OUAN601 - What are the results of the practical testing?

The practical investigation that was undertaken for the purpose of exploring the transmedia method has been informative in terms of understanding the techniques and application of techniques that exist within the transmedia technique. Furthermore, I found myself thinking critically about story in a manner I have never done before. For example, when creating the initial idea for a story world I found myself considering every possible avenue that could be employed in order to expand and 'flesh out' the fictional universe. This took the form of creating characters with a high level of detail (back stories, careers, age, interests, quirks) so that at any time a coherent and canon story element can be created to reinforce the depth of the world I was creating. Specifically, the character of 'Jakob' was created but then not included from the start of the graphic novel story. This is to use the idea of transmedia storytelling that Jenkins (2003) describes in that the experience for the audience is enriched by the seeking and acquiring of information from different media platforms. So in this case, a backstory for this character (who is only seen in a single panel) in the graphic novel will have a back story that leads up to the events in the first issue. Thus, to understand the experience of the character prior to the graphic novels story line must be discovered through reading a short story.

Aside from the critical and purposeful crafting of stories with the transmedia method in mind, the creation of a transmedia IP has helped me to understand further the techniques that can be used in a transmedia story and also the way techniques in popular transmedia franchises have used. Most notably, The Walking Dead which also made its inception through the creation of a graphic novel. Looking closely at the way that series has developed and evolved over the past decade has informed my own transmedia project quite a lot. Looking at the way characters have been singled out for whole episodes of television and the jumping between time frames in the graphic novel led me to explore these types of ideas further in the practical investigation.

Overall, the practical investigation into the way transmedia storytelling and the invention of a fictional universe has heavily informed the conducted research. The exploration regarding the interconnectivity of narrative threads and story arcs across was fueled by the building a small scale story world. Through this, it was easy to see the ways in which the different tropes and avenues the transmedia technique can utilise to expand on a world. The consideration of different elements that I made as well as thinking about how they would work in unison and crucially how they are marketed and received by the audience. This became apparent to me quite quickly, that the level of rigorous and exhaustive planning is required in order to create a fictional universe from nothing and distribute it to an audience that is ready to consume the content and immerse themselves.