BA4 - Creating Coherent Worlds entry 3 - Transmedia Storytelling

What I learnt from today's talk:

Henry Jenkins is a academic who promotes the idea of participatory culture being used as a tool for good. He proposed that teenagers, who don't have a good image when it comes to activism, becoming politically and socially active to the benefit of their communities. He first talked about the  history of participatory culture. He referenced the first home printing presses in the 1850's , where children would produce material similar to modern 'zines'. Or the amateur radio operators or stations, which thrived in the 1920's, where it was commonplace for young people to set up their own radio stations. Also, he talked about the 'Underground press' of the 1960's, or 'Super 8' film. The point he was trying to make, I thought, that people have a history of using the technology avalible to them at the time, and utilisze it to create, produce and construct their own culture.

We were shown an example of a transmedia product; 'The Matrix'. As well as being a popular film, The Matrix was translated into; an anime, a series of comics, several video games and action figures. The first video game made off the back of The Matrix, was 'Enter the Matrix'(2003). Instead of playing as Neo, the game placed you in the role of two secondary characters of the film.

'Drillibility' is an important concept for a game to have. Creating a game world which is open-ended, propagates people to take away from and add to it. The world of the game has to be complex, as people 'drill' down into it , so to sustain the audiences's interest. In addition, it seems to be important for a game to be planned as open-ended from the outset. As if it isn't, any transmedia will seem 'bolted-on' and meaningless.

Another exampe we were shown, was Batman. This has gone from being avalible as a disposable comic book, to graphic novels, numerous films, television serials, action figures, halloween costumes, Lego and video games. Although Batman has been cast in various forms, in a wide range of media, there are some elements that remain constant throughout. Things like, the cowl and cape, the batmobile, the batcave, Alfred the butler etc. These things are 'integral elements', and help bridge the gap between the vastly differing medias.

Various itterations of Batman