Last week, I attended the world premiere screening of Tom
Hanks’ upcoming webisode series Electric
City at South By
Southwest. The first 10 episodes were
presented of this series which follows a group of resistance fighters in a
dystopian society where resources and communication are controlled. Tom Hanks chose to tell this story in the
webisode format because he felt the commercial constraints of movies and
television wouldn’t allow him to tell this type of story. In an age of pre-branded content, sequels,
and remakes, it has been increasingly difficult for original feature film
content to be produced (apparently even for Mr. Hanks). More filmmakers are now focusing their
attention to more cost-effective outlets to present their original material
especially with media becoming increasingly more sophisticated and accessible. So what does this mean for the future of
storytelling? Transmedia isn’t anything
new but it is definitely something screenwriters should pay attention to.
What is transmedia?
In 2010, the Producers Guild of America officially sanctioned the title
“Transmedia Producer”.and defined transmedia as “a narrative that consists of
three (or more) storylines existing within the same fictional universe on any
of the following platforms: Film, Television, Short Film, Broadband,
Publishing, Comics, Animation, Mobile, Special Venues, DVD/Blu-Ray/CD-Rom,
Narrative Commercial and Marketing rollouts, and other technologies that may or
may not currently exist.” The landscape
for storytelling has changed and now screenwriters may feel increased pressured
to write stories that present greater marketing potential across different
media platforms. The debate over
“artistic integrity” vs. “marketing potential” between writers and producers
has always existed. It may seem that transmedia
further complicates this situation but for the savvy screenwriter, it doesn’t
have to.
Writers don’t have to sacrifice the artistic integrity of
their work but they should still think about the bigger picture and ask themselves:
“Are the characters and world of my story developed enough to present further
possibilities?” Screenwriting is just
one form of creative expression that can be extended to other forms (i.e. a
novel, graphic novel, webisode series, stage play, etc). Every character has a back story. Every storyline has a prologue and
epilogue. These are already inherent to
a well-developed story and can be used as a basis for developing further promotional
material. This is why all writers should
save all treatments, character analyses, outlines, and early versions of their
script to comb through for additional material to use. Writers should not think about how their
story can be profitable (i.e. sequels, product placements, toy lines, etc.) but
they should think about how various forms of media can further enhance the
experience of the story. If writers can
focus on telling a quality story while being mindful of its possibilities, the
outcome could present great rewards. Obviously, not every writer/filmmaker needs to
follow the transmedia model but it is definitely something to consider as the
landscape of the industry continues to change.
--Matt Dy, Screenplay & Teleplay Competition Director
