What the &#*% is Transmedia: Before It Was Transmedia: Mephisto and Kevin

Although the word transmedia is fairly new, cross platform storytelling can be found in plenty of older properties. Every so often, I'll post up an old show or story on here that embodies this in what I hope will be an ongoing series of posts "Before It Was Transmedia". This time: South Park and the Primus song "Mephisto and Kevin" off the album "Chef Aid".

Written in 1998, the song tells the tale of the one of the significantly more obscure characters, Kevin aka "that little monkey guy". He never speaks on the show, except for a one time yelp in the episode "201". His character is never explained except as Mephisto's "son", the bizarre creature is a mystery to the casual fan but a dedicated fan will want to know just what the &#*% that little monkey guy is doing there.

Well, Primus (featuring Isaac Hayes) has the answer.

The song fills us in that Kevin is a genetically engineered pop star, born from Michael Jackson's sperm and an anonymous female singer's egg created by an old friend of Mephisto's. We even get to hear Kevin singing his song "I am Gopher Boy".

Personally, I love the song, it's a greatly humorous story with a catchy tune (Isaac Hayes even comments in the song about Kevin's tune being stuck in his head). From a storytelling perspective, what makes it great is that it manages to tell a very full story in five minutes and eighteen seconds.

The story works perfectly in this form because as much as this is a fun story, a full episode about a very tiny character like this will not play very well with the casual fans but it's a fun addition to the album they were putting out and fleshes out a minor mystery from the show.

So despite occurring years before anyone was really wondering what the &#*% transmedia was, this song is a perfect example of what transmedia can, and should, be.

Props: South Park is, of course, copyright property of Viacom and Comedy Central. If you'd like to purchase the song "Mephisto and Kevin" you can get the album "Chef Aid" on iTunes here or from Amazon here. You can check out South Park episodes free online (and legal!) here.

What the &#*% is Transmedia: Why Bother?

What is the point of transmedia? Why should anyone bother with stuff that's just on the Internet? It's not the actual show/movie/game so is there a point? Is it really doing anything positive for the show/movie/game?

I was recently luck enough to have lunch with an executive producer/writer on one of network TV's biggest shows (which I shall leave anonymous). We discussed new media and transmedia and he said, quite frankly, that he didn't think new media was worth the time and money.

I was shocked by the viewpoint if only in part because his show had recently expanded into the new media spectrum, though he chose to not be directly involved with the project. This, however, got me thinking about the bottom line reasons for transmedia. So, for today, let's ask why the %#*% we should do transmedia in the first place.

Transmedia focuses on the expansion of the mythos. The question after establishing that is simply why expanding the mythos is a good thing. After watching a movie or a TV show, Hollywood has already realized that people leave the theater or the living room wanting more (example: every unnecessary sequel ever made) and they don't want to wait for it. People hate waiting and we can take advantage of that.

Transmedia succeeds by fulfilling the fans natural desire for more as quickly as possible, sometimes even before hand. As soon as they can they get to their computer, they'll have the opportunity to jump into an extra piece of the story. This part is important because it establishes the franchise as a multi-platform experience from the get go. That way when you eventually expand further into the folds of the story, whether in book form, webisodes or whatever, they're ready and looking for it.

The goal is to keep their attention on the product for as long as possible. This is especially important on media that lives primarily on the web or another smaller market form. In this case, transmedia acts as a tool to keep the audience there.

Here's an example.

Let's say you're launching a new web series. The viewer of series #1 tunes in and watches the first episode. They enjoyed it but there's nothing else for them to look at so they click the next Youtube link and they're on to something else already. By the time the second episode launches, the viewer has forgotten about the series.

On the other hand, the viewer of series #2 watches their episode and then has the ability to read a short comic strip expanding the story of the episode just a bit. A tease for next week's episode. They've spent extra time with this series and got an extra amount of enjoyment out of it. That little extra time has taken them from going off and immediately diving into another series entirely. As long as the content is good, there's that much more chance for a return customer when episode 2 launches.

This can be the power of what transmedia does for a product. The extra content makes the experience wider and thus, more interesting. Bigger is not necessarily better and just having extra content is not enough. But if growing up a science fiction fan has taught me anything, it's that fanatics like more story and good story is what makes any media better than the competition.

What the &#*% is Transmedia: Heroes of Transmedia – Beyond the Camera

   So you've watched every episode of Heroes and you've caught up with all of the webisodes but the problem is you still want more. Well good news: there is more. Heroes has taken advantage of many different forms of storytelling beyond the lens. A truly devoted Heroes fan can enjoy everything from graphic novels to a simple MMORPG (aka a Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game for the less nerdy of you).

Graphic Novels
    One of the keys to any successful transmedia campaign (as it is for any piece of entertainment) is to know what your audience enjoys. Heroes is a show about superheroes and many of the themes are taken from comic books. Thus the natural train of thought is Heroes graphic novels.

    The 6-10 page graphic novels were released via the web from day one of the show and beyond the show's cancellation. A perfect companion piece, the novels allowed readers to get to know a great deal more about the universe of the show.

    Because of the fact that these stories were not limited to special effects budgets or actor availability or any of the other various issues that come up during filming, the writers (headed up during season four by staff writer Oliver Grigsby) were free to go in different directions with the stories. They could introduce significantly more complex powers (see Julien Dumont) and take characters to any part of the world that they wanted.

    During the fourth season, the graphic novels served the purpose of filling in stories of where characters had been while off screen, a question often raised on shows with so many interweaving plot lines. A perfect example of this is when Tracy disappears for several episodes, the graphic novel readers find out that she goes to work for Samuel hunting down an estranged carnival brother named Eli.

    Eli is an especially interesting case because the graphic novels are the first place he is actually introduced to fans. The dedicated fan is rewarded with a preview of things to come on the show. By rewarding fans in this way, NBC takes a big step in making sure that they can expect fans to come back again.

iStory
    A personal favorite (for very self involved reasons) is the Heroes iStory aka Interactive Story. Essentially, what these stories were akin to the choose-your-own-adventure Goosebumps novels. Players made choices on each page of the story as to where the characters would go or what they would do. Choices would lead you down different paths, each one affecting the outcome of the chapter.

    Conceptualized by digital writer Tom Inkel, these stories began during season three as a weekly game that fans could enjoy as an extension of what was happening on air and in the Heroes: Evolutions ARG. As readership grew, the iStory would begin involving webisode and even main characters from the show.

    Involving these characters meant that the stories could provide even more back story to on air events than was already being told via webisode and graphic novel. The real draw, however, of these stories was the interactive nature in which they were told. Since player's decisions affected the outcome, it gave the readers a feeling as if they were controlling what was happening on air.

    Each story offered several branches of each page, creating a huge amount of content for each story, as certain paths would reveal certain content and information, while other paths would give you something completely different. See the image left for an idea of how the story looks mapped out.

    During season four (the season in which I took over the iStory from Tom) the stories became directly tied to the show and webisodes (even carrying the same name, "Slow Burn"). Fans were introduced to the Bowmans, a family of firebreathers who had only recently joined up with Samuel's carnival. Stories were told from each of the perspectives (and occasionally both depending on which path was taken by the reader).

    Similar to the situation with Eli, these characters appeared on air several weeks after their introduction via the iStory. This gave the dedicated fans a fun, "oh look!" moment, when the Bowmans finally got there close ups.

(for more about the iStory, check out an interview with Tom Inkel at Heroes Wiki)

Heroes: Survival
    Everybody wants to have a superhero for a best friend right? Well with the online social networking game Heroes: Survival, fans got that chance. With space for a name, location, power description and bio, fans got the chance to create a hero that could live within the Heroes-verse. Helping characters in the iStory.

    An amazing example of fan interactivity, the game became a sort of Tamagotchi meets MMORPG. Fans would join factions, choose actions for their characters to do and lead their characters down heroic, villainous, neutral or reclusive paths.

     What made this game so much fun was that on many occasions during the summer and the fourth season, characters created by fans were directly incorporated into the iStory and on even a graphic novel.

    For example, during the Slow Burn iStory arc, Gail Bowman was sent on a mission to recruit specials for Samuel's carnival. She found a faction of people who called themselves The Guardians. This faction and some of the members who appeared in the story were created by a fan. To the right is a graphic created for the iStory of John Mulligan and the two player characters, Shard and Darkmoon.

    Now, if you're a fan of a show, what greater moment can you have besides having your character exist within the mythos of the show? With this promise out there, fans created thousands of characters and spent many hours (and many page visits) creating and maintaining their characters. A great amount of entertainment for these fans and direct involvement in the storytelling of the show.

Layering it All Together
    All of these things are fun and enjoyable on their own certainly, however what makes them work well is how they are integrated into each other and how the further down the chain you get the more of the big picture you start to form. Each layer reveals an extra piece of information that fills out the story you used to have and changes the experience in a positive way.
    Here is an example of the layering progression that could be found in season four as it built the character Amanda.

• TV: Amanda is Lydia's daughter and they live at the carnival.
• TV and webisodes: Lydia asked Amanda not to come to the carnival. She did anyway.
• TV, webisodes and comics: Amanda left her home away from the carnival because she accidentally hurt her aunt with her ability, which she cannot control.
• TV, webisodes, comics and iStory: Amanda gets help from Chris Bowman in controlling her ability.
• TV, webisodes, comics, iStory and Heroes Survival Game: Amanda got help finding the carnival from fan created heroes.

     Adding some extra pieces to the puzzle doesn't make the it more complicated; it makes it bigger and more interesting, revealing new parts of the picture that you couldn't see before. Heroes' stories covered many forms of media platforms and storytelling devices, truly embracing the concept of transmedia.

The Thanks 

    In addition to everyone I thanked in the last post I would also like to thank Tom Inkel, Alexis Brandow, Abby Laspia, Jack Wei, Matt Neuenberg and Ryan Stewart all of whom worked tirelessly on the iStory and Heroes Survival Game.

NEXT TIME: Why bother with transmedia?

What the &#*% is Transmedia: Heroes of Transmedia - Webisodes

    So you've read the introduction about what the #%&@ transmedia is and you're still confused. Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it. Personally, I've always felt that seeing an example is the easiest way to learn.

    A perfect example of the way a television show can expand into transmedia is one I have personal experience with, NBC Universal's Heroes. The show's writing staff and online team do an incredible job expanding the story across multiple platforms and I was lucky enough to be a part of it for a season and a half.


The Show
    So where to start? For the purposes of our little demonstration, let's focus on season four. The actual show is the beginning of the experience. While we tend to focus on the aspects of transmedia that are about expansion, the story can't begin without the main content. It seems obvious but this is where it all starts.

    NBC airs the show on their network weekly and puts in online, VOD and eventually DVD. Here you get to follow the action with all of your favorite characters in a regular television environment. It's normal, comfortable and regular. Here you get your main storyline(s).

    Now let's assume that you're a big fan of the show, you can't get enough of these superheroes; bottom line, you want more. Here's where your transmedia experience continues.


The Webisodes
     Easily the most prominent content online are the webisodes. Since these are essentially miniature episodes, they're the easiest for the casual viewers to slide into. Heroes has had several different methods of approaching their webisodes.

    During the fourth season, in a partnership with Sprint, NBC devised a new form of webisodes. These 90 second long episodes, known as "Slow Burn" were broken into two parts, a 30 second piece that aired during the episode and a 60 second follow up that was viewable online (pictured above) or on Sprint phones.

   These webisode pods tell the story of Lydia, a fortune telling carnie with the ability to see a person's innermost desires. This is our side story. If you only watch the aired episodes, Lydia appears to simply another member of carnival boss Samuel's entourage. However, if you follow through and watch "Slow Burn," you learn that she has an estranged daughter who is developing a dangerous ability of her own and that Lydia is hiding the whole situation from Samuel.

    What this accomplishes is to add a level of depth to a more minor character. We get to find our more about her relationships with characters like the knife wielding speedster Edgar. It's in these webisodes that we're first introduced to the romantic feelings that he has for her.

    Knowing things like this early on doesn't just add a couple minutes of extra entertainment for a fan, it changes the way they watch the show. Knowing about Edgar's feelings, make on air scenes with him and Lydia take on a different meaning. Something a more casual fan might overlook could turn out to reveal something altogether different to the more dedicated fan.

    For example, if Edgar sees Lydia getting close to Sylar, the casual viewer may think Edgar is merely spying on what Lydia is doing but the fan who has seen the webisodes knows that he is watching them out of jealousy.

    In this way the webisodes have not only added to the episode but also changed the way you look at the main show/storyline. The webisodes/side story expands the mythos of Heroes and adds a level of depth you won't necessarily get with other shows. This keeps fans interested and coming back for more.


Credit Where It Is Due
    This post would of course be incomplete without acknowledging the people who worked hard to make these stories come to life. Everyone from EPs Tim Kring and Dennis Hammer, webisode writers Ollie Grigsby, Foz McDermott, Zach Craley, Jim Martin and Harrison Wilcox, webisode directors Tanner Kling and Chris Hanada (and everyone with Retrofit Films), NBC.com team Carri Wagner, Joe Tolerico, Peter Hammersly, the intern Kelly Mack, and so many others. And of course everyone else on crew with Heroes (if I left anyone out… my bad, beat me up later).


If you'd like to watch the Heroes webisodes please check 'em out http://www.nbc.com/heroes


NEXT TIME: Heroes: Transmedia Storytelling Beyond the Camera

What the &#*% is Transmedia: Explaining This Mysterious Thing

I recently attended my five-year high school reunion. As expected, the standard first question (other than the generic, 'how've you been?') was, of course, 'what are you doing now?' Never have I been met with so many blank stares as when I responded, "I'm a transmedia writer". I got plenty of polite nods followed by "trans-what?"

In the interests of simplicity in an environment where the people I was talking to were getting progressively more intoxicated as the night went on, I simplified the concept of transmedia by just responding, "I wrote internet stories and content for Heroes". But transmedia is certainly not that simple. It's bigger and much more complex than just 'internet content'.

So what the &#*% is transmedia?
Transmedia is the process of telling a story over more than one medium. Now you might think, well there have been tons of films adapted from/into books or graphic novels or video games or even theme park rides. Is that transmedia? No, it's not. That's the retelling of a story. What transmedia aims to accomplish is to add to a story in a way that cannot be done by simply watching a television show or a film.

The goal of any good transmedia team should be to create a layered experience. That's the key to the entire project. Transmedia is about multiple platforms and multiple stories. Sound complicated? It's not.

Think about any good television show or film. The story is told with multiple settings, characters with varying connections and separate plotlines. Each piece guides you towards the final goal of the story.
In most of these, you can understand the main character and their story even if you missed a scene or two from the B-story or subplot but knowing what happened in those scenes enhances the main story. The characters lives become more full and real because you can see more of the fake universe that they reside in.

Transmedia takes this concept to the next level. You get one story from the movie or show but you know that each one of those characters has a feature length story of their own to tell (if not an entire series). There are a million different ways to tell these side stories and here is where the transmedia team comes into play; to fill in the gaps in the story that viewers never even realized were there.

Each extra piece of media adds a little bit more to the story. Not every piece is necessary to understanding the story either, allowing fans to decide how much they want to be involved with the show. The casual viewer can check out a couple of 'in-universe' sites and not feel like they're missing anything from the show. On the flip side, a truly hardcore fanatic can watch the webisodes, read the fake character blogs and get involved in as many aspects as the producers want to throw at them.

Each of those two fans gets an experience equal with what they wanted from the storytellers. Since the simpler layers do not require delving into the more intense pieces, the first fan does not feel cheated. The second fan however, feels more connected to the story and the characters because they understand things about the show universe that the first fan doesn't.

That second fan gets many more hours of entertainment and will enjoy the product that much more. At the end of the day, this is the goal of any producer, transmedia or no.

To sum it all up, transmedia is the process of telling a bigger story than what one film or show can do in the time it has or in ways that it simply cannot do. Interactive games, graphic novels, webisodes and so many other methods producers now have at their disposal; these are the building blocks of a new method of storytelling.


So thanks for reading my first musings as a blogger. I hope that in this blog we can explore the way that transmedia is adding to and changing the way we think about story. Check back in a week or so for my next post.


NEXT TIME: An example from some transmedia Heroes…