The Wachowski brothers used video games, comic books, other movies, alternate trailers, books and magazines to tell a fuller story, to tell more than what the movie gave, and to give die-hard fans a more complete view of the story. Jenkins states that the gaps in storytelling, like failing to introduce characters before they pop onto the screen can confuse the audience, and detract from the value of the movie, if watched alone, but this is the new Hollywood. According to Jenkins, 'The new Hollywood demands that we keep our eyes on the road at all times, and that we do research before we arrive at the theater. (106)" Transmedia makes the viewer into more than a spectator, they must actively participate in order to get the full picture.
 |
| Movie poster for Animatrix, a series of short films by Peter Chung, Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Koji Morimoto, and Shinichiro Watanabe centered around The Matrix |
The problem with Transmedia is that not everyone wants to have to play a games, or read a magazine, to understand the movie, some people just want a full and complete film. But, the positive aspects of transmedia far outweigh the negatives in financial prospects. In The Matrix Trilogy, Jenkins informs readers that the Wachowski Brothers employed other artists, graphic designers, writers and movie makers to bring new life to the characters and add to the storyline. the revenue going into each aspect of the media empire allowed for numerous people to reap the economical benefits.
In an article by Erik Wecks, "Technology and Storytelling Part 2: Transmedia Novels? Still 5 Minutes in the Future", Wecks speaks about Henry Jenkin's definition of transmedia storytelling, but also discusses"Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret — a transmedia work of art which is both groundbreaking in the way it tells its story and breathtaking in its flawless execution." According to Wecks, Cabret's numerous mediums never have the full story, the pictures and the text seamlessly go back an forth, giving the viewer a fuller story. This is what makes transmedia such an art form, and why it is soimperative for all media entrepreneurs to live in multiple media outlets with different content.
The most famous bloggers, and Youtubers are transmedia experts, whether they know it or not. they simultaneously produce content for Youtube, or their blogs, while producing side content for their Instagrams, Twitters, Snapchats, Pinterests, and more. Each of these media channels call for different content making it easy to tell a transmedia story about your life. A beauty blogger that calls herself Alyssa Forever began on Youtube making videos about hair, makeup, and fashion, and has grown her fan-base to hundreds of thousands of beauty followers. She mastered the art of Youtubing, curating her channel to give people beauty tips, and curating her Instagram to give small slices of her fuller story. She entices the viewer to want to learn more. Women flock to beauty bloggers, aspiring to be as 'beautiful', or 'flawless', and acquire the looks and makeup that they have.
 |
| This is a photo of the beauty blogger, AlyssaForever showcasing her full wig in a style that makes the wig aspect unbelievable! |
Even Christians are utilizing transmedia storytelling. Hillsong Church, a worldwide church with numerous bands, lives on Youtube, Vimeo, their own website, Instagram, Twitter, and a movie about Hillsong United, a Hillsong choir/band based in Australia, director by Michael John Warren. each facet of their media campaign makes it possible for fans to get more, to know more, and to understand their beginnings and who they are. Click this to get more info about the Hillsong movie
Artsist like Hillsong United make music to spread the love of Jesus and save souls, and more and more people are being blessed by the music that they produce, but today, people want to know more. Viewers want to know what the lead singer, Taya Smith eats, how she dresses when she is not on stage, and if she really is as "Christian" as she seems, and her Instagram, or Twitter account gives viewers the illusion that they know more, that they know her. We have the ability to interact, to ask, and hope for responses, to tell our friends what the people we love ate for breakfast. This is transmedia in the new age.
For anyone of us to be relevant in this moving world, and to grab and keep audiences, we must give them more. One big thing isn't enough because there are people that want more, that exist to want more, people that search. For any one of us to be relevant and popular, we have to give the allusion of giving more than people ask for, we have to live on multiple media platforms, and we have to provide different things on all of them. If we are you tubers, we have to have Instagrams that give sneak peeks to our videos. And if we are writers, we have to take on the role of Baratunde and give the whole timeline of our writing, and we have to do this is we ever want to gain exposure, and get the millions of people who's fascination lies in cat videos, and ratchet TV. If we want to change everything, or even anything, we have to do this. Jenkins stated that, "More and more consumers are enjoying participating in online knowledge cultures and discovering what it is like to expand one's comprehension..." Although Hillsong, and AlyssaForever may not have as large of a storytelling community as The Matrix, or Lord of the Rings, they are small examples of how we can make social media work for us.
Works Cited:
Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence culture: Where old and new media collide. New York: New York University Press.
Wecks, E. (2012, October 26). Technology and Storytelling Part 2: Transmedia Novels? Still 5 Minutes in the Future. Retrieved December 4, 2015, from www.wired.com
http://hillsongmovie.com
Picture courtesy of AlyssaForever's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/-ky0c5tTsh/?taken-by=foreverflawlyss
Picture of Animatrix photo courtesy of: http://movieposters.2038.net/p/Animatrix_3.jpg
No comments:
Post a Comment