This is the final week of the Transmedia storytelling course I enrolled in on Coursera 6 weeks prior. I’m relieved that I’m at the end of the course. I feel proud to have stuck to it and somehow managed to complete all the weekly assignments, even over the Easter break.
I decided to enrol in the course to help me to become an enchantress (see my week 7 notes) AKA a better storyteller. I didn’t know what I was expecting to learn from the course going into it and now I’m so grateful I took it.
So what’s transmedia storytelling?
I like how Hal Hefner put it in one of the course videos:
It is storytelling that has no boundaries.
I love that.
It’s telling a story that goes across channels and platforms and engages with audiences on different levels. It offers opportunities for audiences to actively participate in the story.
A great example would be the Marvel series. I’ve been watching all the avenger movies in order with my partner Sven and his boys. They are so good. Side note: I realised when I was watching these movies in cinemas before (with often a year gap in between releases), I often miss out on a lot of references in the movies that would tie in with the movies prior (No thanks to my horrible memory). It’s all so clear now watching them back to back.
Ok back to our topic. Marvel didn’t start off with movies, but comics (since over 80 years ago!). From those pages, a story world started to form which eventually led to tv series, movies, games, merchandises (like this strange Marvel Legends Deadpool’s Interactive Head), and theme parks which we’re familiar with today. The other day the boys opened a kinder’s surprise egg with a Marvel character figurines in them. No one can escape their reach. The story world of the Marvel universe is continuing to expand. It’s not about telling the same story across different platforms, but rather building on existing stories, enriching the story universe. We keep learning more and more about each character as new shows and movies come out. There’s no end in sight. Who can predict where Marvel will go next? What we do know is that there’ll be a lot of cool characters, great action, tons of humour, and cameo appearances of Stan Lee.
We know we can expect some great stories.
We started watching the Marvel series: Wanda and Vision, and 3 episodes in now, I find it quite strange and not clear where the story is going or how it’s all fitting together. Leo, who’s turning 11 in a week, is weirded out by it. But not so much that he’d stop. Since taking the transmedia storytelling course, I’ve been more fascinated by how stories are being told, how mysteries get unravelled, leading to ‘a-ha’ moments. All to get the audiences on their toes and captivated. It’s super interesting. I want to learn more.
Through this transmedia course, I started to look at storytelling in a new way. Before I thought there was always one best way to tell a story. That stories across platforms are just the same story told in the same way. Now I know I was quite naive.
I’ve learned that in order to tell a good story, in this case, a good transmedia story, there are 4 key things to consider:
- What’s the main message and the story world that I want to build?
What makes it worth sharing? Is it to educate? Delight? Shock? Inform? There’s always a purpose. The story should follow this all the way through. - Who are the audiences I’m trying to reach? They’re never everyone.
The way I’ve done storytelling thus far has been akin to using a loudspeaker. It’s a one-way street shouting to anyone within its range. I hardly thought about how the person on the receiving end might respond. - What is the user experience like? How can the story sustain the attention of the audience and keep them engaged or be a part of that story? This focus on the needs of the audience at the centre of the story is my day job. I was surprised to learn how closely linked my career in user experience is to transmedia storytelling. Feels like it’s all connecting now.
- How can different technologies and platforms be utilised to immerse audiences in the story? There are no rules here. Any tech can be used as a medium to tell a story. This means as technology continues to develop, expand, and accelerate, so will the ways stories can be told and enriched.
I must admit, before taking the course. I’ve only really thought about the first point. Thinking about the other points over the past few weeks gave me a new appreciation for storytelling and the infinite potential in the ways stories can be told and experienced.
Throughout the course, we had to complete 4 assignments. Each assignment focused on one of the above points which makes up the transmedia storytelling strategy. Together the elements would form a larger, comprehensive story world and audience interaction.
Here is where I’d tell you about the story I worked on throughout the course and how I continued to develop it. But this article is already long enough. And a bit of suspense can’t hurt. Hint: The story was inspired by a recent project I’ve done with NHS England.
Stay tuned… :)
