How well is a single narrative able to be understood across media at the end of the spectrum?
Innovative storytelling concepts have been the foreground of content management within marketing since the beginning of time, continuing to grow as our thirst for new technology and reliance on social media stems the narratives shared amongst the public. However, why is the story-telling such an important part of our growing industries?
It is due to the psychological effects stories have on us. Narratives that are authentic, evoke emotion and are of general interest to the reader are the stories that will stay with us. Whilst the audience type will distinguish to what extent these narratives travel, this is known as transmedia storytelling.
Transmedia-storytelling is a term formulated by Henry Jenkins that explains story-telling to be a ‘representative of a process in which integral elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment experience. Ideally, each medium makes it own unique contribution to the unfolding of the story’ (Henry Jenkins, 2007). The key aspect to this definition being the last sentence, as it separates the distinct differences between transmedia storytelling and cross-media. ‘So, for example, in The Matrix franchise, key bits of information are conveyed through three live action films, a series of animated shorts, two collections of comic book stories, and several video games. There is no one single source or text where one can turn to gain all of the information needed to comprehend the Matrix universe’ (Henry Jenkins, 2007). Portraying a leverage through multiple media platforms as Jenkin’s had pictured in his book, Convergence Culture (2006) ‘with each new text making a distinctive and valuable contribution to the whole ... a story might be introduced in a film, expanded through television, novels, and comics; its world might be explored through game play or experienced as an amusement park attraction’, different stories being added to the Matrix universe for the audience to either spectate, share or contribute to. Therefore, Transmedia creators offer their audience a narrative but with the intention of that same audience to take possession of this fictional world and develop it (almost) independently. As a result, coming to the conclusion of the two different ‘synergic natures’ (Gianluca Fiorelli, 2015) that co- exist in transmedia story-telling: the canon version and the fandom version.
The canon nature presents ‘official content, a deep marketing strategy with almost every kind of marketing professional collaborating in its production, and which has profit as its main objective’ (Gianluca Fiorelli, 2015) , whereas the fandom ‘nature, which consists of UGC, uses indie channels, it’s prone to crowdsourced spin-offs and which purpose is pleasure’ (Gianluca Fiorelli, 2015).
Through core principles, Henry Jenkins has been able to distinguish a process of transmedia story-telling that require the production of content through audience participation and engagement via various mediums.
The first principle is described to be spreadability vs drillability. Spreadability is explained to be the ability of the engagement the public actively seeks with media content by means of social media, resulting in the value and worth of the whole work to increase. For example, Sam Shepherd (2015) in the Matrix it created this ‘desire for committed consumers to track down information and easter eggs hidden throughout multiple media, gaining further insights into the world. The audience can then drill deeper into the work gaining a richer experience. By then sharing what they have found allows a greater collective understanding of the overall narrative’.
The second principle explains continuity vs multiplicity in the discipline of a medium being connected to various other elements all the whilst remining in narrative synchronization. So, whilst Sam Shepherd (2015) ‘numerous other stories branch off in their own direction, every branch always relates back to the original content. The content of each branch holds its own narrative but is self-contained, so an audience could view each separately, or in any order but the overall narrative still
exists within a defined timeline’. Henry Jenkins follows through to explain in his books that stories are ‘basic to all human cultures, the primary means by which we structure, share, and make sense of our common experiences. Rather, we are seeing the emergence of new story structures, which create complexity by expanding the range of narrative possibility rather than pursuing a single path with a beginning, middle and end’ (2006). Thus, furthering our basic understanding of what we are already aware of within this open world narrative through different viewports, whilst contributing from each separate medium.
The third principle ‘Immersion vs Extractability’, is a “all in” kind of attitude, in the sense that a passive audience cannot fully acknowledge the extent of the narrative until they immerse themselves into the variety of different mediums available to get a better understanding of specific points of one story. For example, whilst Jack and Rose were fictional characters to the James Cameron 1997 version of Titanic, in the real events they were 2 among the thousands of tragic souls that died that day. However, because of the media’s portrayal of both these characters lives, it delved into the audiences emotions. Seeing first-hand how individual’s survived or died during such a tragic event, immersing us as the audience to be a part of something which we had no experience in whatsoever.
The fourth principle ‘World Building’ is the most important principle as transmedia directors are seen as the architects described in inception “create and perceive simultaneously that our mind doesn’t even know it’s happening,” non-fiction or fiction. For example, the Blair Witch Project was one of the most successful mediums noted down in history for its marketing and till to this day the audience is left un-certain about what was real or not? So this world-building phenomenon could have been consumed through the movie alone but to ensure the audience had the full experience of the ‘world’ itself. The directors released snippets through the web and many other platforms to convey various stories from different aspects, ‘supplementing the narrative and contributing new understanding from each additional medium’(Neil Davidson, 2013).
The fifth principle known as seriality, and subjectivity is implying the referencing of what we have come to know as “easter eggs.” Since transmedia is dispersed in a serial manner that is hypertextual rather than consecutive we are given the understanding that for instance in the final fantasy 15 gameplay, the character are seen to be continuously discussing the events of Kingsglaive. Had the viewer not seen the additional events within the separate movie they would not have had the same depth of understanding as those who had.
The sixth principle, “performance” underlines the role of fans of a certain medium taking the reins with the permission of the directors to add their own contributions. Sam Shephard (2015) ‘Since some audience members can never be just satisfied with only the official works form the original creators and instead take it upon themselves to find opportunities for potential performances’. These contributions have led to the creation of fan-fiction, illustrations, artworks, videos and even cosplay.
Most often, transmedia narratives are not solely focussed on individual characters or distinct plots but rather complex fictional worlds which can sustain multiple interrelated characters and their stories. A domain that ‘encourages an encyclopaedic impulse in both readers and writers’ (Henry Jenkins, 2007). As we are intrigued by the idea of having control over what can be known about a world which is continuing to expand beyond our grasp. A different pleasure that allows closure from the more mundane narratives known through cross-media, ‘where we are expected to leave the theatre knowing everything that is required to make sense of a particular story’ (Henry Jenkins, 2007).
However, Young and Daniel (2016) ‘the implication of Jenkin’s definition of transmedia storytelling is that the different components of a fictional story are delivered to target audiences through different media outlets, so that an audience must go beyond just one media channel in order to obtain all the components of an unfolding story”. Furthermore, different researchers have come to conclusion that Henry Jenkin’s definition does not factor in the fact that, Young and Daniel (2016) ‘as a story unfolds through different delivery channels the audience may not get the whole experience of the story because of
the inaccessibility of the channels of which they are not aware are in existence’. As a result, relaying that the understanding is not due to intention but rather the lack of access and advertisement of such extra narratives relating to the medium itself. Overall, when it comes to understanding the medium “world” of the spectrum since it is hard to define what is transmedia and what isn’t. ‘At one of the spectrum is strict adaption; translating one medium into another: a book becomes a film, a comic that becomes a video game’(Andy Merkin, 2014). Basing this side of the spectrum on the understanding similar to a cross-media narrative spread. Whilst, ‘at the other end of the spectrum would be pure transmedia: the book ends at the exact moment that the film begins, a comic showing the origin of a hero at the exact moment that the film begins, a comic showing the origin of a hero featuring in a game’ (Andy Merkin, 2014).
It is due to the psychological effects stories have on us. Narratives that are authentic, evoke emotion and are of general interest to the reader are the stories that will stay with us. Whilst the audience type will distinguish to what extent these narratives travel, this is known as transmedia storytelling.
Transmedia-storytelling is a term formulated by Henry Jenkins that explains story-telling to be a ‘representative of a process in which integral elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment experience. Ideally, each medium makes it own unique contribution to the unfolding of the story’ (Henry Jenkins, 2007). The key aspect to this definition being the last sentence, as it separates the distinct differences between transmedia storytelling and cross-media. ‘So, for example, in The Matrix franchise, key bits of information are conveyed through three live action films, a series of animated shorts, two collections of comic book stories, and several video games. There is no one single source or text where one can turn to gain all of the information needed to comprehend the Matrix universe’ (Henry Jenkins, 2007). Portraying a leverage through multiple media platforms as Jenkin’s had pictured in his book, Convergence Culture (2006) ‘with each new text making a distinctive and valuable contribution to the whole ... a story might be introduced in a film, expanded through television, novels, and comics; its world might be explored through game play or experienced as an amusement park attraction’, different stories being added to the Matrix universe for the audience to either spectate, share or contribute to. Therefore, Transmedia creators offer their audience a narrative but with the intention of that same audience to take possession of this fictional world and develop it (almost) independently. As a result, coming to the conclusion of the two different ‘synergic natures’ (Gianluca Fiorelli, 2015) that co- exist in transmedia story-telling: the canon version and the fandom version.
The canon nature presents ‘official content, a deep marketing strategy with almost every kind of marketing professional collaborating in its production, and which has profit as its main objective’ (Gianluca Fiorelli, 2015) , whereas the fandom ‘nature, which consists of UGC, uses indie channels, it’s prone to crowdsourced spin-offs and which purpose is pleasure’ (Gianluca Fiorelli, 2015).
Through core principles, Henry Jenkins has been able to distinguish a process of transmedia story-telling that require the production of content through audience participation and engagement via various mediums.
The first principle is described to be spreadability vs drillability. Spreadability is explained to be the ability of the engagement the public actively seeks with media content by means of social media, resulting in the value and worth of the whole work to increase. For example, Sam Shepherd (2015) in the Matrix it created this ‘desire for committed consumers to track down information and easter eggs hidden throughout multiple media, gaining further insights into the world. The audience can then drill deeper into the work gaining a richer experience. By then sharing what they have found allows a greater collective understanding of the overall narrative’.
The second principle explains continuity vs multiplicity in the discipline of a medium being connected to various other elements all the whilst remining in narrative synchronization. So, whilst Sam Shepherd (2015) ‘numerous other stories branch off in their own direction, every branch always relates back to the original content. The content of each branch holds its own narrative but is self-contained, so an audience could view each separately, or in any order but the overall narrative still
exists within a defined timeline’. Henry Jenkins follows through to explain in his books that stories are ‘basic to all human cultures, the primary means by which we structure, share, and make sense of our common experiences. Rather, we are seeing the emergence of new story structures, which create complexity by expanding the range of narrative possibility rather than pursuing a single path with a beginning, middle and end’ (2006). Thus, furthering our basic understanding of what we are already aware of within this open world narrative through different viewports, whilst contributing from each separate medium.
The third principle ‘Immersion vs Extractability’, is a “all in” kind of attitude, in the sense that a passive audience cannot fully acknowledge the extent of the narrative until they immerse themselves into the variety of different mediums available to get a better understanding of specific points of one story. For example, whilst Jack and Rose were fictional characters to the James Cameron 1997 version of Titanic, in the real events they were 2 among the thousands of tragic souls that died that day. However, because of the media’s portrayal of both these characters lives, it delved into the audiences emotions. Seeing first-hand how individual’s survived or died during such a tragic event, immersing us as the audience to be a part of something which we had no experience in whatsoever.
The fourth principle ‘World Building’ is the most important principle as transmedia directors are seen as the architects described in inception “create and perceive simultaneously that our mind doesn’t even know it’s happening,” non-fiction or fiction. For example, the Blair Witch Project was one of the most successful mediums noted down in history for its marketing and till to this day the audience is left un-certain about what was real or not? So this world-building phenomenon could have been consumed through the movie alone but to ensure the audience had the full experience of the ‘world’ itself. The directors released snippets through the web and many other platforms to convey various stories from different aspects, ‘supplementing the narrative and contributing new understanding from each additional medium’(Neil Davidson, 2013).
The fifth principle known as seriality, and subjectivity is implying the referencing of what we have come to know as “easter eggs.” Since transmedia is dispersed in a serial manner that is hypertextual rather than consecutive we are given the understanding that for instance in the final fantasy 15 gameplay, the character are seen to be continuously discussing the events of Kingsglaive. Had the viewer not seen the additional events within the separate movie they would not have had the same depth of understanding as those who had.
The sixth principle, “performance” underlines the role of fans of a certain medium taking the reins with the permission of the directors to add their own contributions. Sam Shephard (2015) ‘Since some audience members can never be just satisfied with only the official works form the original creators and instead take it upon themselves to find opportunities for potential performances’. These contributions have led to the creation of fan-fiction, illustrations, artworks, videos and even cosplay.
Most often, transmedia narratives are not solely focussed on individual characters or distinct plots but rather complex fictional worlds which can sustain multiple interrelated characters and their stories. A domain that ‘encourages an encyclopaedic impulse in both readers and writers’ (Henry Jenkins, 2007). As we are intrigued by the idea of having control over what can be known about a world which is continuing to expand beyond our grasp. A different pleasure that allows closure from the more mundane narratives known through cross-media, ‘where we are expected to leave the theatre knowing everything that is required to make sense of a particular story’ (Henry Jenkins, 2007).
However, Young and Daniel (2016) ‘the implication of Jenkin’s definition of transmedia storytelling is that the different components of a fictional story are delivered to target audiences through different media outlets, so that an audience must go beyond just one media channel in order to obtain all the components of an unfolding story”. Furthermore, different researchers have come to conclusion that Henry Jenkin’s definition does not factor in the fact that, Young and Daniel (2016) ‘as a story unfolds through different delivery channels the audience may not get the whole experience of the story because of
the inaccessibility of the channels of which they are not aware are in existence’. As a result, relaying that the understanding is not due to intention but rather the lack of access and advertisement of such extra narratives relating to the medium itself. Overall, when it comes to understanding the medium “world” of the spectrum since it is hard to define what is transmedia and what isn’t. ‘At one of the spectrum is strict adaption; translating one medium into another: a book becomes a film, a comic that becomes a video game’(Andy Merkin, 2014). Basing this side of the spectrum on the understanding similar to a cross-media narrative spread. Whilst, ‘at the other end of the spectrum would be pure transmedia: the book ends at the exact moment that the film begins, a comic showing the origin of a hero at the exact moment that the film begins, a comic showing the origin of a hero featuring in a game’ (Andy Merkin, 2014).
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