Creation of a Transmedia Project
It was a dark and stormy night and I said . . fuck it, let’s get started on this shit.
I have bounced between multiple mediums for most of my life and lost my patience with being turned down for jobs. I sit in a few industries that all traditionally expect “specialists” while I have been, and will always be, a jack-of-all-trades. However, unlike most people who use that term for themselves I genuinely can work at a high level of expertise in film, photography, music, writing, technical skills, graphic design, and theater.
It was finally time to start my grand project that would fully use all of my skills so that I didn’t have to sit through one more series of interviews and be told either “you’re too qualified” or “you don’t specialize so you won’t take this job seriously.” Seriously, I was done with that.
I knew from the beginning what the story was about but it took me a shit-ton of time to figure out where the different story branches would go. As in, WHICH part of the story to tell WHERE and HOW. As amazing as I am (bullshit) I can’t do everything myself.
And now presenting, Erika’s initial branches.
Retrograde Nova: Human Prime (Podcast/Audio Drama)
Alternate Trajectory (Webcomic)
The BEAT on Creation (Podcast)
Creator’s Blog
Ultra Solar Tales (Short Stories)
The Most Revered Orange Slime (Short Stories)
Behind the Rouge (Video Series)
. . . and, of course, specific strategies for Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
(This isn’t the whole list, nor does it explain the strategy or reason for branding the story in this way.)
My first, best, and most adamant rule . . . . you MUST structure each different branch of the project to play upon the strength of the medium you are using.
Make the videos the BEST videos they can be. Analyze your talent, your story, your crew, and your time to put everything together. Keep it visual but simple. Continually progress and get better each time rather than trying to do too much, failing, and quitting.
Make the audio broadcasts FOCUS on audio elements and storytelling. Visual cues don’t work. Internal thoughts are difficult to deal with. Beware “telling” everything that is happening rather than letting the story flow.
Make the webcomic done EXPLICITLY in comic book style. A webcomic is not a movie in paper form. It is not a story board. It is not a photo series. It. Is. A. Comic. Book.
Make the photo series VISUALLY AMAZING. You can’t cram a tv episode amount of information into a photo . . . but you can tell a story. Find a theme and a style. Keep consistent. Make sure each element of the series is adding to the whole project.
That’s all for today, folks.
Keep working. Keep bettering yourself. Keep making a difference in your community.
Human creativity leads to social cohesiveness. Artists define our collective reality.
~Erika