The features of transmedia storytelling

Let me summarize the characteristics of transmedia storytelling that we touched upon in the previous lecture. The first is a concept we call multi-platforming. This means that a story created in one media can eventually be developed across multiple platforms, one of Jenkins’ key propositions regarding transmedia storytelling. Multi-platforming leads to the development of individual story suited for each platform. A contrast to transmedia content is cross-media content of an elementary form, which occurs when a pre-existing story is simply transferred over to another medium. In other words, it’s when a story goes is presented in a literary form and that same story is adapted to a film form. This kind of crossing has a long history.

A comedy genre, for example, could be altered and become opera, or a novel might become a film or a TV series. This is where transmedia first began. As this process moved forward, the storytelling aspect of the original content was preserved as much as possible, similar to that of the OSMU model. In the early stages the phrase “cross-media content” was used to describe this. This is not largely different from transmedia content, but the biggest difference would be how much of the original story is preserved. Cross-media storytelling is about preserving the original story when transferring it to another a medium, while transmedia storytelling is based on multi-platforming from the start.

In one core story, both a character and a worldview exist, but the story was designed from the beginning to be developed into something independent and to be specialized for an independent platform. The second trait of transmedia storytelling is the complexity of the narrative world. Narratives are developed in each platform separately; stories of equal significance are developed simultaneously. This process creates a worldview, influencing all the stories that happen in that world. The individual stories in question are created through different platforms, producing a giant worldview, leading to a narrative that can sometimes be dramatized, or made into a parody. The subplots themselves can expand and become the main plot, all happening simultaneously in the narrative world.

The third is the experience where active consumer engagement takes place. In the past, the notion of “make” would be categorized alongside creation, completion, consumption, and appreciation, but now transmedia storytelling is about completing work and then moving on to the stage of experience, breaking away from a set boundary. The right way to explain this would be that transmedia media content is delivered, and then it is experienced through audience participation and interaction, leading to completion. Transmedia content are not delivered in a complete form, but in a form that leads to completion. When consuming transmedia contents, consumers interpret and add to them through an interaction to contribute to the completion of the content.

They even have an impact, which means consumers also play the role of creator. This is what sets transmedia storytelling apart. Last but not least, is creating a commercial fandom. We have seen in the past that characters from a single narrative or a certain incident or setting will sometimes become commercial, giving birth to celebrities and fandom. This process is seen more often in characters. When a character becomes a commercial and essential part of a narrative, they are often able to remain hugely popular even when the content changes. That actor has an impact on the content that follows, which was the focus of fandom culture in the past. But the notion of commercial fandom is quite different in the present?

the story or the storytelling itself takes up an essential part of fandom. Fandom is created based on the story, the community, and the worldview within that world, assembled when people bond with these concepts and then expand and develop them further. The characters come next, and it can then focus on a celebrity, a story or the setting. This leads to the simultaneous creation of various brands, meaning that when certain content produced using transmedia storytelling inspires fandom, the result becomes more commercially powerful than any other content. This is the primary reason for growing interest in transmedia storytelling. The difference of the creator is that the story is told from the narrative world or their experience.

In terms of marketing and business, the traits associated with transmedia storytelling are attractive for their potential for eventual commercialization and fandom creation. Infinite products can be derive from transmedia content, and instead of ending as a short-term trend it can expand on its own as part of the larger transmedia brand.