I made the mistake of powering through all of the reading and the videos and now find myself swimming in the deep end of the thought pool.
First, the videos and article on Scribe video and Precious Places. As a videographer I was incredibly inspired by this initiative. When we discuss transmedia and the impact any form of media can have on us or our culture, several things come to mind. How do we participate and engage in the various forms of media. This project put the pen in the hands of everyday people to encourage and help them write their own history. The people working on each project are not only the creative directors, producers and editors – they are the participants and audience as well. This is truly empowering and brings a unique perspective to the story rather than a documentary filmmaker inserting into an environment they aren’t normally a part of. I enjoyed how the article acknowledged some of the hurdles both the producers and the facilitators such as the aesthetics and quality of the film or the dwindling support leaving the final production to possibly one person, who inevitably could totally shift the direction of the story based on personal preference. I’m curious if anyone has thought about how an organization such as Scribe manages to harness such a complex project with so many variables. Does anyone have insight and are there any programs similar in Portland?
I really enjoyed the panel discussion on the transmedia hangout. I will admit that until this discussion, I still felt a bit like I was barely scratching at what transmedia is versus all the other terminology out there. I especially enjoyed the portion on how to reach different audiences as well as how extensive a story can be and cross over to other platforms.
One of my favorite shows has done fairly well at moving throughout several media and, in a weird way, impacts some areas of our society. Far from the educational documentaries is AMC’s The Walking Dead. This show actually started as a graphic novel. The writers were influenced by filmmaker George A. Romero. It’s interesting to me to trace this show’s impact and where it pops up in our media. If we start with Night of the Living Dead (1968) then move to the release of the comic The Walking Dead (2003) we can continue with AMC’s television version also titled The Walking Dead (2010). From this TV show comes video games, webisodes to tell side-bar stories, blogs/Facebook fan pages/Twitter accounts, advertising commercials etc., and ultimately a growing popularity that has delivered a successful year for zombies. Bear with me for the cultural/social change piece of this. Through this undead craze, the Centers for Disease Control has adopted the zombie theme to raise awareness for preparedness – more for floods and hurricanes. Oddly enough, the large viewership and online following has also started creating live hangout sessions and “run for your life” themed races. People are socializing, exercising and in some cases better prepared for disaster. This theme has crossed over from film to television, social media and government programs.
Ultimately I think the amazing point to this all is how current technology and communication has allowed us to move from simply digesting media to engaging and participating in it. I’m just waiting for the “choose your own adventure” film where a movie has multiple versions and movie goers vote at pivotal moments on the outcome and the majority wins. Done right, no two versions would be seen by the same person. That’s my challenge to James Cameron.
Kevin,
I love the idea of the choose your own movie ending! Voting would be super interesting…Luckily this form of entertainment already exists in the gaming world. Heavy Rain is one of many – a murder mystery in which you interact, playing different characters, (including the murderer) with the outcome based on which decisions you make at critical points in the story. It was lots of fun, and absolutely fascinating. It was especially fun to discuss with friends who had always played it afterwards and see if their ending results were different. I have no doubt it could eventually be part of the film world also.
The zombie phase is an interesting cross-culture phenomenon. I know earlier this spring when I was working as a radio reporter, we had news that the annual disaster drill was being named as the “U.F.O. and Zombie Invasion Drill,” simply because it was a fun title that would make the hours of volunteering more bearable and fun for disaster volunteers. You would not believe the local uproar…People were calling it a government conspiracy, there was panic, and I did a story on it letting everyone know, hey! This is just a title! It’s just for fun, everyone! And there are plenty of other ways it can translate to a positive engagement for a community. In Moscow, Idaho, our annual Zombie Walk encourages participants to dress up as zombies and collect food for the food bank around Halloween. It’s always super successful and fun for the entire community. I guess there is a lesson to be learned in how you present the information to the public. You have to make sure everyone is on the same page with what’s going on.
No one has yet mentioned The Power Inside movie. Mustache aliens (although I think they more closely resemble zombies) are attacking innocent people! Toshiba and Intel put it together, so I guess it is more of a marketing piece, but it’s a social film where audience members influenced episodes. Google says it’s their third social film. I hadn’t heard of the previous ones, and only stumbled across this one on the Internet; I clicked on the link when I saw it simply because my brother is obsessed with defining the term “hipster” and mustaches feature prominently in his definition.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOgELa5nCKA
So, is that transmedia since the audience is so engaged?
Does that mean choose-your-own-adventure novels are like early transmedia…?
I had no idea that the CDC has a zombie themed preparedness campaign. What a current and fun way to engage the general public on a topic that most people dismiss until its too late. Honestly, I’m still trying to grasp the overall concept of what transmedia truly means. But, it seems to me the zombie movement you write about is a perfect example.
Allow me to put on my “God Am I Old” hat… It’s not exactly high-tech, vote-for-your-own-ending, but Clue (1985) became a movie based on the board game. (An example of transmedia before the Internet, perhaps?) The movie also had three different endings with three different killers (Ms. Scarlet, Mrs. Peacock and Col. Mustard, I believe).
Anyway, on the DVD viewers get to see all three different endings. But when the movie was released in theaters, each theater got a reel with only one ending, but each reel’s ending was different. Reels were distributed so that all three versions were available at different theatres within a single market. So movie goers who wanted to see all three endings had to go to three different theaters and sit through the movie three different times. It wasn’t interactive – we didn’t do that back then – but it was novel and sparked a lot of media discussion.
Kevin,
I know of a non-profit media center in Gresham, which is a town 25 minutes east of Portland. MetroEast Community Media provides classes and equipment for anyone in the community at very affordable rates. They even let you use their studio for editing and public broadcast. It is really nice to have such a valuable resource available for the schools, students, and community.
A few years ago, I found out that here in Portland, there is a zombie walk like Lauren mentioned that they have in Moscow, Idaho. This year it’s on October 12. I haven’t seen it myself, but judging from the photos that one of my students took, it looks like quite a production. I definitely need to check it out this year.
It seems like all pop culture phenomena are transmedia endeavors these days. You bring up The Walking Dead, but lets not also forget that although Breaking Bad started out as just a TV show it grew into, what I thought to be, the Breaking Bad story sync for the final season. With the story sync you would long on and as the show progressed in real time the website would update with call backs to previous seasons and random trivia throughout the episodes, a very interesting concept.
Kevin, great thoughts and reflections — Scribe definitely is an inspiring organization and idea. In terms of local organizations that do similar things, KBOO community radio (www.kboo.fm/) and Portland Community Media (www.pcmtv.org/), the cable access channel have trainings and equipment that encourages people to use in community oriented histories and profiles. Definitely worth some investigating.
Q: What do vegan zombies eat?
A: Grrraaaiiinns
Keep riding the waves of thought, Kevin! Your engagement with the complexities of transmedia and your imaginative ideas contribute significantly to the ongoing dialogue in this dynamic field. Here’s to more deep dives and creative explorations! 🚀📽️
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