I have over the last week continued to read Murray's Hamlet on the hoodeck, and although I haven't had as much time as I would have liked life being what it is. This book continues to surprise me with just how readable, it is.

At the opening of chapter 2. Murray State following
" starting in the 1970s, computers have become cheaper and faster, more capricious and more connected to one another at an exponential rate of improvement, merging previously disparate technologies of communication and representation into a single medium."
Murray is talking about convergence, offering a definition of convergence, digital convergence. A definition that I like, and a definition that going forward, I am going to see is my personal list of what digital convergence is. Murray goes on to talk about the new narrative entertainments, which this convergence, digital media has brought to the consumer. She cites the new storytelling format such as shoot them up. Video games and virtual dungeons and Dragons, as examples of a new way for artists to express themselves. She raises the idea that it's a mistake to benchmark these new media productions against older media forms. She says, for example, that we cannot use the English theatre of Renaissance or the novel of the 19th century, or even the average Hollywood film as a standard by which to judge the work in a medium that is going through rapid change. Once again alluding to the historical examples of the invention of new mediums and Murray looks back to the 1455 invention of the printing press. She says that what came after printing press in 1501 was not the book as we know it now. That technology was still in its infancy, Marry points that they 50 more years of experimentation that were needed to establish conventions such as the legible typefaces and proof sheet corrections page numbering paragraphs. Title pages, chapter divisions, before the book as we know it came into existence. Murray theorises the tangled websites in Carey video games of the early 1990s are part of a similar period of technical evolution. Part of a similar struggle for conventions of coherent communication. What's really interesting about this is the speed of change and development within the digital environment. The technology of Transmedia, has made quantum leaps in the last 20 years has the development of the conventions required for coherent communication within this new Transmedial world made similar progress.

Murray goes on to talk about the ways in which storytelling is continuous and streets or leagues from one medium into another. She pointed the way the early books. Talk their lead. As regards what the story was from previously published prose and poetry single sheets all storytelling, and repackaged that storytelling within become pensions of this new published book, medium and created the novel. As we know it now. For me as a writer that question, she poses is now a mine going to repackage existing storytelling techniques into this new Transmedial environment.

Murray starts a journey of narrative development with the concept of the linear story line. Within this linear storyline, Murray draws out the idea of the multi-form story. She identifies this as a storyteller, struggling against the boundaries of the linear narrative. Murray defines multi-form story as
" they written or dramatic narrative that presents a single situation or plotline in multiple versions, versions that would be mutually exclusive in our ordinary experience."p.31
Murray, points to the Frank Coppola's beloved Christmas story. It's a wonderful life, as one of the best-known examples of the multi-form story format. This film juxtaposes to diverging itches of a small town, one in which the lead dies, and one in which the lead lives. The movie as a whole, she says it is around the moment when the lead protagonists are facing ruin and remembering all the disappointments of his life, contemplates suicide. Isn't that moment, an angel offers him the opportunity to replay the last 30 years, without his input. He sees the world is a much duller place. What I found interesting about this idea of the multiform story is that it certainly sits for me at the heart of the Transmedial narrative. Because isn't the classic Transmedial narrative multiform story spread over a number of different platforms. I think the television series lost, would be a classic example of the multiform story within the traditional television medium. Over a period of weeks, or episodes, we saw the different protagonists reached the same point from different angles. Therefore seeing and understanding the oval rules story in a deeper and more meaningful way. I would suggest that this reflects the narrative style of the bungalow term classic Transmedial story. With the different media forms, offering different views of the story as it goes forward.

Murray extends the discussion about multiform storytelling beyond the storyteller and into the impact that it cares on the story consumer. The way it changes the position of the consumer. Murray, points to a short story by Elmore Schwartz titled " in dreams Begin responsibilities" published in 1937, and this is the story of a frames that he watches a silent movie of his parents first meeting with endocrine, as it watches and receive the moment, his parents are about to meet. They stand up and shout I'll don't you see how happy and make yourselves! As if in response to his becomes a moment where his parents rather than coming together look as if they're about to go their separate ways. At that point the young shouts no, no. Is it weird that state. Why doesn't my mother go after my father? If he does not what will he do. What my concern about the story. That way, that it attempts to dramatise the rate is position turning him as a member of the audience in a linear story. Passive to interact. The question, that is tormenting him is not whether eating their witness the past by watching the film and painful future role. But whether he can choose to change the multi-form story is an expression Murray says all the anxiety on aroused by posing such choices.
Again, what I find so interesting here is the way in which Murray for me is discussing this concept of audience participation. A movement from passive to active. The audience actively having a say in this story as it unfolds.

Murray goes on to explore some of the ways in which the ideas of multiform storytelling have been used within the more traditional media forms. Pointing to the movies Groundhog Day, where the protagonist repeats the same day, until he gets it right. Within Groundhog Day, we see Bill Murray goes through a series of interactions with other individuals repeating that interaction until we get what we has the audience see as the right response once he has achieved the right response when Bill Murray is and how to move forward in the story. What's really interesting about looking at the movie through three days of multiple form story is that you can see that that really forms the basis of most modern day. Video games, list the ones where you are exploring the Transmedial environment you as a character have a number of interactions with other characters. You are then allowed to move forward in the story. This feels for me like an example of a traditional narrative storytelling technique for multiform story being applied in creating something different. In the new Transmedial arena.

Again, interestingly, Murray ties in these concepts of multi-form, story telling and changing of the position of the consumer into early thoughts about the active audience.
"When the writer explains the story to include multiple possibilities. The reader assumes a more active role."p38.
Murray states that this new active role can be unsettling for the read, but can also be experienced as an invitation to join in the creative process, and I suppose it's this idea of an invitation to enjoy the creative process that sits at the heart of audience participation in the Transmedial narrative. This invitation to join in with the creative process is identified by Murray as happening, right across the board. Murray points to a comic book example, where the creator Mike Baron introduces the first five issues of his nexus comic book stories with a chatty description of his collaboration with comic book artist Steve Rude. Within description, he talks about the way in which he and Steve rude, argued about the characters they were creating. Murray sees this discussion as impacting upon the fictional integrity of the comic book itself. Saying that for the audience. The integrity of the characters that were being discussed was lost. But what's interesting, she says that the audience. The dramatic interest, which is from what's happened to the characters within the comic book to what is happening between the two comic book creators. This movement in focus for the audience from characters to creators is interesting and something that I think can occur and explore along the way. My hope for my own work is clearly all attention is on the characters and story and not on. The creators behind, but there may well be part of Transmedial world which includes the making of documentary or some kind of making of commentary.

It is at this point that Murray begins to discuss some ideas around the impact of fan culture. Murray prefaces her commentary. The idea that traditionally, television is not being responsive to fan input. She goes on to say that this is not stop fans, developing their own underground culture in the past. This culture would have centred around underground magazines, possibly trading videos or, or direct conversation. Now Murray points of the Internet as providing the existing fan culture with a platform from which they can now communicate with both creators and other fans in a more direct way. Murray points to the fact that fans have always shared gossip and critical commentary on the shows they love. Star Trek in particular, as produced a vast amounts of alternative literature detailing the adventures of the crew. Often written by women. The stories have drawn out some of the more emotional, relationship driven elements of the star trek universe, Murray also points the way in which in the 1990s when this book was written fans were editing video tape to create their own versions of the show. This type of textual poaching is Henry Jenkins called hers, expanded exponentially with the development of the World Wide Web, and more importantly, possibly, the development of social media. These are things which Murray really has no idea about because they're so far in the future for, but it's clear that ideas are applicable directly. Murray touches on some interesting topics here discussing things around ownership. The way in which fans feel that they own the product themselves that they are entitled to images, photographs, to change to write to create their own versions of the characters they love. Clearly, this can be a problem when you have issues around intellectual property, and the ownership of copyright. Again, this is something that everybody who works in this kind of Transmedial must be thinking of fan ownership plan involvement. How can it be controlled, how can it be used to develop and strengthen the both the narrative story and the underlying brand.

Murray goes on to have an interesting discussion that may be a bit out of date, around the impact of 3-D cinema and the way in which the 3-D cinema offers you a more immersive experience and Excel are things he is saying here are interesting but outmoded, simply because they the ability of the Transmedial storyteller to immerse their consumer within the Transmedial world has grown so exponentially over the last 20yrs.

Collider:



Collider is an interesting Transmedial project. Live action and online comic book, possible off-line, as well. not blown away by production values, not really blown away by story either. But I certainly think this is worth watching to see how things develop.



http://www.sfx.co.uk/2012/06/16/collider-episode-3-breakdown/
http://www.colliderworld.com/
http://www.facebook.com/colliderworld

interesting project

Just started reading Janet Hague, Murray's books and on the holodeck. The future of narrative in cyberspace first two chapters of very interesting. One of the key things to remember about this book is written from the perspective of somebody who is in right at the very start of the new Transmedial age.she discusses in the opening chapters. Some ideas about the fundamental nature of the immersive Transmedial experience. The impact that it has on the viewer/consumer the impact that this type of technology might have on society at large.

Janet Murray uses images of a Transmedial experiences found within fictional setting to explore both a utopian and dystopian the Transmedial future. She uses the holodeck found on the starship enterprise, as an example a utopian Transmedial future. A future in which the consumer uses the Transmedial environment to stimulate their  imagination.The consumer, effectively reaching into the Transmedial world and controlling what he or she sees and does. It is a world where the Transmedial environment can be used to confront social, personal problems/issues. A world where the Transmedial experience augments and adds to the everyday lives of those who consumed it.

She positions, this utopian view against the dystopian view presented by movies such as Huxley's Brave New World and Ray Bradbury's book Fahrenheit 451. In these fictional depictions of the Transmedial experience, the  experience takes over the consumer superseding the consumer's real-life. Effectively, the Transmedial environment controls the consumer, ultimately telling the consumer  what he or she should want and feel.

The transmedial experience within these dystopian views of the future meets the consumer's shallow immediate basic lusts (sexual excitement etc) and in so doing breaks the link between the consumer and the real world. Murray uses these examples to tease out some  the more esoteric moral issues surrounding transmedia and the consumption of transmedial product. For many these are still relevant questions today.

As perhaps it does for anybody working in this space the question raised is how  do I want the consumer to operate in the transmedial world I am about to create?

Janet Murray makes it clear in these chapters that the idea of a new media/medium somehow corrupting it's user and society at large is not in itself a new. And again, she helpfully drawers our attention to  some of the more historical examples of where new media types  have been seen as a danger to society something incredibly negative. Even the book, and the humble printing press were seen as dangerous. When they first appeared.

Although the moral questions raised within this chapter are interesting. I don't  want to spend too much time thinking about them. They are surely questions which have been asked, fears that have been expressed, whenever a new media platform has become available, and information is available in a new form.

 What I do think is relevant for me is a basic understanding where the consumer sits in the transmedial space?

The arguments, Janet Murray is raising about audience control, social impact relate directly to what we call audience participation.

How do you get the audience to participate? How do you capture them?

These are fundamental issues that I think I want to explore in my dissertation .  

http://www.brandongenerator.com/behind-the-scenes

Just stumbled across this - really very interesting transmedia project using the power of crowds to generate content , certainly raises issues about ownership and line where professional creator and amateur  enthusiast meet.

My journey begins: The Convergent audience , Audience participation through transmedial narrative.

This is my second blog on transmedial narrative , and once again I am creating it as part of my MA into digital media and transmedial narrative! 

This time and I preparing to undertake my dissertation, which right now has a working title of The convergent audience understanding audience participation within a transmedial environment. This may change ( it already has a number of times over the last wk) but I certainly feel I have the right elements in forcing on audience participation.

This is where my journey into Transmedial narrative and audience participation begins! I punched Transmedia narrative / audience participation into google and amongst the first things thrown up was a recent lecture by Henry Jenkins. Henry Jenkins is one of the fathers of transmedia theory.  It was upon his ideas that I based my first transmedial project the SEER and  I thought it would be fun to see what HJ was saying now on audience participation i a transmedial reality. 

In a recent lecture Henry Jenkins outlined his current thinking on transmedia and the audience.

WIthin this lecture HJ identifies 5 logics of engagement which he suggests  go some way to understanding the explosion in fan participation.

In Jenkins’ view, five logics are contributing to the emergence of transmedia and the phenomenon of increased fan participation (‘fandom’):

-    The logic of entertainment, as evidenced by the presence in the US TV schedules of TV series and reality shows;
-    The logic of social connection, highlighted by votes and discussions on social networking sites;
-    The logic of experts, symbolised by the collective intelligence (Levy, 1994true) brought to bear by fans for the purposes of creation, production and discussion. Henry Jenkins cites the examples of the creation of Twin Peaks fan sites and the Lost Wiki (Lostpedia), which both collate articles written by fans to offer greater insight into both series;
-    The logic of immersion, which encourages participation. For example, on Oscars night fans could use a number of interactive tools to immerse themselves in the ceremony and form a community;
-    The logic of identification, which enables fans to establish an identity depending on what they watch.

http://www.transmedialab.org/en/events/henry-jenkins-explains-his-vision-of-transmedia-and-audience-engagement/

Extract taken from reports on lecture by Henry Jenkins on Friday 25 May 2012 on Transmedia Storytelling entitled “Engagement, participation, play: the value and meaning of Transmedia audiences”.

Henry Jenkins explains his vision of transmedia and audience engagement

Logics of engagement:

In Jenkins’ view, five logics are contributing to the emergence of transmedia and the phenomenon of increased fan participation (‘fandom’):

-    The logic of entertainment, as evidenced by the presence in the US TV schedules of TV series and reality shows;
-    The logic of social connection, highlighted by votes and discussions on social networking sites;
-    The logic of experts, symbolised by the collective intelligence (Levy, 1994true) brought to bear by fans for the purposes of creation, production and discussion. Henry Jenkins cites the examples of the creation of Twin Peaks fan sites and the Lost Wiki (Lostpedia), which both collate articles written by fans to offer greater insight into both series;
-    The logic of immersion, which encourages participation. For example, on Oscars night fans could use a number of interactive tools to immerse themselves in the ceremony and form a community;
-    The logic of identification, which enables fans to establish an identity depending on what they watch.

THE DEFINITION OF TRANSMEDIA STORYTELLING

Henry Jenkins then returned to his definition of Transmedia Storytelling, which he proposed for the first time in a 2003 analysis of the augmented universe of the Matrix film franchise, published in Technological Review.

Taking this definition as a starting point, he suggested examples to illustrate the concept, both in terms of production strategies and fan extensions. For instance, Jenkins highlighted the narrative universe of The Wizard of Oz (musicals, cartoon series, books, comic strips) to illustrate the idea that, in his opinion, Transmedia strategies were in place well before the term was coined and defined, and certainly well before the rapid rise of digital media. He emphasised this idea by explaining that Transmedia Storytelling is perfectly viable without using new technologies, and that the latter have mainly been used as facilitators by the modern creators of transmedia universes.

The researcher at USC’s Annenberg Lab then moved on to more contemporary examples, such as the creation of the Tru Blood drink as a direct spin-off of the TV products, the posting of “no aliens” stickers on benches specially designed for humans to symbolise the racial segregation depicted in the film District 9, and the Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic books created by Joss Whedon, which added an eighth non-televised season to the series.

Fans, immersed in a wide-ranging narrative universe, strive to produce their own transmedia extensions, in an example of what Jenkins calls the logic of performance. For example, fans of Lost have managed to create a map of the island which is not shown in the series, enabling them to map locations and characters’ movements. Glee fans, meanwhile, perform songs and dance routines from episodes of the show and then post and share them on platforms like YouTube. Finally, fans of Star Wars have made Star Wars Uncut, a series of sequences filmed by them and stitched together to recreate the whole film.

Jenkins also noted that some fan extensions precede the cultural industries’ transmedia creations. He cited the example of Pottermore, the official transmedia extension created by the author of the Harry Potter books. This website offers functions such as the Sorting Hat Ceremony, which determines which of the four school Houses each new Hogwarts student is assigned to. Yet this ceremony had already been developed by fans themselves ten years before, leading Jenkins to note that the cultural industries are lagging ten years behind!