the art of immersion

A lot of business books are so poorly written, you wish you could just jam a thumb-drive into them and download info into your brain without having to actually ingest the pages.

Happily, The Art of Immersion: How the Digital Generation is Remaking Hollywood, Madison Avenue and the Way We Tell Stories is that rare business book you don’t want to put down, a riveting read for anyone whose business is impacted by how audiences are changing--which is to say, anyone reading this.

The author, Frank Rose, a Wired editor, is a terrific storyteller who imbues in the reader his own fascination with how “after centuries of linear storytelling, a new form of narrative is emerging by which stories are told through many media at once."

Deep Media, he calls this emerging form. Henry Jenkins (eminent thought pioneer in this territory) says transmedia. But whatever it’s named, it’s a growing phenomenon profoundly affecting our business:

The 20th Century approach to advertising…had it all wrong. For decades, ad people had assumed that consumers thought in a linear and essentially rational fashion. All a television spot had to do to arouse desire for the product was to get the viewer’s attention and make a strong case…Cognitive researchers…discovered that this isn’t what happens. People don’t passively ingest a message. Perceptions of a brand aren’t simply created by marketers; they’re “co-created” by marketers and consumers together.

The book includes behind-the-scenes adventures in the creation of some of the most interesting experiments in crossplatform narrative for both entertainment and marketing--the Star Wars Expanded Universe, Lost Experience, Dunder Mifflen Infinity, I Love Bees and many more, including (disclosure) Mad Men on Twitter, a chapter in which @BettyDraper is honored to be profiled.

It’s not officially released yet, but I got my pre-order early here.

transmedia wins new title at the *other* PGA

In a historic meeting last night at Producers Guild of America (significant because the PGA rarely approves new credits) an amendment was approved in which executives who expand storylines onto multiple platforms will receive official credit as "Transmedia Producers". One of the authors of the amendment and a driving force behind it is Jeff Gomez, CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment and producer of transmedia projects for Mattell, Hasbro and Coca Cola (Happiness Factory) and film projects. Full article on Deadline Hollywood, where the story broke, here.

Last night's vote was a huge win for new tellers of story. When I first saw the news on twitter, my brain did a high-five. But upon close read of PGA's definition of Transmedia Producer I was dismayed to see that the title applies only if the story has three (count em) storylines. Three? Isn't the meaning (and beauty) of transmedia that one, single story is proliferated across platforms? Three works for franchises. But franchises aren't the only type of transmedia project, as Christy Dena, a Melbourne-based PhD in transmedia points out on her blog:

What about all the transmedia producers for special television episodes that include the web in a special two-screen experience? Gosh, simultaneous media-usage with TV shows especially created to work with the web or mobile are one of the biggest growth areas in broadcasting. And books with websites or DVDs? The minimum-of-three rule applies to franchises easily, but it shows how little these people know about how big the area is.

Perhaps Gomez and others pushing for this reform knew vote would go through only if it was explained in marketing speak: franchise. And that amendment won't be limited to strict adherence. Because to do so would limit the vastness of the field first envisioned by Henry Jenkins in the Jurassic Period (early 1990s).

Your turn now, WGA. Transmedia Writer?

UPDATE

Jeff Gomez kindly comments with clarification: Transmedia Producer credit relies on three story threads, not storylines:

"To clarify, the three storyline rule stands for at least three narrative threads, not three completely different and separate stories. It's specifically aimed at producers and designed to prevent repurposing, which has run rampant in the age of new media."

best explanation of convergence culture i've ever heard

comes from Lean Mean Fighting Machine. No wonder Cannes named them Interactive Agency of the Year. Next time your client asks for a viral video, hit play.