Are you ready to explore the big picture?  Fiona Milburn of Transmedia NZ has compiled a handy quick-start guide to ease the plunge into transmedia storytelling.

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Welcome!  It’s a new year and you’ve decided to check out this thing called “transmedia,” which you’ve been hearing so much about.  But where to start?  You've read Anna Jackson's post, What the # is Transmedia?  So, what's next?  Wikipedia?  Google?  All good choices, but there’s so much information!  Don’t worry.  Help is at hand.  Here’s a list of articles and resources that’ll give you a bit of a “kick start” into the world of transmedia storytelling.

 Introducing Transmedia Storytelling:

• Henry Jenkins
  • Transmedia Storytelling 101
  • Transmedia 202: Further Reflections
• Nick DeMartino
  • Why Transmedia is Catching On (Part 1)
  • Why Transmedia is Catching On (Part 2)
  • Why Transmedia is Catching On (Part 3)

A Few Milestones:

• Blair Witch
  • The Blair Witch Project, a transmedia reference ?
• The Matrix
  • Decoding a transmedia classic, Enter the Matrix
• Why So Serious?
  • Why So Serious: 360 Alternate Reality Experience

Some Recent Examples:

• ARG [incl. Graphic Novel]
  • The Arrival: graphic introduction to steampunk ARG
• Education
  • On Transmedia and Education: A Conversation With Robot Heart Stories’ Jen Begeal and Inanimate Alice’s Laura Fleming (Part One) & (Part Two)
• Documentary
  • Half the Sky & Social Documentary Transmedia
• Fashion
  • Transmedia Strategy: Yayoi Kusama for Louis Vuitton
• Film
  • Inside “The Hunger Games” Social Media Machine
• Marketing
  • How Barbie & Ken Were Reunited by Social Media
• Music
  • A Transmedia Look at the Biophilia Live Tour and Education Series
• Performance Art
  • Interactive Digital Noir Piece Combines Cinema, Fashion And Gaming
• Publishing
  • Case Study: BZRK
• Television
  • Simple, Elegant Genius: The BBC's Transmedia Sherlock
• Theatre
  • The Seed: where theatre, gaming and botany collide
• Video Games
  • Beyond t-shirts: Assassin’s Creed’s transmedia movement
• Visual Arts
  • Davis hosts world’s first transmedia sculpture walk
• Web Series
  • Behind the Scenes of “The Lizzie Bennet Diaries”

Additional Context:

• ARGNet [Transmedia Ethics]
  • SXSW 2011: Andrea Phillips on Blurring the Lines
• Brooke Thompson [Specialized Transmedia: ARGs]
  • Alternate Reality Gaming – A Definition
  • Alternate Reality Gaming – A Quickstart Guide
• Jeff Gomez [Transmedia Storytelling for Franchises]
  • The 10 Commandments Of 21st Century Franchise Production
• Gary Hayes [Platform Map for Transmedia Storytellers]
  • Navigating the World of Multi-Platform & Transmedia Rituals
• Dr. Pamela Rutledge [Simple Transmedia Case Study]
  • Case Study Example: The Three Little Pigs

• Lina Srivastava [Transmedia Activism]
  • How Transmedia Can Lead To Social Change

Getting Started:

• Robert Pratten [Transmedia Storyteller Ltd]
  • Getting Started In Transmedia Storytelling: A Practical Guide For Beginners
  • Active Story System - Design Methodology For Transmedia Storytelling
• Gary Hayes [StoryLabs] & Screen Australia
  • How To Write A Transmedia Production Bible
• Julie Giles [greenHat Digital] & Independent Production Fund, Canada
  • How To Build An Audience For Your Web Series: Market, Motivate & Mobilize
• Jennifer Wilson [The Project Factory] & AFTRS, Centre For Screen Business, Australia
• Jenny Weight [geniwate.com]
  • The Participatory Documentary Cookbook: Community Documentary Using Social Media

Other Resources:

• List of Transmedia Groups [Storycode]
  • Storycode Resources
• Transmedia Resource Kit [Siobhan O’Flynn & Anthea Foyer]
  • TMC Resource Kit
• Podcasts
  • StoryForward
  • StoryLabs
  • Hollywood 2.0
  • Transmedia Talk on Culture Hacker
• Curated Transmedia News
  • Transmedia: Storytelling for the Digital Age [Fiona Milburn]
  • Transmediascoop [Simon Staffans]
  • Tracking Transmedia [Siobhan O’Flynn]
• Books
  • Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide, Henry Jenkins (2006)
  • The Art of Immersion: How the Digital Generation Is Remaking Hollywood, Madison Avenue, and the Way We Tell Stories, Frank Rose (2011)
  • The Producer's Guide to Transmedia: How to Develop, Fund, Produce and Distribute Compelling Stories Across Multiple Platforms, Nuno Bernardo (2011)
  • Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better And How They Can Change The World, Jane McGonigal (2011)
  • A Creator's Guide to Transmedia Storytelling: How to Captivate and Engage Audiences Across Multiple Platforms, Andrea Phillips (2012)

That's it for this quick-start guide.  Good luck!  And, don’t forget to keep following this blog and Transmedia NZ.