Transmedia*Storytelling* By*Nuno*Bernardo*
! The! concept! of! transmedia! production,! as! both! a! creative! template! and! business! model,! is! by! no! means! a! novel! one.! Cinema! pioneers! began! to! experience! a! cross; media! approach! to! storytelling! 100! years! ago,! but! today’s! audiences! are! in! a! position!to!choose!the!content!they!want,!when!they!want!and!on!the!device!of!their! choice.! In! other! words,! the! expectation! contemporary! audiences! presume! you’ll! meet!is;!any!content,!anywhere.!In!the!context!of!a!shrinking!market!populated!by! increasingly! fragmented! audiences,! transmedia* storytelling! provides! a! viable! alternative!to!the!conventional!TV!and!Film!production!business.!! ! To! become! a! part! of! this! digital! revolution,! entertainment! producers! will! need! to! learn! new! skills! in! development,! marketing! and! distribution,! therefore! the! multitude! of! platforms! and! formats! available! to! you! as! a! transmedia! producer! can! be! exhilarating! and! overwhelming.! Throughout! the! initial! phase! of! a! project’s! development,!it’s!nearly!always!prohibitively!expensive!to!create!and!launch!every! transmedial!element!simultaneously.!!!!! ! As!a!result!of!this!expense,!the!first!challenge!you’ll!face!is!seeding!capital!to!develop! and! launch! the! initial! elements! of! your! property.! Typically,! these! projects! extend! across!several!platforms!and!most!financiers!will!only!consider!funding!a!project!on! a!platform;by;platform!basis.!Even!though!the!transmedial!approach!is!increasingly! platform! agnostic,! the! commissioning! process! continues! to! be! device! orientated,! therefore! cross;media! producers! must! learn! how! to! best! utilize! a! business! model! specific!to!his!approach.!! ! This!is!not!to!say!that!you!need!to!single;handedly!develop!a*transmedial!business! model,!but!you!do!need!to!be!disposed!to!working!within!an!industry!that,!by!and! large,! is! set! up! for! platform;by;platform! funding.! Break! down! your! overall! transmedia! funding! model! into! specific! platforms,! and! when! you! approach! a! film! funder,! only! pitch! the! film! element! of! your! project.! When! you! go! to! a! games! developer!or!broadcaster,!be!sure!that!the!central!part!of!your!pitch!is!your!game!or! series.!! ! At! beActive,! we’ve! developed! a! funding! strategy,! which! divides! our! production! model! into! stages! specific! to! platform! so! that! potential! funders! will! know! how! to! respond! to! our! pitch.! We! design! three! to! four! different! pitches! for! every! property! we!produce,!one!for!each!distinct!platform.!Each!pitch!highlights!that!aspect!of!the! overall!project,!which!aligns!with!the!goals!and!expectations!of!a!particular!funder.! Think! of! your! transmedial! plan! as! a! staircase! and! to! ensure! that! you! don’t! loose! focus!during!any!one!of!your!pitches,!break!down!each!element!of!the!‘big!picture’! into! platform! specific! steps.! That! way! you! can! approach! radio! and! television! broadcasters,!publishers!and!games!companies!with!a!clear!and!focused!pitch.!!! !
If! you! pitch! all! of! the! elements! in! your! plan! simultaneously,! you! imply! that! each! platform!is!equally!important.!As!exciting!as!your!overall!plan!may!be,!pitching!the! ‘big! picture’! to! a! broadcaster,! will! probably! succeed! only! in! making! your! potential! backers! uncomfortable.! They’ve! never! produced! anything! to! the! scale! you’re! proposing! and! are! unsure! of! how! to! make! it! work.! ! Rather! than! trying! to! seduce! them!with!the!full!spread!of!your!plan,!organize!your!pitch!so!that!it!synchronizes! with!your!funders’!expectations.!Then!gain!their!trust!by!showing!your!production! credits!within!their!format.!Your!goal!is!to!demonstrate!this!one!element!of!your!‘big! picture’!property!in!the!best!light!that!you!can.!! ! Even! though! there! is! no! rigid! framework! for! the! standard! product;for;finance! exchange!in!transmedia,!there!is!industry!precedence!for!transmedial!funding.!Put! simply,! this! business! model! is! geared! to! generate! direct! streams! of! revenue! from! your!advertisers!and!your!audience.!This!is!by!no!means!a!novel!business!strategy;!it! has!been!the!go;to!method!of!traditional!broadcasters!for!years.!! ! Keep! in! mind! that! this! strategy! requires! a! long;term! investment! and,! probably,! it! will!not!yield!immediate!cash!returns.!It!will,!however,!ensure!that,!in!the!long!term,! your!projects!will!work!for!you!by!generating!sustained,!independent!profits.!Bear! in! mind! that! the! pioneers! of! cinema! were! trying! to! create! a! new! format! that! few! believed! in.! When! the! form! was! in! its! infancy,! critics! did! not! take! it! seriously.! Cinema! was! considered! a! faddish! offshoot! of! vaudeville,! while! one! hundred! years! later,!producers!are!now!exploring!new!digital!platforms!online.!Like!the!Hollywood! studio! moguls! of! the! twentieth! century,! the! pioneers! of! new! media! have! the! opportunity!to!bring!digital!art!to!the!mainstream.! ! Nuno% Bernardo% is% the% founder% and% CEO% of% TV,% film% and% digital% production% company%beActive.% He% is% also% an% Emmy% nominated% writer?producer% and% the% author% of%“The* Producer’s* Guide* to* Transmedia”% and% the% upcoming% “Transmedia* 2.0”% books.%Find%him%on%Twitter%and%Facebook.! ! !