Transmedia: Storytelling for the Digital Age

Gwilym Mumford:  "The true-crime series about a man accused of murder, and a police department accused of framing him, tells a complex story without insulting viewers’ intelligence" ...

"Amid Latin America's flourishing digital scene, there are two hot trends – multimedia and transmedia documentaries. Argentine documentary-maker Alvaro Liuzzi takes a look at the developing genre."

Robinder Uppal & Marc Serpa Francoeur:  "A checklist of great interactive documentaries" ...

i-docs:  "During the summer Ingrid Kopp, Director of Digital Initiatives at the Tribeca Film Institute, came to the Watershed, Bristol to give a talk on interactive storytelling. For members of the i-Docs community who weren’t able to attend, we’re pleased to be able to offer the full transcript, full of brilliant examples and analysis of these new forms of storytelling. Enjoy."

Paula Bernstein:  "In March 2011 Jake Price, a freelance producer for the BBC, journeyed to Tohoku, Japan to document the devastation left in the wake of the Pacific tsunami. The result of his trip is evident in his powerful and beautiful immersive web documentary, "Unknown Spring," which was awarded the World Press Photo Multimedia Awards."

Anna Jackson on Loading Docs:  "[...] a platform for New Zealand documentaries that would give film-makers an opportunity to take creative risks, to push beyond the boundaries of TV formats and to explore the possibilities of online distribution."

Liz Nord:  "Engagement, interaction, participation, messaging and the power of play: Five takeaways for filmmakers from Games for Change at Tribeca FIlm Festival's Innovation Week."

Mike Hedge:  "Every summer, deep in the Nevada desert, a temporary city is created by tens of thousands of people. This week-long celebration is known as Burning Man" ...

Margaret Looney:  "The first thing most of us learn about storytelling is that a narrative should have a beginning, a middle and an end, but a new breed of documentary is turning this tried-and-true approach on its head" ...

Jessica Leber:  "As a filmmaking device Glass can help us better understand others perspectives and bring communities closer together. But it comes with downsides."

Yasmin Morgan-Griffiths:  "In an age which is increasingly defined by audience interactivity, many shows are aiming to give their audience more choice over what they are viewing. And you’d be hard pressed to find more choices in one show than in Choose Your Own Documentary."

Amanda Lin Costa:  "Unlike a traditional documentary where viewers turn the lights down, sit back and have a story unfold in front of their eyes, participants “watching” “Hollow” must scroll and click through a detailed multi-storyline experience" ...

Elisabeth Greenbaum Kasson:  "While Baby Boomers and older Gen Xers may feel everything from dismissive to perplexed or even paralyzed by the shift to digital storytelling, the upcoming generations fear none of that. To get information delivered via virtual reality, gaming or interactive, as well as film, television, video, radio and photography—or any combination thereof—makes complete sense to them, and it's indicative of how documentary content will be delivered in the near future."

Samantha Murphy Kelly:  "Door Into the Dark is a sensor documentary for the mind and body -- not for the eyes."

Randy Astle:  "Access is always an issue with documentary, creating unique challenges in war zones or similar areas where filmmakers would be in physical danger or simply cannot go. The documentary Last Hijack, produced by Submarine Channel and directed by Femke Wolting and Tommy Pallotta, doesn’t just deal with these issues but makes them one of the film’s greatest strengths."

Manori Ravindran:  "Increasingly, media producers are transforming the documentary experience through interactive docs and buzzy transmedia elements. But how can integrating transmedia reinforce a project, and what audiences can it reach?"

Krishna Stott:  "Choose Your Own Documentary is a live performance of a documentary where the audience choose which way to take the story at numerous decision points – there are 1500 different outcomes…"

Jess Linington:  "Love Radio, a transmedia documentary with interactive elements, explores the process of reconciliation in post-genocide Rwanda in a unique format; a radio soap."

Sarah Salovaara:  "Zero Point, a meta-documentary about the virtual reality industry, is about to remove the popular practice of 3D filmmaking from theaters" ...

Anthony Ha:  "BitTorrent has been pitching itself as a legitimate way for content creators to promote their works,  and now the company is announcing what may be its most noteworthy partnership yet" ...

Sarah Salovaara:  "As a consumer of new media – to say nothing of its makers – how does one go about keeping abreast of the emerging form's constant developments?"

Bryce J. Renninger:  "As transmedia has come and gone as a buzz word and various other words have come to take its place (will we agree on "Interactive storytelling"?), two things remain certain:  The National Film Board of Canada has devoted the most resources, time, and energy to ensuring this mode of storytelling evolves and excites, and the work of Katerina Cizek is absolutely unmissable."