Cross-Media + Transmedia Entertainment

Lance Weiler, the director of the film The Last Broadcast (which has been described as the “original Blair Witch Project”) released another film last september: Head Trauma. What is interesting about the project is the STACK OF GREAT THINGS HE HAS DONE with the film!! Firstly, he or the film has a presence on many social networking sites, such as MySpace, YouTube, Twitter, and faciltiates community with his blog and vlog. He gives back to the community too, by providing information about DIY filmmaking on the DVD and has an “open source repository on filmmaking“. 

Second, he has a great graphic novel on the main website, which is half comic/half vignettes of the film. It feels like a cross between the “webler” that was created for Peter Greenaway’s transmedia project The Tulse Luper Suitcases using stills and audio from the film and the graphic novels used in the Heroes 360 Experience (I love the integration of the graphic novel and film narratives by the way).

Thirdly, he has created an alternate soundtrack of the film ala Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of Oz. Lance describes it at the HTMySpace site:

We created an alternate soundtrack for my newest feature film HEAD TRAUMA. The soundtrack CD is meant to be cued up with a special scene on the DVD of the movie. So if you turn down the volume on the TV and turn up the volume on the stereo you’ll get an alternate soundtrack experience.

Here is their movie describing the process. Lance calls it “a natural extension to the narrative”. This extension actually seems more like the album Haunted that accompanied Mark X. Danielewski’s House of Leaves. But back to Head Trauma. You have to go another website (www.parkthevan.com) to find the secret scene to synch the music with…and the synch scene is perfect. I really like the way link love is shared with this distribution of clues. Rather than create a whole lot of sites yourself, embed clues in sites of fellow crew etc. Share the link love. Lance sees the alternate versions, the remixing as being integral to the story too:

Philadelphia Weekly Online reports:

You’ve released a Dark Side of Oz-style alternate soundtrack CD of your film called Cursed: The Head Trauma Music Project with people like Dr. Dog, Bardo Pond and Sun Ra’s Marshall Allen. Is this screening a continuation of that?

“Yeah. Because Head Trauma deals with the fragmentation of memory, I thought it’d be cool to create other versions of the film. Movies kind of get stuck by being the same thing over and over again. A band can go and play and reinterpret their music, or fans can reinterpret it by doing covers. Films don’t have that option.”

This interweaving of snippets of memory and remixing (and sharing the filmmaking etc) is something that the team behind SMSSugarman in South Africa have been developing too. But, one difference is what Lance offers as a new cinema experience. This is where we get to cool point number four. I’ll let the the press release tell the good news:

In what has been called a cinema ARG (alternate reality game) HEAD TRAUMA is taking a hybrid of music, movies and gaming on the road for a number of special event screenings 

The event consists of three core elements.

1. A screening of HEAD TRAUMA with a live soundtrack performance by Bardo Pond, Espers, Fern Knight, Marshal Allen (Sun Ra), Steve Garvey (Buzzcocks) and others. The music is mixed live with the dialog and sound effects tracks from the film to create a new alternate soundtrack.

2. Various props and sets from the film are setup on stage and certain characters from the film will emerge from the audience.

3. During the course of the film a phone number appears on screen. When viewers call the number they begin a game that will last through the film and follow them home.

They receive a number of cryptic clues as they are asked to solve a series of riddles. The interaction involves phone calls and text messages from the characters of HEAD TRAUMA that will lead viewers to hidden clues spread across the Internet.

“We’re trying to change the cinematic experience. We want to take the concept of narrative storytelling and move it across multiple devices and screens, so it is engaging the audience in new and different ways. People have been calling it a cinema ARG and the response to the initial screenings has been amazing. Not to mention I’m always looking for new ways to scare the audience.” Says HEAD TRAUMA creator Lance Weiler.

Bravo Lance.

HT Main site: http://www.headtraumamovie.com/

The 2007 Developing Interactive Narrative Content Seminar run by sagasnet is currently in play.

During this Developing Interactive Narrative Content Seminar pre-selected interactive narrative projects in development (no limitation on media, genre or target audience) will be provided in parallel with high-profile face-to-face consulting sessions (on financing, project management, marketing, story structure, game play…). Consultants will be chosen according to the needs of the selected projects.

The experts they have providing advice are:

| Frank Boyd | Greg Childs | Christophe Erbes | Chris Hales | Sibylle Kurz | Raimo Lang | Peter Olaf Looms | Mark Stephen Meados | Mark Ollila | Michel Rüger | Richard Rouse III | Nathan Shedroff | Lee Sheldon | Inga von Staden | Teut Weidemann | Ingo Wolf |

And here are some of the projects (I’ve picked out the ones that interest me):

Kai Graebner, Soap Blog
– online extension of a TV soap, with a holistic storytelling approach combining linear and interactive narration.

Douglas Grant, Steppin’ Out
– an interactive film in which your on-the-fly navigation of the narrative reveals who’s fooling who (including you) – or does it?

John Griffith, Treasure Hunt
– a fun-filled learning experience, where participants interact with each other, the physical world and a multimedia interface (a cross-media adventure activity).

Mark Grindle/Minttu Mantynen, Wildlife
– an episodic series of downloadable interactive stories of eleven-year old Milie McGowan and her amazing ability to transform herself into wild animals.

Leidi Haaijer, … What does it take to make a choice …
– a screenplay on reality and the dream of love; evolving through chat, web cam, e-mail, telephone and sms.

Catherine Kahn/ Trond Morten Kristensen, Heidi
– a multi-platform scifi drama exploring the meeting point between the individuality of the gaming world and a filmatic experience of the little screen on the go.

Mitja Kostomaj, Spinning Top Adventures
– a story spinning your mind, an ambient interactive storybook moving your body: a set of edutainment games using the body to help children in their motor, emotional and intellectual development.

Phillip Prager, Polyalphabet
– an interactive installation based on an associative, recombinant narrative, transforming an aleatoric text by John Cage.

Check out: http://www.sagasnet.de/

The notion of closure in interactive narratives has been explored by, among others, hypertext-response theorist Jane Yellowless Douglas. In her paper, “How Do I Stop this Thing?”: Closure and Indeterminacy in Interactive Narratives, Douglas analyses the assumptions we make as readers and how we long for closure, even if the text doesn’t supply it:

Even in interactive narratives, we as readers never encounter anything quite so definitive as the words “The End,” or the last page of a story or novel, our experience of the text is not only guided but enabled by our sense of the “ending” awaiting us. (p. 40)

The idea of closure on the web is even more of an issue. Indeed, with the narrative expansion of worlds by producers as well as fans now, there is no such thing as closure of a storyworld anymore. But what about the author’s need for closure? I am on many social networking sites, I blog here and at other places and I must admit that I sometimes fantasize about not having a blog. I am always amazed when I meet people who don’t blog and try to remember what that was like. Bloggers sometimes go on hiatus, but they very rarely end. This is why I was quite surprised, pleasantly surprised, to see this note left on a blog I was chasing up an old link from Rob Coverfish:

I say pleasantly surprised because I sometimes would love to just close shop and because I had (thankfully) taken a screenshot of the article I was after, so there was no loss to my archives. Good on you Glark. May you rest in peace.

Reference: Douglas, J. Y. (1994). “How Do I Stop this Thing?”: Closure and Indeterminacy in Interactive Narratives. Hypert/Text/Theory. G. L. (ed.). Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press: 159-188. [pdf]

I just discovered through Ilya’s post a study of the Perception of the Presence of Brands in Second Life by CB News in partnership with Repères Second Life. It is an excellent study because it gives some spot on advice about brands in SL but also because it provides a snapshot of SL residents. Here are some of the findings:

The main thing learnt from the poll was that the presence of RL brands is perceived as positive by a great majority of Second Life residents: 66% believe that the presence of RL brands has a positive impact on SL, whereas 22% believe that RL brands have no impact on SL, and only 11% believe that RL brands have a negative impact on SL.

Some of the negatives about brands:

Read the rest of this entry »

As many of you would be aware, I wrote the section on ARGs & Academia for the International Game Developers Association Alternate Reality Game SIG Whitepaper. *whew! * I looked around far and wide to find academics and educators who are looking at ARGs and presented what was at the time a pretty comprehensive listing of people in the area. Since then there has been a great many more researchers who have either made themselves known or commenced studying ARGs. There has been more, however, educators who are looking at ARGs as a pedagogical device in secondary and tertiary education and the public sector. Because of the publicity around the whitepaper they joined the IGDA ARG SIG listerv, ready for conversation, sharing and advice…which is great. The list is unfortunately, not as active as it could be.

There are a few reasons I could posit, one being that there are soooo many people on the list that people feel reluctant to share to such a massive audience. Another reason is that the area is so new everyone feels a bit out of water. Who knows what the reasons are? What I do know is I receive alot of emails offlist from academics and educators wanting to talk and share. So, in the interests of facilitating some good academic exchange I’ve started another listserv for ARG Academic Researchers and Educators. I hope the list is seen as being complementary to the current SIG list and not a competitor since both can co-exist quite well. Indeed, the fact that more specialised lists are needed is a sign that the area is maturing. Hey, the new list may not even work as a conversation space either…but I hope it does…because I’m keen to share and hear other people’s thoughts and knowledge. So, without further delay, here is the link to signup to the

Alternate Reality Game Researcher & Educator List

http://lists.transmodiology.org/listinfo.cgi/argresearch-transmodiology.org

In this second part of my series of posts (part one) about my recent cross-media tour of five countries, I cover my trip to Sweden to deliver a keynote at the First International Conference on Cross Media Interaction Design. Very exciting it was (she says with Yoda grammar). It was held in at a ski resort (see the pic which is the view from my room) in Hemavan. The general chair was Charlotte Wiberg and program chair Mikael Wiberg, of Umea University. Here is the intro description of the event:

During the conference we have the opportunity to address the modern media landscape as a mixture o fapplications, platforms and media belnded with advanced navigational structures in spport of various kinds of acticvities including marketing, gaming, collabroation, blogging, and much more. As we can see, the web as a media platform is becoming more and more focal, and more and more often, web sites employ the cross-media concept which include a wide range of media, such as television, chat, or mobile SMS and MMS. [...]

The aim of this conference is therefore set to improve our understanding of interaction design as a cross-media activity without boundaries. An understanding that takes into account interaction intense user experiences and novel interaction and media technologies.

Day One

The first day of the conference was on Thursday 22nd March. The general chair of the conference, Charlotte Wiberg, opened the day with an overview of all the people at the conference from different parts of the globe. I, being from Australia, came the furthest. Charlotte outlined some of the items that are relevant in considering cross-media and interaction design, for instance: ”context of use” and ”user experiences” and “how to handle relations between media inheritages”.

The first talk was an industry one delivered by Claes Nilsson, the Channel Sales Manager of AVID, Sweden and Denmark. Nilsson spoke about the impact of cross-media on AVID, a first he said for him and AVID as his talks are always about the product only. Nilsson outlined the phases of AVID’s history:

• * Phase One (1989-1999): single user, replicate analog equipment
• * Phase Two (2000-2006): shared workgroups
• * Phase Three (2007+): editing is the same, where it comes from and where it goes is different

For AVID, the Internet has changed the how (collaboration between facilities), where (new distribution methods) and what (new content types). “It’s all about,” Nilsson says, ” serving the creation through the consumption cycle”.  After that we went off and socialised during our opening dinner.

Further links: Jak Bouman provides his experience of the first day

Conference site: www.cmid07.org

As I’ve mentioned before, Australian company Hoodlum Entertainment, created the online extension to the popular UK soap Emmerdale. A quote from my previous post outlines the format:

According to Hoodlum, the Emmerdale Channel is fully integrated with the TV show. At the end of each episode, the show will encourage viewers to visit the channel where, every night, new content will be uploaded. The channel will attempt to involve them in the whodunnit’s various storylines through gameplay and a competition to gather points: among other things, they will be able to listen to online “voicemails,” receive whodunnit-related emails, access secret broadband video content, play games and follow clue trails. They will also be able to become virtual “Emmerdalians,” moving to town and setting up their own cottage, Hoodlum says.

Since Christmas Day Emmerdalians have been pacing the virtual streets to discover Tom Kings murderer. The finale is about to happen and in an interesting approach to content rollout itv have justed announced (through email) that:

In a few weeks, in an exclusive online revelation, those on the Emmerdale Online Channel will find out BEFORE the national TV audience exactly who killed Tom King!

I really like this approach: rewarding active audiences with unique content before TV audiences (they’re doing that with the Heroes 360 Experience too).

Check out: http://emmerdalemurder.itv.com/

A couple of months ago I was called up by researchers from a company called Sense Worldwide… 

Sense Worldwide provides contextual research and concept development services to Blue Chip and Fortune 500 clients across many different sectors and categories.

Founded in 1999 we were one of the first companies to utilise human networks to gain insights into social, cultural, economic and technological trends. Working globally with our 1500+ network of ‘Sensers’, we provide our clients with the grassroots information required to identify, anticipate and capitalise on change. From this privileged viewpoint we look at anything that is transforming people’s lives, both now and in the future.

During the last five years we have proven our approach to deliver on some highly strategic challenges from the BBC, British Telecom, Hewlett Packard, SC Johnson, Nokia, MTV, IDEO, Herman Miller and Reuters.

They contacted me because they were conducting a report on 21st Century Storytelling and wanted to interview me for my insights. We had a jolly ol’ chat and at the end they asked me to join their network. So, now I’m a Sensor! Wohoo! I look forward to sharing my insights and nutting out issues with other enlightened folk.

Check out: http://www.senseworldwide.com/

Recently Christopher Penn (who I’ve posted about before on this blog) put out a call to action to all of us who have special powers: we have the power to talk to thousands, if not millions, through the Internet:

Think of it kind of like this, C.C. If you woke up tomorrow morning with the ability to fly, or read minds, or any of the “superhero” powers, how would you use them? What would you do with them?

New media’s power kind of crept up on a lot of people, not the least of which are new media’s producers. If we had suddenly woken up one morning and had the ability to talk to the world, we’d probably think of it more as a superpower than an evolution of technology. I’m suggesting that we step back and examine what we have in that context – wake up today, tomorrow, whenever, and see the power we have, then decide how to use it. [from his comments]

At the PESC conference this week, one of the key points I made about podcasting and new media was that it gives us our voice back, gives us the same power as multibillion dollar corporations to express ourselves and be heard. This is a superhero power that is unlike any other we’ve ever had the chance to use. We’ve pontificated long enough on the meaning of new media, the implications, and its myriad potential uses.

The time has come to make use of our powers. If you believe, as I do, that everyone who picks up a microphone or camera, is a rockstar and superhero in waiting, now is the time for us to unleash our powers as fully as we can on the world. Produce media, gather audience, gain mindshare, and let new voices be heard. The PodCamp UnConference series is a good start to this, but there’s more to be done, more to share with the world.

Take a look at our world. Look at the headlines on the news, in the papers, on the radio. The world desperately needs us – all of us – to share media that gives a truer, broader, and more authentic big picture than we currently get from mainstream media.

Are you ready to show your superhero powers?

I really like the way he reframes our abilities with this wake-up-and-discover-new-powers metaphor. What is good about this call to action (CTA)

1. It is positive;
2. It asks you to draw on skills and talents you already have;
3. It removes an internal (mental) obstacle rather than asking you to move a political, economic or cultural one;
4. Irrespective of whether you take it up or not, you’re feeling better about yourself and the world;
5. It doesn’t restrict how you act, merely triggers the action..

In the end, I won’t be changing much about my use of megaphonia. I already use it for good and to try and change the my world. But what I do think I will do that is different, is that I will think up something I can do that is quick, simple, good and makes the my world a better place (at that moment). I like the idea of the wake up and send out a sonic blast through my immedia (immediate media). I don’t think the world needs saving, it just needs more people (I’m saying this to myself too) that realise they have the power to create the world they want. There is plenty of room for all of our realities to co-exist. And that is the nature of my superpower (and others): creating our own universes and having them co-exist. That is the way I view the changes to entertainment as well. We can create different points-of-entry (POEs) or a different lens to experience a property. We don’t have to experience it in the same manner as everyone else, because frankly we don’t! The use of multiple platforms, technologies and art forms, simply manifests what happens internally. Well…that is my use of my superpower for this minute.

Check out Chris’s post: http://www.christopherspenn.com/2007/04/26/superhero-reveal-yourself

P.S. Freaky: I just clicked publish and then checked my email. A spam email arrived with the subject line: CHANGE THE WORLD. Thanks cyberspace. Will do.

Institute for Media and Entertainment and Kellogg School of Management are holding a special event on Branding in Media and Entertainment on April 30 to May 2. They’re focusing on ways to utilise different platforms to make sure your brand breaks through the clutter on different platforms.

The mandate for powerful media brands and brand systems has never been greater. There has been an explosion of delivery technologies and content platform options. The pace of change has also placed a focus on short-term gains, often to the neglect of brand building. This program gives the skills and strategies to succeed through powerful brands that dominate in times of upheaval.

Who Should Attend & Why
IME’s Branding in Media and Entertainment program is designed for executives responsible for the success of marketing initiatives. The program helps executives enhance their brand savvy, from positioning for online platforms to creating global brand concepts.

Key Benefits
Overcome information clutter with strong brands
Gain clear definition of branding and positioning in M&E
Learn to manage and optimize brand systems
Work with the world’s premier marketing faculty

Check it out: http://www.instme.org/branding.html