transmedia living lab, madrid

Keynote to Transmedia Living Lab

Madrid, Spain May 28th 2012

Robert Pratten CEO & Founder, Transmedia Storyteller Ltd

@robpratten

Robert Pratten CEO & Founder, Transmedia Storyteller Ltd

Transmedia Storyteller Ltd “We power remarkable experiences”

Transmedia Storyteller Ltd “We power remarkable experiences”

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away”

What I believe…

• Experience is king • Emotion => immersion (not more content!) • The Internet kills mediocrity • Need to generate word-of-mouth • Need to empower advocates • Leverage “new media” depth to gain “old

media” reach • Marketing is integral to the experience

Content released over 15 day period

Game accessed via blogs – used real and custom websites to set challenges

http://a-cops-wife-life.blogspot.com/

http://ortegapi.posterous.com/

Metrics

• Marketing budget = $0

• Production budget = $500

• Total Net Kindle Revenue (2011) = $1748

• Total shipments on Kindle Jan 1st to Dec 31st 2011 = 972 (retail price at Amazon.com $2.94)

• Number of people connecting to Lauren Ortega on email = 83 = 9% of total sales

• Video views of Episode 1 (Jan 1st to Dec 31st 2011) = 4727

Sales vs Social Media (Lowlifes)

Nb: “video views” used as simple proxy for trend of social media activity. Wasn’t the sole activity also included email, Twitter, Facebook etc.

Sales vs Social Media (Lowlifes)

Tipping point

Empower advocates

“Big on Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn”

Learning objectives

• Teach ethics and economics

• Simulation of real-life scenario

• Self-guided problem solving

• Collaborative working

• New media comprehension

Engagement INTERACTION • Personalized replies to incoming emails & Tweets from fictional characters ETHICAL DECISIONS • “The Whistleblower”

• Employee who contacts the students claiming that the payload was over weight

• “The Extortionist” • Dept. Environment agent that proposes a pay-off for him to write a more

favorable report.

GAME-STYLE REWARDS • Rewards based on involvement:

– “I like what you’re doing, I’ve recommend a bonus increase at the next pay review board”

– “You’re asking great questions, you can have use of the company seats behind the catcher…”

Lowlifes 2.0

Lowlifes 2.0… whodunit • Characters:

– reveal intrigue, clues, histories

– have moods: sympathetic towards you or not

– real-world time availability (coffee break, sleeping)

– surprises – reversals & follow-ups

• Personalized experience – via character behavior and…

– help mode on or off

– feedback on progress (e.g. “60% complete)

– personalized calls-to-action/reminders based on position in story

• Out-of-world communication from author integrated with in-world communications from characters

• Measurable – how deep people play

– time to respond

– A/B testing to improve results

• No cookies, plug-ins, apps or registration forms: played on email, Twitter and SMS

• Entirely scripted, no AI and no coding

101 Ways to Die

• CLARION SECURITY is looking for people like YOU. Text JOIN to (310) 853-5617

• Q1: You can only save one person: do you save the young

woman or the old man? Reply YOUNG WOMAN or OLD MAN

• Q2: You're hiding in gang territory. You get one opportunity to shoot the gang leader - you have 50:50 chance of success. Reply TAKE SHOT or WAIT

“Psychometric profile”

SHOOT WAIT

OLD Guardian Perfectionist

YOUNG Status Seeker Elitist Q1

Q2

Storytelling with Conducttr

Narrative Gaming

Social Networking

Participation, Conversation

Rewards Levels Collaboration Competition

Characters Plot Events Things

Conducttr – Under the Hood

Control Layer

Content Layer

Real World

Conducttr: Pervasive Entertainment Platform

Broadcast & reply emails, Tweets, SMS Publish blog posts, videos, images, Facebook updates

Events – when “stuff” should happen Actions – personalization of experience

Audience

Under The Hood - Audience

Individual

Audience

Community

Audience is viewed as: • individual (just you) • community (everyone) • group (segments of everyone)

Individual Everyone Groups

Engagement Goal: delight each individual with personalized, surprising, evolving content

community-driven story evolution

Control Layer

Content Layer call to action

action

personalization

Real World community action

Individual

Audience call to action

Community

Conducttr

What’s holding us back? • Knowledge & Communication

– How to write cross-platform participatory stories

– Processes

– Common language

– Documentation

• Presentation & Discovery – Labeling: What is it?

• Tools – Replay-ability

– Progress tracking

– Signposting: Story-so-far, help system

– Rewards

Welcome to our Worlds

Invite the world into your World

Trailer or Website

Description

Date & time information

The platforms the World lives on

In the cloud In your palm

www.conducttr.com

Connected experience

Audience

Your Story/Experience Native cross-platform experience written without code to run from the cloud on social networks (and on other sites such as tablet apps, social games, consoles, forums etc. via Conducttr API with coding)

XP, Progress & Achievements

Our transmedia storytelling mobile app is your portal Benefits & Features • A faster, cheaper way to launch transmedia projects

– no cost of custom-app development – immediately available when scripted with Conducttr – allows audience to manage their own data

• Discovery – available to a growing community that wants transmedia stories

• Retention & Engagement – show audience its progress through the story – reward audience with points and badges – leaderboards – forum

Approach

Transmedia development

Is the business model to generate revenue from sit-back/mono-

media? (e.g. book, movie, console game, music etc.)

Is this a franchise of multiple mono-media?

yes

Start to develop the story for piece you’re most

familiar with

Develop the sit-back media

Is the first piece 30-70% complete?

Develop the other pieces of the franchise

All pieces 30-70% complete?

Is this 30-90% complete?

Develop the experience (includes participation &

social media)

Experience complete?

yes

yes

yes no

Complete mono-media elements

end

start

story experience

yes

no

yes

Author Methodology

3. Design 4. Implementation 2. Definition (Goal Setting)

• Synopsis • Engagement • Interaction

• User phases • User journey • Quests

• Production pipeline • Preparation • Conducttr • Play test • Go live

1. Business Planning

• Audience • Story • Experience • Platforms • Business model • Execution

Participatory Transmedia Storytelling

Story development

Definition

2.1Synopsis 2.2. Engagement 2.3. Interaction 2.4. Operations

2.1.1 Story 2.2.1 Experience

2.2.1 Purpose 2.2.2 Participation 2.2.3 Personalization 2.2.4 Pacing 2.2.5 Characters

2.3.1 Platforms 2.3.2 Media (Assets)

2.4.1 Management 2.4.2 Metrics

Audience participation opportunities

What will the audience do? How will they be engaged?

Companion Actor

Outsider Observer

THINK

FEEL

DO

Moral dilemmas, meaningful choices

Role-play, provide building blocks

Reflection, consideration Exploring, discovering

“Social TV” activity

Companion Actor

Outsider Observer

THINK

FEEL

DO

Twitter & Facebook activity discusses the show, tweets with the cast etc

Second-screen content usually provides b-roll or extra content, comics, games

Massive unrealized potential for audience to act in the storyworld

Example

Work in Progress…

Project Structure

Transmedia Producer (Robert Pratten)

Psychophol

(Cassi)

Wastelander

(Berta)

Tarot Cards

(Tara)

Web Series

(Robert)

Graphic Design & Branding

(BTL Brands)

Feature Script (Simon Cluett)

Producer (Jonathan Sothcott)

Participation = ability of audience to change or contribute to the story-experience Gaming = audience has goal, use of puzzles, game mechanics (trophies, levels, leader boards etc.)

Story = importance of narrative, depth of world & degree of authorial control Real-world = extent to which story-experience pervades real locations & times, real people & events

Story (strength, depth & authorial

control)

Gaming (goals, puzzles, challenges, trophies)

Participation (contribute, change, co-create)

Real-world

(pervasive, built around fact)

Mask of the Red Death Online

Feature Film

Psychophol experience

Wastelander experience

Web series

Tarot Cards

Real World

Event: Festival Screening

Mobile app

DVD release

Story

Gaming Participation

Real-world

WORKFLOW: Mask of the Red Death

Synopsis Short story Transmedia Strategy

Funding Approved

Write Feature Script

Write Psychophol

Story

Psychophol Experience

Defined

Wastelander Experience

Defined

Create Card

Mechanics

Create Card Story

Write Webseries

Director’s Vision

Storyworld Wiki (Bible)

Experience Story writing Documents

Key

Information flow

Participation for MskRD

Companion Actor

Outsider Observer

THINK

FEEL

DO

Wastelander experience

Psychophol experience

Tarot Cards

Web Series

Psychophol Quests

Q1. Intro

Q2. LOVE TWEETS

Q3. REPORT EMAILS PROSPERO

Q4. SCAPEGOAT EMAIL

Q5. FWD EMAIL TO PROSPERO

Q6. YES! HELP JAMES

Q7. TWITTER GAME

Q8. WEBSTER GETS DOCUMENTS

Q9. AMBUSHED!

Q10. – CONTINUE HELPING WEBSTER

Q11. ACCEPT BRIBE AND BECOME SPY

Mask of the Red Death

www.psychophol.com

The End

Robert Pratten robert@tstoryteller.com

@robpratten Europe: +44 207 193 4567

USA: +1 415 287 4150