Odds N' Ends

One site's count of the top viewed web series -www.visiblemeasures.com/mashable

Catch detailed info, reviews and links to sources that compliment Transmedia web series at the More Info Pages and Transmedia

Web Series Definition | Definition of Transmedia | Transmedia Story Maps/More Info Pages

Here are a few definitions and ideas regarding, "What is a web series?"

Well Wikipedia lists the definition as:

" A web series is a series of episodes released on the Internet or also by mobile or cellular phone, and part of the newly emerging medium called web television. A single instance of a web series program is called an episode (the term webisode has been largely deprecated)." [ from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_series ]

A really good resource is found at blog.ajchristian.org/2009/10/09/what-is-a-web-series/ by Aymar Jean Christian.

In fact I will use a lot of what he discusses as the basis for the web site. I am quoting this bit from his awesome post - take a look at his whole site.

"Nomenclature: People call web series (singular and plural) different things. Web series appears to be the dominant term at this point. I’ve read web serials used, particularly by the Times’ Virginia Heffernan, and while I quite like this term, and I think I’m losing on that, Webisodes is often used. I believe this term started early because the videos were not really conceived as part of overarching narratives (especially if you think of transmedia extensions). I’m not sure if this term will persist. I also like web shows, which seems perfectly logical. Variations on several words have been used: online, content, programs, original, scripted, video, web (online scripted content, original web programs, etc.)" [from blog.ajchristian.org/2009/10/09/what-is-a-web-series/]

Also from his article the following:

"Under scripted content, I would again divide it into original and transmedia/derivative. This isn’t so much a distinction in story/narrative, so much as business model, but it’s an important one. I do think there’s a difference between content that extends a mainstream brand, i.e. transmedia extensions... (the countless network-produced shows to build on TV properties like Heroes...)" [from blog.ajchristian.org/2009/10/09/what-is-a-web-series/]

Also check out - blog.ajchristian.org/2009/10/13/web-series-and-branded-entertainment/ - regarding branded entertainment.

And as a thought - IMDb only just this year (March 2009) added Web Series as a category - news.tubefilter.tv/2009/03/19/imdb-to-add-web-series-category-so-whats-a-web-series/

Then there is the concept of Internet Television and the fact early webisodes were very different from what people think of today. More on both of those concepts in other rambles.

by docwho2100 - last updated Nov 3, 2009

What is Transmedia and What is a Transmedia (Deriviative) Web Series (also on the transmedia page)

OK - I typed in transmedia definition and was blown away by what is out there. Transmedia as a concept has been around for a long, long time, yet it is only in the last few years that it is exploding and working its way through the assorted layers of society. It is an awesome thing and a bad thing, yes I am invoking both sides of the coin/fence and trying to have my cake and eat it too. I love any medium that enriches a story; that brings it to more people and brings out a larger set of toys to play with.

Some like to read, some like to listen, some like to see. But, that is the bad too... if I have to see, and read and listen to EVERYTHING to really get a feel for the story and universe it is playing with, well, am I going to miss something? Am I going to lose a part of the story and never be able to understand what is going on? I'm not a gamer (ok well I am kinda but, to play devil's advocate), so if I do not play the game, will I not understand the movie? As you build a universe with transmedia, there is not only the possibility of scooping up new eyes and ears, you run the risk of losing eyes and ears too.

Plus, let's be honest, time sprinkled with interest is the one commodity that truly governs everything (even overrides money believe it or not - although money comes a close second in the transmedia race). If I have to spend too much time on trying to find every piece of this story, will I lose interest and give up completely? And another question I am pursuing - will transmedia stories suffer in the future as some of their sources are not preserved (if Twitter is part of the tory - who archives the tweets for those who do not find the story until much later)?

So much to think about and so many wonderful discussions. But, for now, I am keeping my focus on web series as that is what I am collecting : )

So a transmedia/derivative web series is in essence a piece of a bigger pie. Now what the piece looks like, that is where the discussion comes in and the fun really begins. You have to consider the story-telling structure (is the content more of an adaptation/transposition/overdesign or more of an extension/augmentation/serialization) and the delivery of the content (across multiple media).

So - that said, IMO, at least looking at things now and how the whole culture and society is changing and flowing regarding communication (another pet project of mine is social media and technology and the impact on collaboration :P - but regarding communication - I think transmedia is a major concept that is here to stay and a lot of projects in the web series world you see will be linked to a bigger pie more and more. In the short term the economy and the "flash" of social networking will drive transmedia projects, meaning the big guns will hold the most sway over producing much of the transmedia web series. But this will trickle down to even the "everyman" level of web series as social collaborative tools and accessible technology facilitates the building of transmedia.

Then there is the functionality of a transmedia source and transmedia story-telling. This is addressed so well by many - including this resource from Mr. Henry Jenkins - www.henryjenkins.org/2007/03/transmedia_storytelling_101.html and henryjenkins.org/2009/09/the_aesthetics_of_transmedia_i.html. Mr. Jenkins and others, begin to break transmedia story-telling into different facets. Also check out www.davidbordwell.net/blog/?p=5264

There is the world-building and overdesign concept. Here details and secondary ideas from the "main" story source are explored using transmedia sources. The backstory, secondary characters, and such are worked into the narrative. What seems like detail and texture are able to be expanded and explored.

Then there is the idea of serialization/episodic story-telling. Here the sources are all much more linked to the "main" story source and in fact it becomes much harder to identify a "main" story source. The pieces are much more connected, and also much more dependant upon one another. This means you will not have a perfect handle (or grasp as mentioned in the articles) of the story if you do not experience all of the transmedia.

Also there is a more adaptational use if transmedia where the transmedia is used more as a way to tell the basic story but in a different medium. This is something very similar to the idea I use in my classroom and that teachers call Universal Design for Learning (multiple ways to access content).

To take a quote from Bordwell that really draws all the major players ideas into a short section:

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(from www.davidbordwell.net/blog/?p=5264)"This strategy differentiates the new transmedia storytelling from your typical franchise. In most film franchises, the same characters play out their fixed roles in different movies, or comic books, or TV shows. You need not consume all to understand one. But Henry envisages the possibility of creating a whole that is greater than its parts, a vast narrative experience that doesn’t end when the book’s last page is turned or the theatre lights come up. His idea seems to be echoed in Will Wright’s suggestion:

It’s a fractal deployment of intellectual property. Instead of picking one format, you’re designing for one mega-platform. . . . We’ve been talking about this kind of synergy for years, but it’s finally happening."

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From those concepts you begin to develop a sense of two forms what I think of as Transmedia Adaptational Story-telling (more of a retelling of the same story but in a different medium, the impact of the additional sources on the overall story are minimal and no detraction occurs if the transmedia is not experienced) and Transmedia Extensional Story-telling (all transmedia sources are needed to understand and hear the complete story).

The differences between the two are explained well in henryjenkins.org/2009/09/the_aesthetics_of_transmedia_i.html and www.davidbordwell.net/blog/?p=5264 (who discusses among other things Gérard Genette's literary use of transposition = Transmedia Adaptational Story-telling and augmentation = Transmedia Extensional Story-telling).

Of course the real question is: how well did the person(s) use the medium/method of transmedia to make a story, because when it all boils down to the nitty-gritty, it's about the story dude, it's about the story...........

docwho2100 last updated Nov. 19, 2009

PS - to answer the essential question behind this blurb - What is a transmedia web series? Which by the way, when typed into Google with quotes returned no results... I am going with this general definition from Henry Jenkins pulled from: www.henryjenkins.org/2007/03/transmedia_storytelling_101.html

"Transmedia storytelling represents a process where integral elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment experience. Ideally, each medium makes it own unique contribution to the unfolding of the story..... .... Ideally, each individual episode must be accessible on its own terms even as it makes a unique contribution to the narrative system as a whole. Game designer Neil Young coined the term, "additive comprehension," to refer to the ways that each new texts adds a new piece of information which forces us to revise our understanding of the fiction as a whole."

So a transmedia web series is a web series that offers new and unique information while contributing to the larger narrative which has been created/delivered using other methods of information delivery (aka a simple sequel to a movie is not transmedia as both original and sequel were delivered as movies. But a sequel to a movie delivered as a game or web series is transmedia).

PSS - I love the Henry Jenkins article I just pulled from for my definition - in #10 he mentions fanfiction as a form of transmedia, which I write, so YAY - hehe go Fanfic :P

I leave you with this thought-provoking quote from /www.postadvertising.com/post/2009/03/27/Transmedia-Storytelling.aspx :oP

"Transmedia storytelling is one of those monikers that runs the risk of being added to a Bullshit Bingo card some time very soon. On the other hand it could just be the savior of brand communications. "

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Here are a few things I found. Feel free to add, please, to the discussion.

blogs.middlebury.edu/mediacp/2009/06/17/22-storytelling-or-marketing/ - very short but a good start

www.eguiders.com/video/heroes-creator-tim-kring-on-transmedia-storytelling - video interview with Tim Kring

www.viddler.com/explore/HollywoodEastTV/videos/50/ - another video on the basics

www.psfk.com/2009/03/understanding-transmedia-psfk-talks-to-starlight-runner.html - nice article highlighting examples

www.henryjenkins.org/2009/08/transmedia_storytelling_and_en.html - a nice list and class outline - I wanna take this class!!!!!

www.hollywoodeasttv.com/profiles/blogs/the-series-what-is-transmedia - a video from The Series: about transmedia

The entry on transmedia storytelling at Wikipedia - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmedia_storytelling - has a great discussion and brings up the concept of hypersocialbility (encouraging participation through social media and interaction) and multimodality (moving between multiple modes of interaction).

And like this image and the site - seizethemedia.com/what-is-transmedia/

transmedia

Transmedia Story Maps and More Info Pages

So what is a Transmedia Story Map?

It is a guide to help a person navigate through a transmedia story. It is also a way, perhaps, to archive the story, the narrative, the journey a reader/user will take when experiencing the creator/writer's vision. It serves to document the sources and locations of the story as well as offering connections and link and possible routes to take. As with any map, a person can start at one place and end up in another by following the assorted paths. A person can make their own route or maybe follow a route designed by someone else. Some locations are more centralized, some are outliers. A map can help a person see where they have been and where there still is left to travel. Spatial thinking is wonderful, and yet, sometimes hard to master.

So, I am creating these pages or maps with details about the web series and the related transmedia resources so that a person can use to either follow someone else's journey, or create their own. I am also creating these pages to try and document the sources linked to web series as I go along as a way to preserve the narrative and story.

Here are a few of my blogs and rambles on this topic - First, Second, Third

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Coming Soon: What are the differences between web series and television series

Coming Soon - Is there a future for web series - newteevee.com/2009/06/28/is-there-a-future-for-original-web-series/

Coming Soon - Branded vs Original vs Derivative - The Web Series Wild West - does economics, popular culture or something else drive web viewing and the future of Web Series Media?

Coming Soon: Early Webisodes and "shows" vs what we see today? What has changed since the 1990's?

Coming Soon - Formats and Mediums - from animated and machinima to green screen and live action plus a whole lot more - are there any formats not considered to be viable for a web series???? Is the same lingo used for both novel/written web series and multimedia web series? Should there be different definitions?