I found it really interesting (and a little confusing!) that the chapter "What Is Transmedia Anyway?" discussed right away how difficult it is to pinpoint exactly what "transmedia" is. In fact, I felt like the author was going back and forth on different definitions and interpretations throughout the entire reading, which I'm sure is indicative of how many forms transmedia can take, but also makes it hard to apply its meaning to real life scenarios and think of examples.
Most generally (by my understanding of the reading), "transmedia" refers to a story being told across several platforms, with each platform contributing a separate, independent part of that story. The reading mostly refers to movie franchises as examples, such as Star Wars and Avatar, which include storytelling via other media beyond the films, such as books and video games. Initially, this doesn't seem like anything new- nowadays, every big film is marketed across several media prior to its release. However, in this case (one we're used to seeing), each of these platforms aren't contributing different independent parts of the story, which is something we don't see as often. This might be a big reason why so many of us seem to be struggling with the meaning of transmedia!
As for examples, I have to wonder if a TV show with an accompanying video game (like The Walking Dead) would count as transmedia. Even though the video game might follow the same basic premise as the TV show, in a sense, you add your own story through your own experience of the video game. Could be a stretch. However, also along the Walking Dead lines, a much more obvious (also much more possible) example of transmedia would be the comic books and the TV show. While some of the TV show plot line follows the comic books, most of the TV show takes its own spins off the general story told through the comic books. This particular example of transmedia actually causes a lot of fan buzz: fans who are familiar with the comics make certain predictions based on the plot line of the comics, comment when the TV show has strayed from the comics' plot line, etc.
I totally agree with your thoughts... It is kind of ironic that the author discussed how difficult it is to pinpoint the definition of transmedia, yet she kept giving different definitions of what it is. It made me question whether or not the author even knew what defined transmedia. The author talks about how transmedia utilizes multiple forms of media. Your example on whether a TV show with an accompanying video game counts as transmedia brings up a really good point. How many forms of media are we talking about for it to be considered transmedia?
ReplyDeleteI agree with the topic being confusing because of how it was displayed in the chapter. I think you're right in your assumption that it is about telling a story across different platforms. I also think a TV show that turns into a video game would work for the definition of transmedia. I liked your example of The Walking Dead and I don't think it would be too much of a stretch.
ReplyDeleteI also felt confused about the author's definitions of transmedia and I came to the same sort of conclusion that you seem to have reached - that "transmedia" stories are ones that span across several types of media and each contributes its own specific part. Considering this, I also question what qualifies contribution to a story, especially with video games.
ReplyDeleteReading this post helped me understand the concept a bit more. So if transmedia is telling a different part of the story, then Star Wars really does not fit. But the chapter's example of the book which had phone numbers to call and websites to visit to help give you clues to the mystery is a better example of transmedia.
ReplyDeleteLike most of my classmates, I had a hard time understanding the definition of transmedia storytelling as I was reading the text. I agree with you that the author seemed to contradict themselves a lot on what they believed the actual definition was, which led me to believe that it is hard to nail down a single definition because the technological age is always changing and adapting.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear that I am not the only one who was confused by the chapters lack of ability to define transmedia. At several points throughout the reading it was noted that definitional terms are irrelevant, which I felt contradicted the readings goal of providing a solid definition, or at least understanding of the term.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear that I am not the only one who was confused by the chapters lack of ability to define transmedia. At several points throughout the reading it was noted that definitional terms are irrelevant, which I felt contradicted the readings goal of providing a solid definition, or at least understanding of the term.
ReplyDeleteThe text was very confusing in trying to explain what transmedia is! It is true that although confusing, the definition the author kind of gave did not seem very new, except how different media play a role in different parts of the story. Marketing changes because of this, does it become more entertaining? more confusing? or do we not even pay attention to it? Is that why we didn't know about transmedia prior to the article?
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