Transmedia NZ's Fiona Milburn reports back from this year's DOC Edge Lab, The Big Screen Symposium and NZGDC's Hollywood & Interactive IP event.

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September was a month of information and inspiration for the NZ Screen Industry with several well established, professional development events being held here in Auckland.  Amongst them were:

• Documentary Edge's 2014 DOC Edge Lab, September 15 - 16, at AUT University;
• The NZ Game Developers Association's NZGDC14, September 19, at AUT University;
• and Script to Screen's The Big Screen Symposium 2014 - The Power Of The Voice, September 27 - 28, at Auckland University.

Transmedia NZ attended various parts of these events.  Here are some key takeaways ....

2014 DOC Edge Lab

This year's DOC Edge Lab consisted of two days of presentations and case studies, on interactive non-fiction and transmedia storytelling, by local and international industry experts.

Ingrid Kopp, Director of Digital Initiatives at the Tribeca Film Institute, used her Keynote Address to discuss how interactivity, transmedia and user experience are changing the art of non-fiction storytelling.  She kicked off the session by observing that:  "technology has always changed how we see and talk about the world".

The internet is a great disrupter and will not be going away.  The idea of "always on, always available" is also a relatively new concept.  Filmmakers need to be where their audiences are.  Transmedia provides many entry points for an audience, so a multiplatform documentary might engage people who wouldn't normally view it at the cinema, or on television.  In the USA TV is booming, but not on TV.

Audiences are also seeking out immersive experiences, but interactive storytelling is changing film, not killing film.  Think of interaction as story and not just something to be 'plonked' on top.  Consider the internet as a medium and not a pipe.  Ask yourself, what would this project be without the internet?

Filmmakers need to look beyond film and see what else is going on.  Gaming, for instance, has perfected interaction and engagement.  The user experience is now part of what we do as storytellers and should be built in from the beginning.  How are you engaging your audience?  What are they doing after 7 seconds ... 7 minutes ... 7 days?

We're in the middle of a storytelling shift and have yet to see the edges.

John-Paul (JP) Marin, Executive Producer - Online, SBS Australia, presented the first of DOC Edge Lab's many case studies.

Creating the interactive experience, Cronulla Riots: The Day That Shocked the Nation, involved the analysis of a mass of existing research material.  A data analyst was used to index everything and create meaningful relationships.  This work enabled the team to distil themes; evaluate what might resonate with an audience; and start exploring how the site might come together.  Plotting the movement of the violence over time was made possible by this granular data mining.

Eventually, themes were broken into content hubs with particular attention paid to how they would relate.  The viewer is able to make macro and micro dives within the site's components; or simply watch the long-form documentary which is presented in 9 chapters.

Sound and visual design are important components of the interactive experience.  The team revisited the Cronulla area to pick up the texture of the place, and to understand the world that the filmmakers were creating.  Design influences also include Arabic tile patterns and the police 'murder' board.

The digital agency within SBS consists of producers, content producers, developers and editorial.  A team of 4 people put interactive projects together, but bring others in as needed.  The Cronulla Riots site is 90% bespoke code and 10% off-the-shelf.

Alex Lee, Documentary Edge, moderated a panel on opportunities for local interactive storytellers.  The panel included Brenda Leeuwenberg from NZ on Air, Jeremy Rees from The NZ Herald, Ingrid Kopp and JP Marin.  Their discussion touched on funding, distribution and partnership opportunities.  Useful links included:  NZ On Air's Digital Media Fund and TFI's New Media Fund.

Edwin McRae of The Fiction Engine spoke of video games' ability to drop players into story and experience.  Game play has immediate consequences and once you have them doing something in game, players are one step closer to doing it in real life.  Video games are not passive, instead the player must work for the narrative experience.  Earned knowledge is valued knowledge and a great way to make story stick, to make people care.  Two very powerful features for issue exploration in both non-fiction and fiction works.

Video games also mean freedom of choice and multiple paths to pursue.  They give players both big and small worlds to explore.  Story provides meaning and justification to player actions but, as video games must balance story with game play, game narratives can't employ the same techniques as films, novels, etc.  Instead, they scatter snippets of story throughout the game for players to gather and build meaning from.  The player remains active and there are no breaks in play.  This technique is known as Jigsaw Storytelling.

"Jigsaw storytelling is the piecing together of story elements within a video game thus enabling exploration, a narrative experience for the player as opposed to a 'story to follow'."

Jeff Nusz of Assembly outlined the development process for online interactive experiences.  He described interactivity as the feedback loop between you and the system.  It's becoming common for online development teams to include UX Designers (User Experience Designers) who specify how a site feels to use.  Thinking of how people use a site is a mixture of ergonomics and psychology.

Using Take a Flight Through Middle Earth & Experience ASB as examples, Jeff illustrated how he employs:  structure diagrams & wireframes; design & concept art; storyboards; animatics & prototypes to perfect the look and feel of his work.  Prototypes are especially important in simulating the user journey and screen flow.  They enable you to feel the project working, understand the problems, and find solutions for the tricky bits.

Jeff was also careful to point out that "it's OK to not know how to do everything".  It's about collaboration and team building.  He mentioned local Meetups as great places to connect with creative technologists and creative coders.  For more on Jeff's work visit his Custom Logic Portfolio and Blog.

Geraldene Peters discussed how to build and sustain an audience over time.  She suggested thinking in terms of circulation rather than distribution, outreach rather than marketing.  The idea is to build communities rather than measure metrics.  The 'glue' for sustainability is attention and engagement.  From the outset, you need an engagement strategy which meets the desires of your audience.  Geraldene shared some excellent online resources on understanding audience behaviour and using transmedia storytelling techniques as an engagement strategy.  Here's her full list of inspiring resources ...

[Note:  All of the 2014 DOC Edge Lab speakers gave additional case studies and reference links that I've not been able to include above.  These were, however, shared on twitter by Lab participants.  Follow this link for a compilation of the #doclab14 tweets.]

NZGDC14: Hollywood & Interactive IP

David S. Rosenbaum, Managing Partner, Rosenbaum Law Group and Dave Brevik, CEO, Gazillion Entertainment discuss how the worlds of film, TV and interactive gaming and apps are coming closer together and what it means for NZ screen producers. [Presented as part of The NZ Game Developers Conference 2014]

Stephen Knightly, Past Chair of the New Zealand Game Developers Association & Director at InGame, opened the session with an overview of the growth of Kiwi Game Development.  He pointed out that, with one or two small exceptions, New Zealand is making games for Hollywood and other internationals but not for NZ film and television productions.  He's hoping to see that change.

Stephen also drew attention to the New Zealand Screen Production Grant - International Productions stating that games, as transmedia content, now qualify for consideration under: 

16.2 (b) - (iv) any transmedia content released on a second screen where that content is developed and produced in conjunction with the production to be viewed contemporaneously with the production and shares a unified narrative with the production.

David Rosenbaum and Dave Brevik then went on to talk about transmedia; the control & licensing of intellectual property (IP); and 'why?' game development.

Transmedia is not new.  Properties such as Star Trek, Star Wars, and comic franchises are well known for their licensing and expanded story worlds.  There has always been synergy between games and film, but the old partnership model saw games published months after the film release.  Hollywood was also very stringent in their IP control, rarely letting games stray from the film's storyline.

This has now changed.  The new model does not require a retread of the original film script.  Instead games can explore other aspects of the story and have characters participate in new adventures.  This often results in several games being produced over several years.  The gap has also been narrowed between film and game release dates, with games often being released day-and-date with the movie.  Gazillion Entertainment's Marvel Heroes was given as a great example of Hollywood's new approach to game development.

So why include video games as part of your story world?  Video games are very profitable.  A successful game can gross more, or the same, as a film.  They offer interactive and immersive experiences that draw fans further into a story world, and enable existing IP to reach new audiences.  Video games are an effective way to grow brand awareness, create evergreen properties, and ensure downstream revenue.

However, not every property is suitable for game development, as original IP creators are not necessarily thinking about how their story world and characters will work in other media.  Filmmaking is also a very different process to game creation.  Game narratives are not linear; they give player agency, are flexible, and can be unpredictable.  This is why Hollywood Studios look for game development partners.

Ben Kenobe, Current Chair of the New Zealand Game Developers Association, then closed with session with an observation:  tonight was not meant to be a silver bullet but rather the start of dialogue between NZ filmmakers & game developers.

[Note:  Ben also runs the Auckland Game Development Meetup which is a great place for filmmakers to connect with potential game development partners.]

The Big Screen Symposium 2014 - The Power Of The Voice

Celebrating: breaking through the clutter, speaking with a distinctive voice, and being heard.  #BigScreenSNZ

The Big Screen Symposium is always a fabulous event to attend because delegates imbue it with a wonderful sense of camaraderie.  It's like catching up with old friends:  what have they all been doing since we last met?  What are their successes and what awaits them around the corner?  But, as with all good parties, there's never enough time to talk with everyone ... hear all the news.  Thank goodness for social media.

The Big Screen Symposium 2014 had an abundance of excellent panels and, although Transmedia NZ couldn't get to all of them, we were able to share in those that we missed via the power of twitter.  Many thanks to all those who live tweeted from The Big Screen Symposium ... especially Anna Jackson who tweeted on behalf of Transmedia NZ and The Big Idea.  A compilation of the #BigScreenSNZ twitter stream follows.

[Note:  Challenges and Changes in the New Zealand Landscape with Dave Gibson, CEO, New Zealand Film Commission, included significant announcements for the NZ Screen Industry.  You can find a transcript of the speech here and a list of the new Film Distribution Grants here.]

The Jeff Gomez Transmedia Masterclass 2014

And, if September wasn't inspiring enough, Jeff Gomez returns to New Zealand on October 14th with a completely updated Transmedia Storytelling Masterclass.

Jeff Gomez, CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment, is one of the world's leading transmedia practitioners and a great speaker.  He has worked with the likes of:  Mattel, The Walt Disney Company, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Nickelodeon, & Ubisoft to create narrative extensions across multiple platforms.  He emphasizes long-term engagement amongst audiences, communities and consumers and advocates the use of transmedia for social good.

Click here for more information and bookings.