My hiatus is over. What follows are four "catch-up" posts in which I attempt to review thought leadership on four topics I'm tracking right now (Start-up Culture; Crowdfunding; Storytelling and Transmedia; and Video/Distribution). PART 3 presents some interesting links about storytelling and transmedia.
It's kind of big news when a guy like 'Carnivàle' show runner Daniel Knauf announces that his next project will unfurl as a full-fledged transmedia property, according to PBS's Media Shift blog, which carries an interview with Knauf. I loved HBO's 'Carnivàle,' a truly warped and wonderful series set in a circus in the Depression.
Knauf's new project "Haunted' is live now. Go to Knauf's BXXweb portal for an intro video, and to register, which allows you to access all of the interactive features. "Haunted" a fictional story that follows paranormal investigators working inside an abandoned house tormented by supernatural events. The storytelling format features multimedia elements such as research documentation and investigators' blogs. Shot with multiple cameras, the project's navigational timeline allows viewers to manipulate how they view the story.
Mobile operator Orange has announced the fall release of a transmedia game/interactive fiction piece called "Alt-Minds", co-produced by Lexis Numerique. It's billed as a mystery centering around a series of kidnappings in Europe that unfolds via computer, smartphones, tablets and social networks.
In many ways, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is the apotheosis of the patronage model for content funding, even in its undernourished state (Compare its measly $146 million overall budget to Europe, Canada and Australia, where the federal and state governments invest vastly more in content). With NEA's budget down overall, and an increase in grants to fund digital forms of content production and distribution, traditional recipients like documentaries are feeling the squeeze, as reported by IndieWire.
NY Times profiles 'serious' games pioneer Jane McGonigal, diving into her recently released SuperBetter, which helps people face personal challenges. She came up with it after suffering a concussion.
O'Reilly Radar interviews Verane Pick of Counter Intelligence Media (with text summary), who looks at transmedia publishing from an agile development perspective.
Robert Pratten of Transmedia Storyteller posits seven "tenets" of future story worlds, presented at last week's EBU TV Summit in Copenhagen: Pervasive, Persistent, Participatory, Personalized, Connected, Inclusive, and Cloud-based.
Cynthia Lieberman curates "34 Great Transmedia Storytelling Resources." Some links are basic definitional, others touching on education, gaming, and marketing.
Finally, I was disappointed that I could not speak on Henry Jenkins' panel at Transmedia Hollywood 3, due to my surgery, but am happy to read April Arrglington's typically thorough coverage here.
NEXT UP: VIDEO AND DISTRIBUTION