COMM234 MEDIA & NEW TECHNOLOGIESWeek 4 – Transmedia NarrativesSarah Wharton – sarah.wharton@liverpool.ac.uk

Week 4 outline What is narrative? What is a transmedia narrative? How are transmedia narratives used?

By industries? By consumers?

Examples of transmedia narratives: Film. TV. Advertising.

How does this change concepts of narrative? Seminar information.

Learning outcomes Define a transmedia narrative.

Identify examples of transmedia narratives/products.

Identify arguments as to whether transmedia narratives are different to traditional narratives.

What is narrative? Bordwell, David & Kristin Thompson

(2008) Film Art: An Introduction (8th Edition). Boston: McGraw-Hill. Pp. 74-109. “We can consider a narrative to be a chain

of events in cause-effect relationship occurring in time and space” (p75).

Example “A man has a fight

with his boss; he tosses and turns that night, unable to sleep. In the morning, he is still so angry that he smashes the mirror while shaving. Then his telephone rings; his boss has called to apologize” (p. 75).

This is a narrative because: We can connect events

spatially. The 3 events are a

series of causes and effects.

The events occur in a specific time-frame.

Develops from conflict to resolution through a series of events caused by the conflict.

What is narrative? Narration or fabula

(story): The action as a

chronological cause-effect chain of events occurring within a given duration and spatial field.

A mental construct or pattern that spectators create through a process of assumption and inference.

Narrative or syuzhet (plot): The actual arrangement

and presentation of the fabula by the film.

In other words: the way in which the story is told.

Bordwell, David (1985) Narration in the Fiction Film. London: Methuen.

Example – Memento (Nolan, 2000) Narration or fabula

(story): The film in

chronological order (including inferred events such as the rape and murder of Leonard’s wife).

Narrative or syuzhet (plot): The film as it is

presented to the audience.

In traditional narrative theory…

The narrative is restricted to the text (film, TV show, advert, book, comic, video game etc.) itself.

In film, for example, the viewer’s experience is restricted to the viewing of the film alone.

So…

…What is a transmedia narrative?

Basic definition: a narrative that spans across a variety of media.

For example: a film that continues, expands and develops its narrative via a website/video game/graphic novel etc.

What is a transmedia narrative? “…a particular narrative structure that expands through

both different languages (verbal, iconic, etc.) and media (cinema, comics, television, video games, etc.).”

Transmedia storytelling “is not just an adaptation from one media to another. The story that the comics tell is not the same as that told on television or in cinema; the different media and languages participate and contribute to the construction of the transmedia narrative world.”

Scolari, Carlos Alberto (2009) “Transmedia Storytelling: Implicit Consumers, Narrative Worlds, and Branding in Contemporary Media Production” in International Journal of Communication, Vol. 3. Pp. 586-606.

What is a transmedia narrative? “In the ideal form of transmedia storytelling, each

medium does what it does best – so that a story might be introduced in a film, expanded through television, novels and comics; its world might be explored through game play or experienced as an amusement park attraction.”

“Each franchise entry needs to be self-contained so that you don’t need to have seen the film to enjoy the game, and vice versa. Any given product is a point of entry into the franchise as a whole.”

Jenkins, Henry (2006) Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York: NYU Press. Pp. 95-6.

Examples of transmedia products Donnie Darko (Kelly,

2001) The Matrix franchise

(1999-2003) The Saw franchise

(2004-2010) How I Met Your Mother

(20th Century Fox Television, 2005-)

Sherlock (BBC, 2010-) Waterloo Road (BBC,

2006-)

What does a transmedia narrative do…

…For film/TV production companies? Provides dynamic marketing in the form of

interactive websites, viral campaigns etc. Provides saleable consumer/leisure products

(e.g. video games, theme park rides, comics, graphic novels, books, ancillary DVDs etc.) that provide income and further marketing.

Continues to make money from spectators beyond the initial film/TV show.

A direct result of media conglomeration.

What does a transmedia narrative do…

…For writers and directors? Gives a creative outlet for content not

included in the film (e.g. backstories, cut characters, “plot holes”, cut stories).

Assists the development of a narrative world.

What does a transmedia narrative do…

…For audiences? Enables the prolonging of the film

(franchise) experience. Provides different levels of entry into a

franchise. Encourages fan discussion and entry into

collective knowledge bases. Allows a deeper understanding of the

narrative world and its characters. Assists in the answering of questions set up

in the film.

The Saw franchise 7 interdependent films Saw: The Ride at

Thorpe Park Saw: Game Over maze

at Universal Studios Saw – 2009 video game Saw II: Flesh & Blood –

2010 video game Saw: Rebirth comic

book

The Saw games The first video game of Saw expands the narrative of

the first film without interfering with the film series narrative. Takes place between Saw and Saw II following the

character of David Tapp who’s presumed dead at the end of the first film.

It develops characters hinted at in the first film and gives Tapp a resolution to his narrative since his “death” is not seen in the film.

The second video game is a direct sequel to the first and so does not interfere with the film series narrative, while expanding on characters and situations introduced in the films.

Sherlock TV series features 4 tie-in

websites (so far): The Science of Deduction John Watson’s Blog Molly Hooper’s Diary

(Series 1 references only) Connie Prince’s official site

(Series 1 references only) All 4 expand the narrative

of the series as well as providing additional narrative content only hinted at in the show.

How I Met Your Mother 7 series (so far) 3 tie-in books written by

the character Barney: The Bro Code Bro on the Go The Playbook

21 (so far) tie-in websites that expand the narrative and/or provide extra content.

2 official music videos by Robin Sparkles Let’s Go To The Mall Sandcastles in the Sand

Do transmedia narratives affect traditional narrative theory?

Narrative is no longer restricted to one text.

Film narratives may be incomprehensible to audiences without transmedia experiences.

Spectatorship becomes active rather than passive.

Film/TV is still the biggest, most accessible element.

Most transmedia texts can be enjoyed without full transmedia experiences.

Spectatorship has always been active to an extent with audiences “getting” references and discussing texts.

Yes No

Creating worlds “When I first started, you would pitch a

story because without a good story, you didn’t really have a film. Later, once sequels started to take off, you pitched a character because a good character could support multiple stories. And now, you pitch a world because a world can support multiple characters and multiple stories across multiple media.”

Screenwriter, cited in Jenkins. P. 114.

Seminar information Key reading:

Jenkins, Henry (2008) Convergence Culture: When Old and New Media Collide. New York: NYU Press. Chapter 3.

Keane, Stephen (2007) CineTech: Film, Convergence and New Media. New York: Palgrave MacMillan. Chapter 6.

In the seminar we will explore how to write a transmedia product proposal using industry guidelines.

You will be provided with your brief and deadline for Assessment Two.

This seminar will be held in a computer suite! Eleanor Rathbone Building Teaching Centre, Room 201, 2nd

Floor Eleanor Rathbone Building.