Readying the Transmedia Pitch

By Kellie Ann Benz

If you’re anything like me you’re damn sick and tired of hearing all this ‘wave of the future’ hoopla about transmedia.  At first glance it seems like just a make work project for the nerds of digital who want in on our sexy TV and film projects. 

Hold. The. iPhone.

Last year in the UK, a film called Rage, written and directed by Sally Potter (Orlando), inched into the world via iphones and ipods. And it did so daily, for seven days – short film by short film, the plot was revealed as a fashion world whodunit, filmed by an unseen character shooting on his iphone. The conclusion premiered as a complete movie at London’s British Film Institute, online at Babelgum and broadcast by Justin.tv. At the same moment, it became available on DVD.

Rage not only set the tone for this new wave of film distribution, but it made transmedia sexy. Holla nerds!
Unlike transmedia’s predecessors – ‘cross platform’ or the archaic ‘Multi-Media’ – transmedia is actually a whole new world of storytelling. 

So, how does a screenwriter pitch a transmedia project? By opening your mind to the possibilities of the universe you’re creating.

Transmedia is not your typical novel to movie to series process: it is a single universe explored across a variety of platforms. If you’re paying attention to the funding agencies these days, you’re noticing this matters to them. The newly formed  Canada Media Fund for instance is making content on other platforms part of the deal. Now, when you come at them with your series idea, they’ll be looking for the ways you are taking it digital too – engaging web sites, web series, computer games, alternative reality games, social media sites, blogging, geo caching, whatever!

And that’s just the main convergent stream – the experimental stream wants you to push even farther, pitching projects with “leading edge characteristics” involving “interactive content and software applications created for the internet, wireless, mobile and emerging platforms or devices.” It might all sound scary, but the truth is it means more content in more places, and since you’re the kings (and queens) of content, your realm of rule just went imperial (but in a good way).

So, is there a secret life a character can vlog about? Can an Alternative Reality Game (ARG) twist a mystery deeper (ala find815.com)? Will webisodes reveal a different take on the story?  

Transmedia lives and dies by ‘story gaps’ which are not to be mistaken for plot holes.  Story gaps propel audience from platform to platform.  In a way, you’re gifting your ardent fans with a clue towards each platform in order to fully understand a character’s actions or relationships.

For the complete article, please see the print version of Canadian Screenwriter