Characteristics of Transmedia Storytelling

10 Questions

What is the primary function of a character's desire in a story?

To motivate the character's actions and decisions

What is the purpose of a montage in a story?

To summarize a series of actions

What is the term for a false foreshadowing that misleads the audience?

Red herring

What is the primary function of supporting characters in a story?

To help reveal the protagonist's character

What is the term for a change in a character's inner nature over the course of the story?

Character arc

What is the term for a situation where a solution comes out of nowhere with no foreshadowing?

Deus ex machina

What is the primary function of dialogue in a story?

To characterize and reveal information about a character

What is the term for the underlying meaning or message beneath the text of a dialogue?

Subtext

What is the term for a dramatic approach that conditions the construction of the story?

Genre

What is the term for a gap in time or action in a story that is not shown or mentioned?

Ellipsis

Study Notes

Transmedia Characteristics

Liquid content that can be adapted to different media platforms
Multiple levels of story depth to engage users differently
Unified message across all media platforms
A new way of storytelling that expands on traditional narratives

The Three Act Structure

Act 1: Establish main characters, relationships, and world; inciting incident sets the story in motion
First Turning Point: End of Act 1, where the protagonist commits to a goal
Act 2: Rising action, obstacles, and conflicts
Midpoint: Important event that doesn't change the story's direction
Second Turning Point: Introduction to Act 3, the most intense part of the story
Act 3: Resolution, climax, and final confrontation
Denouement: Consequences of the story, how the characters' lives or world have changed

Dramatic Tools

Action Knots: Narrative units with setup, development, and resolution
Anagnorisis: Dramatic recognition of a character's identity
Peripeteia: Obstacles and reversals, the strongest story event
Model: A protagonist with a special talent but a weakness, combating an antagonist to achieve a goal

Writing Tips

Daniel Cassany's advice: Look for ideas, organize, develop, put on paper, revise, adapt, and consider the audience
Methods: Diary, maps, diagrams, brainstorming, exploring the subject, and the "star" method

Dramatic Premises

Universal patterns: Present throughout history, helping to construct plots and characters
Ronald Tobias' 20 Master Plots: Examples of universal patterns
Estrategias del guion cinematográfico: Life is a dream, dramatized life, descent into hell
La semilla inmortal: The Odissey, benefactor intruder, destroyer intruder, old and new, and double personality

Crossmedia, Multimedia, and Transmedia

Crossmedia: One story, many channels, reaching different audiences
Multimedia: One story, many forms, one channel
Transmedia: One storyworld, many stories, many forms, many channels

Story Elements

Foreshadowing and Payoff: Hinting at future events in the story
Complication: Obstacles created by the protagonist for themselves
Montage: A series of summarized actions, often with music

Character Development

Character Arcs: Change in a character's inner nature, for better or worse
DESIRE: What drives a character's choices, what they want
MOTIVATION: Why a character wants what they want
DIMENSION: Contradiction and conflict within a character
SUPPORTING CHARACTERS: Helping to reveal the protagonist, part of the storyworld
COMEDIC CHARACTERS: Blind obsession, objective, and desire

Dialogue

Definition: Dramatic text to be expressed by one or several players
THE FIVE FUNCTIONS OF DIALOGUE: Characterize, reveal inner information, establish conflict, exposition, and humor
SUBTEXT: What is meant beneath what is being said