Storytelling Across Worlds

Book description

Don’t restrict your creative property to one media channel. Make the essential leap to transmedia!

From film to television to games and beyond, Storytelling Across Worlds gives you the tools to weave a narrative universe across multiple platforms and meet the insatiable demand of today’s audience for its favorite creative property.

This, the first primer in the field for both producers and writers, teaches you how to:

* Employ film, television, games, novels, comics, and the web to build rich and immersive transmedia narratives

* Create writing and production bibles for transmedia property

* Monetize your stories across separate media channels

* Manage transmedia brands, marketing, and rights

* Work effectively with writers and producers in different areas of production

* Engage audiences with transmedia storytelling

Up-to-date examples of current transmedia and cross-media properties accompany each chapter and highlight this hot but sure-to-be enduring topic in modern media.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Haft Title
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright Page
  5. Table of Contents
  6. Preface
  7. List of Figures
  8. Part 1 Understanding Transmedia Storytelling
    1. Chapter 1 One Story
      1. What Is Transmedia?
      2. The Producers Guild Definition
      3. Transmedia, Intellectual Property and Franchises
      4. Stumbling Toward Transmedia
      5. Transmedia Storytelling for Producers
      6. The Role of the Transmedia Producer
        1. Finding the Idea
        2. Determining the Scope/Setting the Budget
        3. Building the Team
        4. Setting the Schedule
        5. Overseeing Production
      7. Audience, Presentation and Platforms
        1. Presentation and Platform
      8. Transmedia for Creatives
        1. A Story for All Screens
      9. One World, Many Stories
      10. Adaptation vs. Extension vs. Expansion
        1. Adaptation
        2. Extension
        3. Expansion
      11. Where to Start
        1. Finding the Starting Concept
      12. Reboot and Reinvention
      13. Cornerstone Platform/Property
        1. Story and Medium
        2. Audience and Medium
        3. Development, Production and Medium
      14. Engagement and Participation
    2. Chapter 2 Worldbuilding and Key Story Elements
      1. The Challenge of Transmedia Development
      2. Development Processes
        1. Bottom-Up Creation
        2. Top-Down Crafting
      3. Weaving the Universe
        1. Economic Issues
        2. Cultural Impact
        3. Cast of Characters
        4. Platform Implications
        5. Two Weaving Examples
      4. Story Universe vs.The Storyworld
      5. Building Blocks
        1. Physical Geography
        2. Culture
        3. History
        4. Mythology and Cosmology
      6. Key Story Elements
        1. Story/Theme
        2. Plot
        3. Characters
        4. Setting
      7. Style/Tone
      8. More to Explore
    3. Chapter 3 Storytelling and Narrative Continuity
      1. Driving the Story
      2. Genre Types
      3. Plotting Points and Curves
      4. World Out of Balance
      5. The Beginning and End of Our Universe
        1. Entry Points
        2. Entry Into LOST
        3. Entry Into Avatar
        4. Managing Multiple Entry Points
        5. Endings
      6. Narrative Coherence
      7. Continuity, Canon, and Consistency
        1. Continuity
        2. Canon
  9. Part 2 Many Media
    1. Chapter 4 Motion Pictures and Visual Storytelling
      1. How Fast? Speed
      2. How Much? Duration
      3. How Big? Shot Size
      4. Why Film?
      5. Basics of Film Storytelling and Structure
        1. Story Structures
      6. Turning the Plot Curve Upside Down
      7. Three-Act Structure in Film
      8. Key Transmedia Elements and Motion Pictures
        1. Theme/Story
        2. Plot
        3. Character
        4. Setting
        5. Style/Tone
      9. Presenting a Visual Story with Words
        1. Loglines
        2. Outlines
      10. Story Summaries
        1. Synopsis
        2. Treatments
      11. Scripts/Screenplays
        1. Proposals
      12. Film Production Realities
      13. A Film’s Life Cycle
        1. Development
        2. Preproduction
        3. Production
        4. Postproduction
        5. Marketing/Exhibition/Distribution
      14. Film Franchises and Sequels
      15. Film and Transmedia
        1. Visual Storytelling
      16. Film and Other Media
      17. Interview: Phil Hay
    2. Chapter 5 Television and Serialized Storytelling
      1. Basics of Television Storytelling
        1. Structured Acts
        2. A Story … and a B Story, C Story, D and Sometimes E!
        3. Act Breaks and Bridging the Gaps
        4. Episodic vs. Serialized Storytelling
        5. Arcs: The Long and Short of It
        6. Procedurals and the Best of Both Worlds
      2. Formats and How Long It Takes
        1. Spirals of Conflict
        2. It’s All About the Timing
      3. Why Television Loves Genres
      4. Key Transmedia Elements and Television
        1. Theme/Story
        2. Plot
        3. Character
        4. Setting
        5. Style/Tone
      5. Television Production Realities
        1. A Season at a Time
        2. Franchises
      6. Spin-Offs
      7. Revival
      8. The Remake/Reboot
      9. Television and Transmedia
        1. The History
        2. Case Studies
        3. Why Aren’t We All LOST?
      10. A Modest Proposal … A Transmedia Network
        1. The CBS Dramatic Universe – Possible?
        2. Making It All Work Together
      11. Interview: Carlton Cuse
    3. Chapter 6 Video Games and Interactive Storytelling
      1. The State of Video Game Development
      2. Participatory Content, for the Win
      3. Basics of Game Design and Storytelling
        1. Gameplay and Story Working Together
        2. Game – Story – Game – Story is a Familiar Pattern
      4. Key Transmedia Elements and Video Games
        1. Theme/Story
        2. Plot
        3. Character
        4. Setting
        5. Style/Tone
      5. Video Game Storytelling Structure
        1. The Story Written vs. The Story Played
        2. Interactive Stories
        3. The Compiexities of Branching Stories
      6. The Concepts of Agency and Affordance
        1. Agency and Affordance and the Transmedia Property
      7. Character, Action, and the Expression of Character
        1. Action and Gameplay
        2. Character Motivation
      8. Dialogue and Conversation
        1. Example: Mass Effect Conversations
      9. Game Production Realities
      10. Production Time and Timing
      11. Production Methodologies
        1. Agile Development
        2. Iterative Development (Cerny Method)
        3. Waterfall Model
      12. Developers and Publishers
      13. Licensing
      14. The Game Production Process
        1. Game Production Scheduling and Milestones
      15. Video Games and Transmedia
        1. Role-Playing Games, World Building and Story Extension
        2. Video Games and Other Media
        3. Video Games and Television
      16. Interview: Jordan Weisman
    4. Chapter 7 Other Forms of Storytelling
      1. Intellectual Properties that Started as Novels, Comics or New Media
        1. Novels
        2. “Comics” (Comics, Graphic Novels, Manga)
        3. New Media Content (Internet-based)
      2. Cultural Artifacts
        1. Toys, Food, Advertising and News as a Source
      3. Does Anybody Just Make a Universe for the Hell of it?
      4. Other Forms of Narrative Extension
      5. Conventional Additions
        1. Fan Fiction
        2. Cosplay
        3. Fan Conventions
      6. Unconventional Additions
        1. Slash Fiction/Fan Media Pornography
        2. Fan “Canon” Videos….
      7. Batman and Naruto Face the Challenges of Size and Longevity
      8. Naruto/Naruto Shippuden
        1. Origin: Manga
        2. Anime
        3. Films
        4. Video Games
        5. All Sorts of Alternative Media
        6. Why has Naruto been so Successful?
        7. Naruto’s Core Story/Arc Dynamics
      9. Batman
        1. Origins: Comics
        2. First Transformation 212
        3. Re-Emergence into Mainstream Popular Culture
        4. So What Happened to the Movies?
      10. Interview: Anthony Del Col
    5. Chapter 8 Choosing Properties and Forms
      1. Fan Base
        1. Wizard of Oz
        2. Nancy Drew
        3. Fred
      2. Developed Universe
        1. Lord of the Rings
        2. The Walking Dead
        3. Chronicles of Narnia
        4. His Dark Materials
      3. Economic Factors
        1. The Graphic Novel Craze
        2. The Internet Craze
        3. Cheap has Value
      4. Author’s Pull
        1. Stephen King
        2. George R. R. Martin
        3. Orson Scott Card
        4. J. K. Rowling
      5. Final Thoughts on an Existing Property
      6. The Expectation and Impact of Extension and Expansion
      7. A Final Thought: The Blurring of Ownership
  10. Part 3 Managing the Story
    1. Chapter 9 Managing the Transmedia Property
      1. Maintaining the Brand
      2. Marvel and Story Extension
      3. Feedback and Conversation
      4. Brand Loyalty, Across Platforms
      5. Release Schedule
        1. Factors in Scheduling the Release of a Television Series
        2. Factors in Scheduling the Release of a Film
        3. Factors in Scheduling the Release of a Game
        4. Factors in Scheduling the Release of a Graphic Novel
        5. Release Sequence
      6. Marketing
      7. The Gift of Fire
      8. Licensing and Rights Management
        1. Trademarks and Copyright
        2. The Approval Process
        3. Who’s in Charge?
      9. Fans, Fandom and Fan Culture
        1. Connections
        2. Conversations
      10. Technical Management
        1. Technical Solutions
        2. Internal vs. External Needs
        3. Local Network
        4. Remote Access
        5. Document Storage and Sharing
        6. Database Software
        7. Wikis
      11. Project and Multipurpose Sites
    2. Chapter 10 The Transmedia Intellectual Property Bible
      1. Building the Bible
      2. Story, Rules and Underlying Assumptions
        1. Authors
        2. Elements of the Bible
      3. Sharing the Bible
      4. Updating the Bible, Maintaining the Franchise
        1. The Transmedia Intellectual Property Bible as a Static Document
      5. The Bible as a Dynamic Digital Document
        1. Maintaining the Continuity Bible Consistently
  11. Part 4 End Matters
    1. Chapter 11 Wrap Up
  12. Appendix A Motion Picture Platform Bible
  13. Appendix B Television Platform Bible
  14. Appendix C Video Game Platform Bible
  15. Appendix D Platform Bibles for Other Forms of Storytelling
  16. Appendix E Sample Trademark Licensing Agreement
  17. Appendix F The Producer’s Guild of America “Code of Credits” Definition of Transmedia Producer
  18. Appendix G Suggested Readings
  19. Index

Product information

  • Title: Storytelling Across Worlds
  • Author(s): Tom Dowd
  • Release date: January 2015
  • Publisher(s): Routledge
  • ISBN: 9781136071416