Transmedia and the Evolution of Storytelling

Still of Bela Lugosi in Dracula

A few days ago I came across a podcast by Hollywood 2.0 called The Future of Storytelling.  The topic was “Transmedia.”  I’d never heard that term before.  Initially the word made me think of Transylvania and blood-sucking vampires.  From there my mind connected thought to the awful trend of producing brain cell-killing films that numb the senses and suck life out of an audience (funny how both relate very closely).  And so, naturally, my first gut feeling was not a positive one.  Still, I was curious.  After learning more, I can now recall seeing it around.  But you don’t know what to look for until you learn there is something worth looking for.

Amanda Lin Cost, writer for PBS.org describes Transmedia as a tool for telling stories across multiple platforms. The same story will share elements of its core across outlets like movies, apps, and gaming.  Different yet distinct parts of, say, a film are designed to engage fans on a more dynamic level. All points of the process purpose unique story contributions to stand on their own.  An application of the methodology might include producing a video game of the story, creating Webisodes of character spin offs, or generating a comic book of unanswered questions directed by fans.  Transmedia has the power to extend a film’s deep back-story and characters beyond traditional, singular exhibitions. 

Innovent’s CEO, Antonio Kaplan says their operations of this practice began before the process even had a name. He says the experience for customers is like looking through a “three-sided prism.”  Amanda Lin Cost describes the method as “breaking down the fourth wall,” and Henry Jenkins of Fast Company says Transmedia “allows gifted storytellers to expand their canvas and share more of their vision with their most dedicated fans.”  Transmedia Marketing Café compares what marketing was, and presently is, to what marketing could become through Transmedia as the difference between, “interruption to integration, from “sponsor” to “story contributor” and from a disconnected purchase path to instant commerce.” It’s important to note that Transmedia isn’t applicable to all films and forms of entertainment, but, in many cases, its relevancy is obvious. However, as the cliché goes, it’s hard to describe the taste of salt to someone who’s never had salt before.  For many, a salt-less meal is quite simply, bland.  Without Transmedia, some audiences could be deprived the pleasure of a savory viewing experience.  Translating a story into various forms of media has the power to fill that common dissatisfaction.

Collaborative Transmedia Storytelling

Summer Anderson is a up-and-coming graduate of Full Sail University's Entertainment Business Master's Program.  Her 10 years of multimedia experience provides a foundation to examine the interrelation between all forms of media while looking through the lens, specifically, of cinema.

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

Recently I’ve come across some interesting developments in the industry.  For one, Stacey Parks of Film Specific noted from her travels around Europe that many investors say they are having a hard time finding the ‘right’ projects to invest in. Her report further indicates that, “there’s more money than we know what to do with floating around out there looking to finance ‘Hollywood Independents.’  Quite a differing perspective from the myth that funds are scarce and thinly spread across the ever-increasing numbers of “in development” films.    The problem lies not with funds availability, but in successfully securing them.  The apparent problem I’ve, and many others have observed, is that filmmakers do not treat their projects as a business nor do they conduct themselves in a business-like manner.  I’ve said this in previous posts: your film is a product that needs to be positioned as an object to monetize.  The investors and financiers you are looking for have money, but they do not cater to panhandlers looking for a handout.  I want to apologize for my bluntness, but I won’t.  There is really no excuse for not finding money to “get the job done.”

Even without investors and bank lending (which is next to impossible, given the historically low or non-existent return on investment), indie filmmakers have plenty of options for generating their own funds: IndieGoGo, Kickstarter, and other Crowd Funding platforms.  This is no big secret.  All it takes is a seriously positioned campaign worth paying attention to.  With passion and determination, this can be achieved by anyone.  Even still, there are always new options in development.  Let’s say you create a teaser to use as advertisement on Vimeo.  Well now Vimeo has the option of using something call the Tip Jar.  Here viewers can show their appreciation and support for a video by contributing tips towards whatever objective the filmmaker has. I see this as another useful tool in campaigning for feature length financing.  And after the film is completed, Vimeo now, as Kyle Rupprecht of MovieMaker.com writes,  “enable(s) aspiring moviemakers to earn money from the films and videos they share on Vimeo.” through another new feature called Pay-to-View.  This is on Vimeo.

“Hear ye, Hear ye! 

The courts are now closed to griping!”  

Lessons Learned: The Creative Entrepreneur

IMDb: Lone Ranger (1957)

Over the past 11 or so months, I’ve been studying entertainment business through a degree program hosted by Full Sail University.  Surprisingly, my business approach took a shape vastly different from what I started with.  As it is with creativity, inspiration very rarely reflects in exactness.  Instead, it often manifests in better form.  What I’ve learned is that there is tremendous creativity involved in conceptualizing, articulating and creating a strong and solid foundation for a business.  As a creative, I’ve had to seek out various types of professionals for help in wrapping my head around a foreign subject.  Some were related to the entertainment industry, but many were not.  Business is the same whether you’re creating a manufacturing company that produces hot and spicy widgets or planning for world domination through filmmaking.  Even though it’s been a feat of great difficulty to force my right brain into compliance, I know learning “the business end of the rifle” is monumentally important to making a living making art.

In my last blog post I quoted a few professionals that have helped me better understand the relevance of learning business and how to effectively make it happen.  From Jim Cones I learned the difference between a Producer’s Package and a Business Plan.  The Film Method broke down the business of film into terms a creative person could understand.  Michael Berger has created a phenomenal business-coaching platform around his book, The E-Myth.  No matter the professional, they have all opened my eyes to how much I do not know.  But that’s okay.  Some of the most important keys to selling oneself and one’s business are, as Jayson Whitmore, co-owner of the design and media production company Royale says, humility and the willingness to learn.  I’ve always said that once a person becomes prideful they stop learning, growing and progressing.  A forward-thinking entrepreneur can’t afford stifling due to arrogance.  Some may make considerable strides, but I wonder just how much more they could’ve gained or grown without succumbing to pride?

One of the most important things I’ve learned from studying business and industry leaders is, as I’ve stated above, the fact that business building can be a very creative process.  Jennifer Lee wrote for Ladies Who Launch saying, “Your artistic gifts can actually help you find fresh solutions to your business challenges and enable your ventures to grow in ways you would’ve never dreamed possible.” She goes onto list “10 Tips for the Creative Entrepreneur,” encouraging ‘creatives’ not to compartmentalize their attributes but to fully embrace and apply them to every aspect of the business creation process. Tom James of Escape From Illustration Island says running a smart business will give an artist “more clarity and freedom to create your next masterpiece.”  Inevitably the dependability trait uncommonly possessed by artists will blossom.  Clients will gain confidence and repay in kind.  Consequently, commitment to these principles has the potential to incite a variation to the world’s eighth wonder: compound interest through referrals. Repeat business produces profits, which results in achieving the goal we all have in mind: to make a living making art.

Film as a Business: The Business of Film

You’ll hear freshly hatched film students and budding filmmakers say their creation is out of love for the work.  But many would, at best, like to make a living at it.  Still, few view filmmaking as the monetization of a high-demand commodity.  I say high-demand because of the proliferation of Video On Demand and other streaming channels.   The increasing numbers alone indicate a growing desire and/or need for fresh cinema.  Cinema is the number one export in the United States, and now with Federal recognition as a viable business entity, a filmmaker can and should approach the long-term track of their work with more precision and direction.  But it’s less about planning the route of their commodity than the importance of managing a ‘corporate structure’ surrounding the commodity.  Focusing solely on the object leads to, what Michael E. Gerber says in The E-Myth Revisited, an Entrepreneurial Seizure.  He continues in saying even though a product may be phenomenal and, in the context of movies, a beautiful example of cinematic expertise, weak support structures will burrow the product into obscurity.  “Indeed, the problem is not that the owners of small businesses in this country don’t work; the problem is that they’re doing the wrong work.  As a result, most of their businesses end up in chaos – unmanageable, unpredictable, and unrewarding.” Louise Levison, author of Filmmaker’s & Financing: Business Plans for Independents says, “many filmmakers lose interest when they realize that writing a business plan takes work.  The impulse is to think, ‘I have a good script, just give me the money.’”  But doesn’t work like that anymore.

In film production, the business plan is an extension and articulation of the producer’s package, while the producer’s package itself is primarily used to seek for distribution and industry support.  Many experts believe creating business plans around a film attracts not only serious investors, but also, as John Cones writes, may useful in “identifying founding shareholders for the initial corporation.” A successfully positioned film will lead to greater monetization, thus creating momentum towards the making of another film.  Isn’t this the goal independent filmmakers have in mind?  Then forward-thinking ambition is required.

Business owners turned investors will view incorporated films with business plans as focused and professional.  Investors will appreciate the respect this extends, and will respect the forethought of a filmmaker as well. “Your business plan is your first impression,” says Cindy Freeman of the Film Method.  “Make sure it reflects you, your project, your passion and your professionalism.” It’s a paradigm shift for filmmakers, I know.  But if you think about it, incorporating a film as an LCC (or other) makes sense for many reasons.  The film becomes an entity entitled to legal protection; crew positioned as employees or individual contractors will increase validity; and doing so will help a film acquire clout and reputation beneficial to the marketing of the film.  The moviemaking climate in the industry has progressed in ways very different from the past.  Independent filmmakers are more empowered with control over their work, and therefore their future.  For indie filmmakers, the industry is ripe for harvesting.  Make sure the seeds of your “small business film” are planted well.

 

                                Scott DuPont: How to Create a Business Plan for Filmmaking

Specific business plan resources for filmmakers:

John W. Cones: How Filmmakers Can Avoid the Business Plan Scam

Louise Levison: Business Strategies blog

Jason Brubaker: Filmmaking As Your Small Business