NoFilmSchool » transmedia

Five Ways Filmmakers Can Use Pinterest

E.M. Taboada — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 02:52:33 +0000

It’s more likely than not that you’ve heard of Pinterest — the fast growing social media network that lets folks create an online scrapbook of images they can share or re-share with others. Being such a visual medium, it’s no surprise many filmmakers are exploring ways in which they can put this new social media tool to use. With that in mind, here are 5 ways filmmakers can use Pinterest to their advantage: (more…)

DIY Days with Henry Jenkins: If It Doesn't Spread, It's Dead

Joe Marine — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:00:53 +0000

We’ve covered DIY Days a little before, mainly because our own Koo was one of the speakers at the recent New York event. DIY Days for those who don’t know is basically a gathering of creatives and focuses on the future of media and sustainability for those who create it. This presentation from Henry Jenkins was recorded at DIY Days in Los Angeles back in October, 2011. (more…)

Ridley Scott Teams Up with TED and Why Hollywood (and Independents) Should Take Note

Joe Marine — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 15:00:58 +0000

If you haven’t heard of TEDTalks, we’ve covered quite a few of them here before, but now they’ve got a very special talk from a man named Peter Weyland, who happens to be the CEO of Weyland Industries. This a fictional character, of course, played by Guy Pearce, and it’s part of the marketing campaign for Ridley Scott’s “Alien prequel” Prometheus. If you’ve already seen it, good on you, but that’s not really what this post is about. If you’re one of the few people out there who don’t know what Prometheus is, here’s the trailer: (more…)

Advice for Creating a Transmedia Documentary

E.M. Taboada — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:01:06 +0000

It’s an exciting time for filmmakers and storytellers who are exploring ways to enhance their stories via the web. One of the new genres to emerge is the “web” or “connected” documentary. In essence, these are documentary projects that try to engage viewers via interactive tools — from customizing the experience depending on when and where it is accessed, to providing a “choose your own adventure” structure. This isn’t your typical documentary, and if you’re not wary as you undertake one of these projects it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Ben Moskowitz provides important tips to keep in mind as you explore interactive tools; and if you haven’t experienced a connected documentary, we’ve got a couple for you to check out: (more…)

Catch Power to the Pixel and IFP's 'Cross-Media Forum' Live Online Tuesday

Ryan Koo — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 23:06:41 +0000

I’ll be in the audience tomorrow at Power to the Pixel’s joint event with IFP, the Cross-Media Forum. The entire transmedia conference will be streamed live here, so tune in between the hours of 9am and 5pm if you’d like to attend virtually (the schedule can be found here). The official word: “Featuring an impressive array of storytelling experts from the worlds of film, games, advertising, interactive, the IFP / Power to the Pixel Cross-Media Forum is a not-to-be-missed event. If you can’t make it to New York, you can watch events unfold right here from the comfort of your own chair from 09.00 – 17.00 EST.”

A Closer Look at Lance Weiler's 'Pandemic' (and the Future of Storytelling)

Ryan Koo — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 17:22:31 +0000

Lance Weiler’s Pandemic 1.0 wasn’t just a short that played Sundance (available to watch in full here). The transmedia pioneer’s project extended far beyond the theater, involving real-world objects and a plethora of social media hooks. Watching the behind-the-scenes videos is akin to time-traveling to the future (of storytelling): (more…)

Lance Weiler's Transmedia Project 'Pandemic 1.0' Premieres at Sundance (and Online)

Ryan Koo — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 16:25:10 +0000

Transmedia pioneer Lance Weiler premiered his new project, Pandemic 1.0, at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival last night. Also known as “Pandemic 41.410806, -75.654259″ — which, if you put those coordinates into Google Maps, reveals a Scranton, PA setting — the 10-minute short premiered yesterday in the New Frontier Performances and Installations section of the festival, as well as on FEARnet HD (Verizon FiOS channel 197). And online, right here: (more…)

Jeff Gomez's Secrets to Transmedia Franchise Development

Ryan Koo — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 22:30:06 +0000

ARGNet has a great post covering transmedia impresario Jeff Gomez’s recent presentation at CineKid. CineKid is a kid’s new media festival in the Netherlands, but it also has a professional component, where Gomez presented. Gomez is president and CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment, and has developed the transmedia campaigns for Tron, Transformers, and Pirates of the Caribbean. His presentation is a great overview of transmedia — not only where it is today, but where it should be going. (more…)

New vs. Old at Independent Film Week

Ryan Koo — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 13:50:38 +0000

The reason I slipped from my daily posting schedule this week is because it’s Independent Film Week here in New York; as a participant in the No Borders co-production forum, I pitched my feature-length, interactive murder mystery 3rd Rail to something like eighteen different producers/financiers/sales agents/distributors over the past three days. This post, about the experience of attending and pitching at Ithe Project Forum, is cross-posted on the Filmmaker Magazine blog. For more on what the Project Forum is and why you should apply, check out this post. (more…)

6½ Questions With: Robert Pratten (Part 2)

Ryan Koo — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 17:09:33 +0000

Earlier in the week I began a discussion with filmmaker and transmedia developer Robert Pratten; we talked about why transmedia is more than a buzzword and why forward-thinking filmmakers should be planning for their next project to reach across multiple mediums. In this second part we talk about the initiative as an artist to develop not just “products” (e.g., feature films) but also “byproducts” (e.g., transmedia software) in order to self-sustain. In case you missed it, here’s part one of the interview. And here’s part two: (more…)

6½ Questions With: Robert Pratten (Part 1)

Ryan Koo — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 19:43:20 +0000

Robert Pratten is a ~~UK-based~~ San Francisco-based, UK-born filmmaker who has directed two features, London Voodoo and Mindflesh. His posts on transmedia and the independent filmmaker at the Workbook Project should be required reading, and he is currently launching TransmediaStoryteller, an online platform for designing and delivering transmedia experiences. Here, Robert answers why forward-thinking filmmakers should be thinking about transmedia, and why it’s much more than a buzzword. He gives some great in-depth answers to my questions, so I’m splitting the interview into two parts – think of this as 3.25 Questions With. (more…)

Watch Your Favorite Web Series Anywhere, Anytime with Webishades!

Ryan Koo — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:06:38 +0000

This is not a sponsored post! These are amazing! What are amazing? Glad you asked! Webishades are amazing new technological glasses that allow you to watch web series in 4K resolution in glorious 2D (note how there is only the red color of red/blue 3D glasses). I don’t need to sell these things when they sell themselves: (more…)

Prison Valley: an Interactive Web Documentary

Ryan Koo — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:58:53 +0000

Prison Valley is an interesting French documentary/interactive experience that examines Canon City, Colorado — home to 13 prisons, one of which is the first Supermax prison (widely considered to be the new “Alcatraz”). The web doc consists of brief filmed segments interspersed with interactive sequences, and offers a glimpse at where documentary film may be headed in the online space. Unfortunately it seems that I can’t embed a sequence, so here’s the blurb: (more…)

Robert Pratten on (intelligently) selecting platforms for transmedia projects

Ryan Koo — Tue, 18 May 2010 19:29:00 +0000

Robert Pratten has posted another thoughtful entry about transmedia development at the Workbook Project, this time about prioritizing and selecting platforms for transmedia projects. It’s easy to think about how to extend a film project to web, mobile, and gaming platforms, but unless we have realistic goals in mind for each platform, it doesn’t make sense to do it just for the sake of doing it. His advice:
Think of the story as has having two components: “the story” – the whole world that’s created with all the characters stretching out in chronological order. “The experience” – how the storyworld is revealed to the audience (timing and platforms). Note that the story might be much larger than the project you’re working on now.

You can download the entire piece [PDF], or read part one at the Workbook Project, and part two at Zen Films. There’s also an Excel worksheet at Zen Films (note: it’s an .xlsx file, which wouldn’t open on my Mac).

A diagram of the complete transmedia strategy for my next project

Ryan Koo — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:00:01 +0000

The push-pull interactions between marketing and storytelling are undeniably complex for transmedia projects. As such, there are a lot of diagrams and charts floating around the web illustrating how to best reach audiences dispersed across disparate viewing platforms. Thankfully, after months of hard work, I’ve come up with the definitive chart for transmedia storytelling! Click the image for a full-size view:

What’s that? This is a powerpoint slide of the American military strategy in Afghanistan? Oh. Looks the same to me!

[via The NY Times]

Transmedia and the studios

Ryan Koo — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:00:55 +0000

Yesterday’s post about transmedia and the interactive filmmaker highlighted the challenges of developing a transmedia story for independent creators. It’s interesting, then, to look at an example of an expansive transmedia campaign from a studio — in this case, Warner Brothers’ Alternate Reality campaign for The Dark Knight.¹ Independent productions are not going to be able to implement an ARG of this scope, but it’s nonetheless good brain candy for the concept of taking a movie “outside” the theater.

Much of the transmedia strategy and implementation was run by the folks at 42 Entertainment, some of whom later split off to found No Mimes Media.

Transmedia and the independent filmmaker

Ryan Koo — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 16:00:00 +0000

This video by Robert Pratten is a great introduction to what transmedia is and how it can be employed by the independent filmmaker (he also has a refreshing perspective on the “technological fetish” of our obsession with new camera technologies!). It’s a 45-minute presentation full of brain candy and should be required viewing for anyone thinking about telling stories across mediums. As Pratten stresses, “transmedia plays to indie’s strengths,” because delivering a consistency of story across platforms is possible for independent creators — not large studios made up of divided teams. In my opinion, his point about authenticity is even more important, because: I could care less about playing a social game if the original auteur had nothing to do with it, and I could care even less about buying a DVD if I suspect only 65 cents of a $15 purchase is going to find its way back to the original filmmaker. Creating our own cross-platform projects and retaining ownership not only gives us more creative control on all of the different incarnations of our story, it can also motivate fans to make purchases because they know we’re the ones benefiting from their support.

In addition to the above presentation, however, Pratten has written some very helpful articles at the Workbook Project on the process of developing transmedia projects:

Seen: PressPausePlay - Ted Hope

Ryan Koo — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:00:07 +0000

Independent producer Ted Hope (Adventureland, 21 Grams, In the Bedroom, and seemingly a thousand other films) is expanding the perception of what “independent film” is and how it should be distributed. I had a chance to sit down with him at Power To The Pixel, where he gave me some very valuable advice; we share the same view of independent film, that with crisis comes opportunity. Ted’s been very generous on his Truly Free Film blog by sharing advice like Ten things to do before you submit a script and Display your value: you are different from them, as well as asking pertinent questions such as What defines an event? In short, his blog is a must-read for independent filmmakers. Here, he answers some questions for the forthcoming film Press/Pause/Play. (more…)

Reflections on the Pixel Pitch and the transmedia market

Ryan Koo — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:55:25 +0000

Despite the fact that Zack and I have been pitching and developing our transmedia project Third Rail for over a year, it was a mad rush to pull together a trailer and rehearse our presentation for yesterday’s first annual Pixel Pitch here in London. During this process, which we had to conduct virtually — with him in New York, and myself temporarily in North Carolina — we considered a few different approaches to our verbal sell, some more theatrical and some more straightforward. Ultimately we went with the straightforward approach, and, in retrospect, that was probably a mistake. (more…)