' turned storytelling (and the traditional filmmaking model) on its head."

Nicole LaPorte:  "It's no secret that advances in technology are pushing VR well beyond gamers and into areas like education, medicine, and of course, entertainment. [...] But can VR be incorporated into kids' games? And more importantly, should it, given that most kids are just starting to get a handle on AR (actual reality), let alone digitally re-created reality?"

Bogar Alonso:  '“My job is to inspire viewers to make the choices I want them to make,” says [Eric] Darnell. “At my best, I inspire the viewers to look where I want them to look when I want them to look somewhere specific. And when they do, I give them something interesting to focus on and surround that point of interest with other elements that the viewer will naturally compose into the shot that I want them to compose. If I do my job well, ideally, 100 percent of the viewers have the same experience.”'

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."

Shona Ghosh:  "Virtual reality isn't just expensive to produce, it's completely overturned traditional methods of storytelling on film. Here Aardman explains how it's rethinking narrative when the viewer is in control."

Tim Merel:  "At the end of the day, business models come down to installed bases, use cases and unit economics, so let’s dip our hands in the virtual money pot and see what comes out."

Stuart Dredge:  :Millions of children want to be the next Stampy or Diamond Minecart. How to do it is easy enough, but how to do it safely and appropriately is the bigger question" ...

Daniel Terdiman:  "VR hardware makers seem to know that, for now anyway, it's in their mutual interest not to tear each other down."

Paula Chowles:  "Your clip of a rat schlepping a quesadilla has the power to out-hype a summer blockbuster. Do it right."

Megan Logan:  "When critics and creatives complain about a medium, they're often really complaining about content."

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."

Saba Hamedy:  "Over the weekend, Indigenous Media released a feature-length horror thriller.  But the film didn't bow in theaters or on a streaming service. Instead, it was quietly uploaded onto Snapchat."

Mark Wilson:  "Does Samsung's remote parenting app show how VR will connect us, or keep us apart?"

Liz Nord:  "No matter how you feel about it, virtual reality filmmaking and experiential storytelling is happening. And it's getting better and better. No longer just a gimmick, filmmakers are using the technology to serve the story instead of the other way around."

Adario Strange:  "The film is short, but doesn't skimp on major movie style cinematic special effects and editing, delivering a peek at what big virtual reality movies may look like in the near future."

Kevin Kelly:  "Blockbuster MR and VR worlds will require the highest level of world-building. The inherent freedom of the audience to move around, to peek at the underside of things, to linger and appreciate the details, means that great effort and skill will be needed to preserve the chain of persuasion for all the things that make up that world."

DRC:  An in-depth look at virtual reality, mixed reality and the future of world building.  [This is a long read but well worth the effort!]

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."

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?"

Sparksheet:  "Snapchat, instant messaging, and Donald Trump were all the rage in Austin this past March. Spafax’s Matthew Fox braved the crowds at SXSW and found out what was what in content production, digital campaigns, and social media marketing. He also ate many tacos."

Judith Aston:  "Having just convened our fourth i-Docs symposium, it feels like an opportune moment to reflect on what is meant by ‘interactive documentary’ and why we at i-Docs have always seen it as a way of framing a set of possibilities, as opposed to being a specific medium, genre or platform."