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Article
Transmedia
Project Design:
Theoretical and
Analytical
Considerations
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Baltic Screen Media Review 2013 / Volume 1 / ARTICLE
Abstract
Theoretical and analytical considerations around the
development of transmedia projects are evolving, but are
still widely open, probably because transmedia story-
telling is a relatively new subject that does not yet have
its own specific methods and methodology of analysis.
Moreover, transmedia projects are complex phenomena
involving multiple dimensions, such as narrative, cultural
context, marketing, business models, and legal framework.
Currently, the usual approach gives place to methodologi-
cally separate analytical perspectives related to some of
these dimensions. This article first discusses the elusive
concept of transmedia storytelling and later presents ana-
lytical considerations outlining relevant aspects that can
contribute to perceive the process of developing trans-
media projects. The significance of these discussions is
to address essential features of the design process behind
transmedia projects and contribute to support the analytic
needs of transmedia designers and the applied research in
the interest of the media industry.
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Baltic Screen Media Review 2013 / Volume 1 / ARTICLE
projects aiming to support the analytic new text making a distinctive and
needs of transmedia designers and the valuable contribution to the whole. In
applied research in the interest of the media the ideal form of transmedia storytell-
industry. Analysis is being employed as the ing, each medium does what it does
essential component of the binomial anal- best—so that a story might be intro-
ysis-synthesis approach within the design duced in a film, expanded through tel-
process (Dubberly et al. 2008; Liestøl 2003). evision, novels, and comics; its world
might be explored through game play
Discussing transmedia or experienced as an amusement park
storytelling attraction. (Jenkins 2006: 95–96)
Before discussing analytical considerations
for transmedia project design, it is neces- Carlos Scolari defines TS as “a particular
sary to address a more fundamental issue: narrative structure that expands through
What could be understood as TS? Firstly, it both different languages (verbal, iconic,
is important to stress that there is not yet etc.) and media (cinema, comics, television,
consensus on what exactly TS means, but video games, etc.). TS is not just an adapta-
although the definition of TS is still open, it tion from one media to another. The story
is certainly possible to trace its main char- that the comics tell is not the same as that
acteristics and follow its footprints. Starting told on television or in cinema; the differ-
from the word transmedia itself, there is ent media and languages participate and
the prefix trans- in combination with media. contribute to the construction of the trans-
This Latin prefix means beyond, through, media narrative world” (2009: 587). Christy
transverse, conveying the idea of tran- Dena highlights that TS is all about a sto-
scendence. Consequently, the word trans- ryworld unfolding across media platforms
media would then go beyond, transcending (2009: 18) and Geoffrey Long emphasizes
a variety of media. Geoffrey Long (2007: 32), that TS is the art of worldmaking (2007:
moreover, suggests that “the term ‘trans- 28). I propose TS as referring to, at least,
media’ should be considered an adjective, integrated media experiences that occur
not a noun,” i.e. a word able to describe and amongst a variety of platforms. A transme-
to qualify a substantive. dia narrative tells altogether one big perva-
In this context, the use of the term sive story, attracting audience engagement.
transmedia to depict a particular form It is not about offering the same content
of storytelling emerged in 1991, when in different media platforms, but it is the
Marsha Kinder published the book Playing worldbuilding experience, unfolding content
with Power in Movies, Television, and Video and generating the possibilities for the story
Games: From Muppet Babies to Teenage to evolve with new and pertinent content.
Mutant Ninja Turtles. In her book, she Regardless of all the effort to specify
defines “commercial supersystems of TS and differentiate it from other con-
transmedia intertextuality” (1991: 3) as cepts, there are still conceptual confu-
referring to relevant franchises distributed sions around it and several other terms
on multiple media platforms. Nevertheless, that, to certain extend, are commonly
the term TS was first coined in 2003 by considered synonyms, such as inter-
Henry Jenkins in his article published by media (Dick Higgins, 1966), multimedia
Technology Review (2003). Three years later, (Bob Goldstein, 1966), cross-media (Paul
he improved the concept and published its Zazzera, 1999), multimodal discourse
definition in his notorious book Convergence (Gunther Kress and Theo van Leeuwen,
Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide 2001), superfictions (Peter Hill, 2001),
(2006). multiple platforms (Stephen Jeffery-
Poulter, 2003), screen bleed (Matt Hanson,
A transmedia story unfolds across 2003), networked narrative environment
multiple media platforms with each (Andrea Zapp, 2004), transmedial world
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Baltic Screen Media Review 2013 / Volume 1 / ARTICLE
(Lisbeth Klastrup and Susana Tosca, as synonyms. His statement could sound
2004), distributed narratives (Jill Walker, paradoxal:
2004), hybrid media (Jak Boumans, 2004),
media mix (Mizuko Ito, 2005), cross-sited The concept of cross-media is widely
narratives (Marc Ruppel, 2005), and deep used in the professional scope,
media (Frank Rose, 2011). although some countries like Italy
also use it in the academic world.
Transmedia storytelling, Transmedia storytelling – a concept
cross-media and multimedia introduced by Henry Jenkins in 2003 –
Probably the most referred terms alongside is more specific and sounds much
TS are cross-media and multimedia. Are more theoretical. In general, both con-
they really synonyms? No, definitely not, cepts refer to productions that take
but this answer is not unanimous. It seems place through different media and
the answer will plausibly rely on personal platforms, such as social network-
preferences. Starting from the prefix cross-, ing, YouTube, etc. On the other hand,
there is the indication of movement, of Jenkins gave much importance to
action across something, and the idea of user-generated content. If we talk
intersection. Hence, the word cross-media about transmedia storytelling, we evi-
would carry on the essential meaning of a dence the narrative dimension of these
variety of media that intersect each other. productions, while cross-media is a
For instance, considering Drew Davidson’s broader term that also includes other
definition of cross-media, it would be dif- dimensions, not only the narrative one.
ficult to differentiate it from TS: For my part, I use the terms as syno-
nyms. (Mungioli 2011: 128)
Cross-media Communications are
integrated, interactive experiences In addition to Scolari’s considerations
that occur across multiple media, about the professional and academic
with multiple authors and have mul- scopes that tend to favor either the use
tiple styles. The audience becomes of the term cross-media or TS, there are
an active part in a cross-media differences between the discourses from
experience. It is experiences that country to country and the preferences can
occur across the Internet, video and also vary depending on the sector of media
film, broadcast and cable TV, mobile industries. For instance, TS is preferred in
devices, DVD, print, and radio. The Brazil to the detriment of cross-media in
new media aspect of the “cross- both professional and academic contexts.
media experience” typically involves In the United States, it is possible to iden-
some level of audience interactivity. tify the preference for TS in the moving pic-
(Davidson et al. 2010: 4) tures industries, especially in Hollywood.
The terms are organically evolving in
In spite of it, as we emphasized earlier, it concomitance with the society they are
is possible to notice a largely accepted inserted in.
assumption in considering cross-media a Andrea Phillips acknowledges
broader term, a more generic one, which that although cross-media was until very
includes the whole process of communica- recently considered the same as trans-
tion and interactivity not restrict to audio- media, “now, a consensus is growing that
visual industry, and the main difference cross-media refers to releasing the same
would be the emphasis of TS on the narra- content (…) over multiple platforms” (2012:
tive. That is the proposition of this article. 19). Phillips’ assumption follows the same
Corroborating this premise, Scolari distin- orientation I proposed before, considering
guishes both concepts but, nonetheless, cross-media a broader term that differenti-
assumes that he uses cross-media and TS ates itself from the specificities of TS.
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Baltic Screen Media Review 2013 / Volume 1 / ARTICLE
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Actually, the PGA definition seems to be lection of mono-medium stories (she calls
strongly based on Jeff Gomez’ propositions, it intracompositional), commonly known
especially his eight defining characteristics as a franchise, in which a book, a film, and
of a transmedia production, which include: a video game, for instance, all contribute
(1) content is originated by one or a very distinct stories to one overarching story-
few visionaries; (2) cross-media rollout is world; the second type is a collection of
planned early in the life of the franchise; media that tells one story, for example, an
(3) content is distributed to three or more entertainment program that takes place on
media platforms; (4) content is unique, TV and on the Web simultaneously (2011:
adheres to platform-specific strengths, and 48). Andrea Phillips, within the US context,
is not repurposed from one platform to the refers to West Coast vs. East Coast trans-
next; (5) content is based on a single vision media types: “West Coast-style transme-
for the storyworld; (6) concerted effort is dia, more commonly called Hollywood or
made to avoid fractures and schisms; (7) franchise transmedia, consists of multiple
effort is vertical across company, third par- big pieces of media” (2012: 13). East Coast
ties and licensees; and (8) rollout features transmedia, on the other hand, “tends to
audience participatory elements, such as be more interactive, and much more web-
Web portal, social networking and story- centric” (ibid., 14). Robert Pratten (2011),
guided user-generated content (Producers even though with different nomenclature,
Guild of America 2007). describes nearly the same types, but also
Although the PGA initiative to rec- considers a third one, which incorporate the
ognize the role of transmedia producers other two: Transmedia franchise, portman-
pleased both scholars and media profes- teau transmedia, and complex transmedia
sionals and is considered an historic move experience. His perspective is considered
because the Guild rarely backs new cred- here the most pertinent because embraces
its, their proposed definition reignited the more explicitly the inherent complexity of
debate around the concept and caused transmedia projects.
controversy. The main concerns are the Transmedia franchise, according to
strict minimum of three narrative storylines, Pratten, is a series of individual media
the fact that the definition seems to favor outlets, such as a comic book, a TV show,
franchises in detriment of other TS appli- a film, etc. Each media platform involved
cations, and the omission of video games4 is independent except that they cover dif-
from the list of media platforms (Dena 2010; ferent narrative spaces, such as prequels
Thompson 2010; Jenkins 2010). and sequels. The “classical” example of
this model is The Matrix (1999) by the
Transmedia Wachowski brothers. In between each
storytelling types feature film, additional content (includ-
The overall assumption is, at this point, that ing graphic novels, animations, video
the transmedia space5 is large enough to games and memorabilia, for instance)
embrace distinctive types of stories/experi- were released to give the audience a richer
ences. However, neither the terminology nor understanding of the storyworld and to
the quantity of different categories are yet help keep fans engaged. Other examples
ultimate. Christy Dena refers to two main could be TV series 24, Mad Men, Heroes,
transmedia types: The first one is a col- for instance.
Regarding franchises, it is essential
4 The Guild already informed that video games were to take into consideration the issue around
excluded from the list of potential media by oversight
and that it will be amended to include games. adaptation and transmediation. TS, accord-
5 “Transmedia space appears as a notion that integrates ing to Jenkins (2006: 96–105), is unlike the
meta- and intercommunicative levels, presuming the
interpretation of the same message as the sequence current licensing system, which typically gen-
of proto- and metatexts described in different discours erates works that are redundant. Any com-
es and fixed in different signs systems and media.”
(Saldre, Torop 2012: 41) position that does not make a distinctive and
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Baltic Screen Media Review 2013 / Volume 1 / ARTICLE
valuable contribution does not offer a new sider that every translation is a process
level of insight and experience. Redundancy of text transformation, in which you
can burn up fan interest and may cause always lose and win something, maybe
franchises to fail. the adaptations could be incorporated
as one of the possible strategies of
When the topic of transmediation is transmedia narratives. (Mungioli 2011:
first breached in conversation, often 130)
the initial response is something
along the lines of, ‘Oh, like the Lord of Returning to the second type of TS, Pratten’s
the Rings films!’ Well, no. Not quite. portmanteau6 transmedia model is defined
Retelling a story in a different media as multiple platforms contributing to a
type is adaptation, while using multi- single experience. The story content is
ple media types to craft a single story distributed simultaneously throughout dif-
is transmediation. (Long 2007: 22) ferent media platforms and each platform
contributes significantly to the whole story.
Jenkins and other researches, such as For instance, an Alternate Reality Game
Geoffrey Long, clearly exclude adapta- (ARG) covers a single narrative across mul-
tion from the TS realm. Christy Dena, on tiple platforms – each alone insufficient to
the other hand, interrogates this issue in carry the complete narrative but like puzzle
her thesis (2009: 96–175) and suggests pieces they must be assembled to complete
that, in opposition to the main argument the story (Pratten 2010; 2011). Indeed, an
by Jenkins, not every adaptation is neces- ARG is an interactive narrative that blends
sarily redundant. Saldre and Torop also real life treasure hunting, interactive sto-
include adaptations of a text in the realm rytelling, and online community. ARGs are
of transmedia, justifying that intersemiotic complicated series of puzzles involving
translation “is the building principle of all coded websites and real world clues, such
transmedia texts, no matter whether they as newspaper advertisements, phone calls,
are transmedial at birth, extended to be and text messages. It connects the player to
transmedia after initial success or regarded the real world and to other players as well.
as transmedial post factum in the cultural Many game puzzles can be solved only by
memory” (2012: 32). Carlos Scolari tries to the collaborative efforts of multiple play-
conciliate both points of view and this per- ers. Most notorious examples of this kind
spective can be the appropriate resolution of game are The Beast (2001), connected
to the issue, especially taking into consid- to Steven Spielberg’s film A.I.: Artificial
eration the unlimited variety of scenarios in Intelligence; I Love Bees (2004), linked to the
the realm of transmediality: release of the video game Halo 2; Why So
Serious (2007), associated to Christopher
Transmedia narratives can be repre- Nolan’s film The Dark Knights; and The
sented as a centrifugal process: from Maester’s Path (2011), related to HBO series
an initial text a narrative big bang is Game of Thrones.
produced, in which new texts will be Complex transmedia experience, the
generated to reach user-generated third type of TS referred by Pratten, com-
content. From this perspective, trans- bines both franchise and portmanteau,
media storytelling generates a textual offering the audience a widely experience.
galaxy. The intersemiotic transla- This kind of TS could be described as a
tions follow more linear (from book to hybrid produced by the interaction of the
screen, from comics to television, etc.) previous two types. A prominent example
and less explosive paths. Can we con- is the transmedia project The Tulse Luper
sider adaptations a particular form of
transmedia narratives? I do not believe 6 The French word portmanteau formally means
a suitcase to carry clothes while traveling, but can also
that it is an issue to discuss. If we con- be understood as embodying several uses or qualities.
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Baltic Screen Media Review 2013 / Volume 1 / ARTICLE
Suitcases (2003) created by British film- the release of the film, delivered as a docu-
maker Peter Greenaway. This pioneering mentary. Comic books, community of fans,
project follows the journey of the main and spin-offs, such as the video games Blair
character Tulse Luper and the 92 suitcases Witch Volume 1: Rustin Parr and Blair Witch
he has archived and catalogued during his Volume 2: The Legend of Coffin Rock are also
entire life. The result of this non-linear nar- part of the project. On the other hand, retro-
rative consists of three feature films, 92 active transmedia stories are the ones that
DVDs, TV series, books, websites7, blogs, start to be planned after the fact normally
online competitions, and exhibitions. The based on a successful preexistent project.
films present the story background and This is the case when a book, for example,
the most significant actions take place is already created and it is subsequently
throughout other mediums. This complex expanded to become a transmedia experi-
transmedia experience reconstructs the ence. Most Hollywood transmedia produc-
life of the supposedly real character, piece tions are retroactive.
by piece, across different media platforms.
His enigmatic journey, filled with mysteries, Open and closed systems
secrets and objects, gives a place for audi- Continuing to trace TS attributes, it is nec-
ence interaction and engagement. The Tulse essary to address the relationship between
Luper Suitcases has a series of individual stories and audience. A crucial component
stories pertaining to a bigger pervasive of TS is interaction, but moreover participa-
storyworld, which characterizes a transme- tion. An interactive project allows the audi-
dia franchise, and is structured around a ence to relate to it somehow, for instance,
complicated sequence of puzzles that leads by pressing a button or control, deciding
audience into solving a mystery, which dis- the path to experiencing it, but not being
tinguishes a portmanteau transmedia. able to co-create and change the story; a
participatory project invites the audience
Pro-active and retroactive to engage in a way that expresses their
transmedia projects creativity in a unique, and surprising man-
Another relevant approach to TS is the tim- ner, allowing them to influence the final
ing of a transmedia project, i.e. when the result. Participation occurs when the audi-
starting process of developing a transme- ence can, with respect at least to a certain
dia storyworld takes place. Drew Davidson aspect of the project, influence on the set of
(2010: 17) employs the terms pro-active components, such as the story. Stories that
and retroactive to refer to stories that are are mainly interactive can be considered
designed to be transmedia8 from the begin- as closed systems, in which the audience
ning and to the ones that turned transme- can act but cannot interfere with the story.
diatic afterwards. Pro-active transmedia Closed systems presuppose interaction but
projects are considered up front, full of tie- not participation. Besides the interactiv-
ins planned from the beginning. An example ity, open systems allow participation, i.e.
would be The Blair Witch Project (1999). Its the audience can influence the result and
website chronicles the story of three film change the outcome (Gambarato 2012: 75).
students who have gone missing after going The Portuguese multiplatform produc-
through a forest investigating stories of a tion Sofia’s Diary (2003) is an example of
witch. To further solidify the fiction in reality, open system TS. The project was produced
a mockumentary, Curse of the Blair Witch, in different countries (Portugal, Brazil, UK,
was aired on the Sci-Fi Channel just before USA, Germany, Turkey, Vietnam, Chile, etc.),
mixing TV, Internet, mobile and other media,
7 Access The Tulse Luper Suitcases main website:
such as books and magazines. Sofia, the
http://www.tulselupernetwork.com/basis.html protagonist, is a sort of virtual friend who
(26 September 2013). interacts with the audience and allows
8 Drew Davidson uses the term cross-media
communication instead of TS. people to participate in her life in a way
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Baltic Screen Media Review 2013 / Volume 1 / ARTICLE
that their voices can be heard. The relation- to report empty properties they know and
ship between the story and audience was lobby government and local councils to
possible by daily SMS/MMS alerts sent by have a low-cost loan fund for the own-
Sofia, voting service to decide next episode, ers of empty homes who are struggling to
premium call service with the summary of refurbish their properties. According to the
daily episode, blogging9, and e-mails, for campaign website10, there are two million
instance. Participants could also communi- families in need of a home and the results
cate and get heard. As friends, they express achieved so far are: 120 000 petition sig-
their opinions in different ways (voting, dis- natures; ca. 8 000 empty homes reported
cussing, blogging, etc.) to help Sofia to solve (many of which have been brought back into
her dilemmas. The production company was use); £17 million allocated for new national
able to effectively incorporate audience low-cost loan funds in England, Scotland
inputs, giving the possibility to participants and Wales; and George Clarke, the TV series
to shape the content. Nuno Bernardo, presenter and responsible for the cam-
responsible for Sofia’s Diary, clarifies how paign, was appointed Independent Empty
it was doable in the beginning of the project: Homes Advisor to the Government. In The
Great British Property Scandal: Every Empty
When we started the show, there was Counts website there are videos showing
no video element so therefore it was what they call “online heroes”: Some of the
blog-based, SMS-based, and e-mail- participants who reported empty homes
based; we could write in the morning that are now back into use because of the
and publish in the afternoon. We would campaign. The outcomes of this transmedia
then wait for the results overnight and campaign are being crafted by their partici-
incorporate the viewer’s desired plot- pants.
line the next day. (Bernardo 2011: 53) Farewell Comrades! – as an example
of closed system TS – is an aspiring project
An example of a non-fictional open system involving television, online and print media
transmedia project in which people can launched in 2011 on the occasion of the
participate and make difference is The 20th anniversary of the USSR collapse.
Great British Property Scandal: Every Empty Although the project’s tent pole is a six-part
Counts (2012) by Channel 4. The TV chan- TV series documentary, equally relevant
nel launched a season of special programs is the web-based Farewell Comrades!
to investigate the British housing crisis Interactive, produced by Gebrueder Beetz
and discuss alternative solutions. In 2011, Filmproduktion (Germany) and Artline
the TV series Dispatches: Landlords from Films (France) in partnership with the TV
Hell, an undercover investigation about channels ARTE and ZDF. The well-designed
the degrading conditions in which tenants interactive website11 allows the audience to
are forced to live in the UK was launched closely follow personal life stories through
followed by the TV series The Great British 30 postcards written during the last 15
Property Scandal, which addresses the years of the Soviet era. Each postcard
issue of unoccupied homes. The Great unfolds the story of the people featured in
British Property Scandal: Every Empty the documentary series alongside with an
Counts campaigns to bring Britain’s empty enriching collection of information about
homes back into use in order to stop the the people involved and their countries.
waste of one million empty homes in the Farewell Comrades! Interactive also com-
UK. The campaign is web-based and also
encompasses social networking and mobile 10 Access the campaign website:
application. The goal is to engage people http://www.channel4.com/programmes/
the-great-british-property-scandal/articles/home
(26 September 2013).
11 Access Farewell Comrades! website:
9 Access Sofia’s Diary current blog: http://www.farewellcomrades.com/en/
http://www.bebo.com/sofiasdiary (26 September 2013). (26 September 2013).
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key questions raised by Geoffrey Long in 2.1. What are the narrative elements
his analytical thesis (2007: 70–139). Aiming (such as plot, theme, characters,
to facilitate the approach to these several etc.) of the project?
aspects, a series of questions related to each 2.2. What would be the summary of
of the topics considered is presented. its storyline?
2.3. What is the timeframe of the
1. Premise and purpose story?
Nuno Bernardo advises that a transmedia 2.4. What are the major events or
story must be based on a premise and must challenges offered by the
state clearly what it is about (2011: 21). The narrative?
purpose, the reason for which a transme- 2.5. Does the project utilize gaming
dia project exists, is key to define not just elements? Does the project
how, where, and to whom the project is ori- involve winning or losing?
ented, but above all to determine for what it 2.6. What are the strategies for
serves. If the premise and purpose are not expanding the narrative?
clear, it will probably be difficult for people 2.7. Are negative capability12 and
to have the interest to engage in the project. migratory cues13 included?
Relevant questions that may be considered: 2.8. Is it possible to identify
intermedial14 texts in the story?
1.1. What is the project about?
1.2. What is the project’s core? 3. Worldbuilding
1.3. Is it a fictional, a non-fiction or The world the story inhabits determines
a mixed project? the narrative itself, but moreover, the pos-
1.4. What is its fundamental purpose? sibility to expand the transmedia story. As
Is it to entertain, to teach or to mentioned earlier in this article, transmedia
inform? Is it to market a product? storytelling is all about the unfolding of a
storyworld across media platforms. A sto-
2. Narrative ryworld or story universe should be robust
A narrative creates “a world and populate(s) enough to support expansions, going above
it with characters and objects” (Ryan 2004: and beyond a single story. The world can
8). Although there are different approaches be considered the primary character of the
to narrative, for instance, existential, cogni- story of its own. Long reiterates the relevant
tive, aesthetic, sociological, sociolinguistic, characteristic of transmedia stories to be
and technical, here the interest is in the able to shift the emphasis from a more
direction of the structure storyworlds evoke traditional character-building approach
in the TS milieu. David Herman, in his inves- toward a worldbuilding one (2007: 129).
tigation “Toward a Transmedial Narratology”, Saldre and Torop (2012: 29) also underline
discusses five sets of strategies that can the understanding of transmedia projects in
be used to structure TS: a) processes and terms of worldmaking by the broader scope
participants, which include particular roles of its applicability. In this context, there are
to entities mentioned or implied in the nar- basal aspects that could be inquired:
rative; b) states, events, actions – blends of
interior states of participants, events and 3.1. When the story occurs?
deliberated actions; c) temporal ordering 3.2. Which is the central world where
– timeline; d) spatial configuration – story-
12 In the context of storytelling, negative capability means
telling entails configuring places and paths the ability to build strategic gaps into a narrative to
of motion in space; and e) deictic reference, provoke a sense of uncertainty and mystery in the
audience (Long 2007: 53–59).
which means the use of deictic expression 13 Associated to negative capability, migratory cues
(here, I, now) to place storyworlds in par- represent the ability for these gaps to function as
ticular contexts (2004: 60–68). Direct ques- directional pointers for intertextual connections within
the storyworld (Long 2007: 139–166).
tions that can be applied: 14 Refer to Grishakova 2010.
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embrace more than one genre (science fic- the right content, to the right people and
tion, action, comedy, etc.). The logic behind [at] the right time” (2011: 19). Scoping the
TS is that telling stories across multiple audience is fundamental to more appro-
media platforms enhances the possibility priately deliver the transmedia experience.
to have a more enriching and satisfactory Discussing TS earlier in this article, it was
experience within both fictional and non- commented about the crucial role audi-
fictional projects. Pratten emphasizes that ence plays in transmedia projects. This kind
TS “allows content that is right-sized, right- of project involves some level of audience
timed and right-placed to form a larger, engagement. The “Rules of Engagement”
more profitable, cohesive and rewarding proposed by Mike Dicks and presented by
experience” (2011: 3). Selecting the plat- Pratten (2011: 22) describe quantitatively
forms that will be part of a transmedia that 75% of the audience is constituted
project is the art of matching the right by passives, 20% by players and 5% by
content to the right audience throughout producers. Although these numbers can
the most appropriate way, which includes naturally vary, it is undeniable that in the
platforms and devices that are suitable to TS realm audience is taking multiple roles
the challenge. Each medium has its own further away from mere passive spectators.
distinctive characteristics and should con- In this sense, even the term audience (the
tribute to the whole transmedia experience. group of spectators) may be not enough to
The platform timing, or roll-out, is equally describe people’s engagement in interac-
important for the project design, i.e. when tive and participatory transmedia projects.
the platforms will be released according to There are variable designations that are
the project objectives, business model and applicable in the context of TS, such as
resources. Core points to be considered: listeners, viewers, readers, players, and
users. In the 1990s George Landow (1997),
6.1. What kind of media platforms discussing hypertext narratives, renamed
(film, book, comics, games, and readers with creative power “wreaders”
so forth) are involved in the (reader + writer). As an alternative to char-
project? acterize the emergence of a more complex
6.2. Which devices (computer, game kind of audience, in 2006, Stephen Dinehart
console, tablet, mobile phone, coined the term VUP (viewer/user/player),
etc.) are required by the project? relating TS to Richard Wagner’s concept of
6.3. How each platform is partici- Gesamtkunstwerk (total artwork), in which
pating and contributing to the the spectator becomes actor/player.
whole project? What are their
functions in the project? In a transmedial work the viewer/
6.4. What are the distinctive charac- user/player (VUP) transforms the story
teristics of each media platform? via his or her own natural cognitive
6.5. Identify problems that are psychological abilities, and enables
specific of each medium. the Artwork to surpass medium. It
6.6. Is each medium really relevant is in transmedial play that the ulti-
to the project? mate story agency, and decentralized
6.7. What is the roll-out strategy to authorship can be realized. Thus the
release the platforms? VUP becomes the true producer of the
6.8. Which genres (action, adventure, Artwork. (Dinehart 2012)
detective, science fiction,
fantasy, and so forth) are present Dinehart reinforces the notion of decen-
in the project? tralization of authorship and what he calls
transmedial play is the engagement with
7. Audience and market multiple media platforms within the same
Pratten stresses the importance “to offer storyworld.
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Both crossmedia and transmedia are does the target audience enjoy?
obviously multimedia approaches, 7.4. What kind of technology/devices
using largely of any available channel, are people in this group involved
tool and media to tell a story. The dif- with?
ference between the two is to ascribe 7.5. Why does this project appeal
to a consequent evolution in public to them?
demand. Content spread across vari- 7.6. Do other projects like this exist?
ous media (crossmedia) is no longer Do they succeed in achieving their
satisfying enough, viewers wants more, purpose?
they are becoming VUPs and in view- 7.7. What is the project’s business
ing/using/playing want to participate, model?
and to a certain extent create, the 7.8. Revenue-wise, was the project
story themselves. (Iacobacci 2008) successful? Why?
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ence spread throughout multiple media transmedia projects, such as The Truth
platforms. Design components, such as about Marika, Med Man, Inside Disaster:
interfaces, color palettes, graphics, fonts, Haiti, and The Beauty Inside, according to
shapes, textures, sounds, and so forth the analytical model. Secondly, they plan,
characterize a transmedia storyworld and develop and execute their own transmedia
are powerful tools to attract and maintain projects. It characterizes analysis and syn-
audience engagement. The design ele- thesis mutually collaborating to each other.
ments do not function as mere illustration As a result of this process, for instance, a
of the content. Actually, they are part of the group of my master’s students25 developed
story themselves. In this regard, a set of Apothecary Melchior transmedia experience
attributes can be considered: (Figure 1).
Apothecary Melchior fictional sto-
10.1. What kinds of visuals are being ryworld is based on the bestselling book
used (animation, video, graphics, series by Estonian author Indrek Hargla.
a mix) in the project? Melchior is a 15th century apothecary, who
10.2. Is the overall look realistic solves crimes in Tallinn medieval Old Town,
or a fantasy environment? Estonia. By means of mobile devices, inter-
10.3. Is it possible to identify active locative narrative and augmented
specific design styles in the reality, the transmedia experience takes
project? the audience back in time to the Hanseatic
10.4. How does audio work in this town in order to uncover clues, mysterious
project? Is there ambient sound items and additional content. Therefore,
(rain, wind, traffic noises, etc.), the group of students developed an inter-
sound effects, music, and so forth? active sightseeing mobile application as
a prototype to be used in loco (Figure 2).
In this article, hints of the trajectory of the Besides the interactive application, the
elusive term TS were discussed together whole project is planned to involve multiple
with the main characteristics of transmedia extensions such as, film, documentary, and
stories, such as its types, core principles, puzzle games.
dimensions, timing, and the relationship After all, what could be depicted and
between stories and audience. More spe- interpreted from these analytical consid-
cifically, analytical considerations were erations are the structure of transmedia
presented in a methodical way organized projects and the relevance of each and
around 10 key topics aiming to (a) outline every constituent of it. Premise and pur-
essential features of transmedia stories; pose, narrative, worldbuilding, characters,
(b) contribute to perceive the design proc- extensions, media platforms and genres,
ess behind the development of trans- audience and market, engagement, struc-
media projects; (c) support the analytic ture, and aesthetics are fundamental for
needs of transmedia designers; and (d) both designing a transmedia project and
serve as applied research in the interest analyzing its pertinence.
of the media industry. The analytical con-
siderations presented in this article have Embracing transmedia
been applied by my students – within the storytelling
Master’s Program in Crossmedia Production As a matter of fact, transmedia is a buzz-
at Tallinn University Baltic Film and Media word that has been used (and misused) in
School, Estonia – with satisfactory results. the last couple of years. Scholars, research-
Firstly, the students analyze24 existing ers, and media professionals appear to feel
comfortable enough to attribute a multitude
24 Access the students’ analyses according to the
analytical model presented in this article: 25 Access more information about the Apothecary
http://talkingobjects.org/portfolio-2/ Melchior and the students: https://www.facebook.com/
(26 September 2013). ApothecaryMelchior (27 September 2013).
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of meanings to the word. Probably there is that this is the trend. TS is both a reality
a substantial disparity between the reality and a tendency worldwide and the prospect
of the market and its concrete samples of of TS is to grow and to improve rapidly. TS
TS and the perfect theoretical frame that analysis can help this process.
insists on confining TS to certain precise
criteria. Olivier Godest (2011) even suggests
including in the TS classification a specific
type that he entitles “pure transmedia
works”. This kind of transmedia project
would be the one that meets all the basic
criteria of the definition already mentioned;
the one that is as we imagine it with all
the TS principles we know, but that is still
difficult to get. As examples of “pure trans-
media works”, Godest mentions The Blair
Witch Project and the ARG created for the
launch of the HBO True Blood (2008) series.
However, is there such a thing as a “pure
transmedia work”? Well, if there is not yet
a consensus around TS definition, it seems
improbable to have an immaculate trans-
media story though.
The design process in general and also
specifically related to transmedia projects
can be understood as involving the analysis
and synthesis phases, or preparation and
inspiration. Synthesis preceded by analy-
sis, synthesis conformed according to the
analysis, from synthesis to analysis or vice
versa (Dubberly et al. 2008; Liestøl 2003).
Inquiring on how designers move from
analysis to synthesis, Hugh Dubberly,
Shelley Evenson, and Rick Robinson pro-
posed a model that shows this path and
bridges the gap between analysis and
synthesis based on other classic models,
such as Beer model (1966) and Alexander
model (1964). Moreover, Dubberly et al.
discuss the relevance of the binominal
analysis-synthesis throughout modeling
in the design process, arguing that “it ena-
bles designers to develop larger and more
complex systems and makes the process
of working with larger and more complex
organizations easier” (2008). In this context,
the analytical considerations outlined in
this article were proposed.
All in all, it is possible to infer that
large broadcasters as well as independent
media companies are already aware of the
global developments in TS and understand
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