Simultaneous cross-media release will be the norm. I’ve heard a few producers mention this, even the Director-General of the BBC has unveiled that their tv shows will be simulataneously available for download on the web. I thoroughly support this move and have been anxiously waiting for it for some time. When a movie is released, for instance, I assess it according to what medium I’ll experience it. A very small percentage of films go on my ‘to-be-watched-in-the-theatre’ list, most are on the ‘wait-for-DVD’ list, and then most are on the ‘wait-until-the-overnight-category’ list. Unfortunately, they often disappear from the shelves at the last point. By having a film available on DVD at the same time as it is released will mean I can participate in the excitement that accompanies the first release, and make a sincere assessment as to its theatre- or DVD-viewing status.
Month: September 2005
*A Cunning PLAN
Other types of cross-media storytelling are ‘pervasive gaming’ and ‘locative arts’. Both include the use of multiple media, usually with running through streets, GPS and other exciting tech-performance type works. The Pervasive and Locative Arts Network (PLAN) is hoping to develop understanding of best-practice in this emerging area. They have called for artists, scientists, industry and academics to work together:
* To review the scope of the research that is currently being carried out in these fields through a focused workshop, leading to an integrated ‘state of the art’ survey paper.
* To identify the key research issues that need to be addressed in order to further develop pervasive and locative media to support culture and creativity, leading to a series of discussion ‘white papers’.
* To seed future projects by bringing artists, scientists and industry together in a creative environment so that they can generate and practically explore new ideas, and also to provide a forum for publicly demonstrating some of these.
* To produce online and offline resources to support researchers, artists, industry and to promote public understanding of this emerging field, including a public website, an online document repository for members and a newsletter and DVD.
If you don’t know about locative arts and pervasive gaming, check out the exciting projects by Blast Theory and the papers by Jane McGonigal:
McGonigal, J. (2004) ‘The Runaway Game: Spectacle and Performance in Public Play’ presented at StoryEngines Conference, Stanford University, February [pdf]
McGonigal, J. (2003) ‘A Real Little Game: The Performance of Belief in Pervasive Play’ presented at Digital Games Research Associaton (DiGRA) “Level Up” Conference, November [pdf]
There is also the IPerG project, that is investigating pervasive gaming. They have a section on Crossmedia gaming on their website:
The aim of the Crossmedia showcase is to untie the game play from specific media channels to provide a game space which is accessible anytime and anywhere. We will investigate the potential of combining several media streams for game control, presentation and broadcast. At the same time, we will support collaborative game play and allow for a broad audience participating in the game.
Crossmedia is a game genre that employs a wide range of media devices. In our prototypes, not only the same gaming applications, but also the same gaming sessions will be accessible with different devices. Persons equipped with smart phones will be able to play with persons sitting in front of their TV or using Augmented Reality technology. It will also be possible to switch gaming devices during a gaming session, such that players can access an ongoing game session with their favourite gaming devices. To allow for collaborative game play and a broad audience, we will study options to let users participate both actively and passively in the game sessions. To enable interaction with a mass audience we will support community building and voting functionality for very large user groups. Apart from playing with different media devices and in different groups, Crossmedia allows for playing across the border of virtual and physical game spaces. To closely interweave the virtual with the physical game space events in the “real” world such as weather conditions or political events will have a strong influence on the game course.
Our first Crossmedia prototype will focus on interactive TV, cellular phones as well as mobile Augmented Reality technology and will implemented basic functionality for collaborative game play. For the second prototype we will refine the design of the first prototype based on the experience we have gained with the first test runs. The second prototype will enhance the first prototype in respect to size of the addressed audience and media devices employed.
The Archers Manifesto
Cross-media storytelling has a long history. One influence from the past is the films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, otherwise known as ‘The Archers’. They created films that include many arts types (music, dance, painting, literature and photography), for they believed that ‘all art is one’. This confluence of arts types is part of the cross-media drive to encompass all…for stories to burst out in all forms and affect all of the senses. Whilst looking around for some writing on the directors I came across their manifesto, which I just had to share:
The Archers Manifesto
As outlined by Emeric Pressburger in a letter to Deborah Kerr to explain why she should join them for The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp.One, we owe allegiance to nobody except the financial interests which provide our money; and, to them, the sole responsibility of ensuring them a profit, not a loss.
Two, every single foot in our films is our own responsibility and nobody else’s. We refuse to be guided or coerced by any influence but our own judgement.
Three, when we start work on a new idea we must be a year ahead, not only of our competitors, but also of the times. A real film, from idea to universal release, takes a year. Or more.
Four, no artist believes in escapism. And we secretly believe that no audience does. We have proved, at any rate, that they will pay to see the truth, for other reasons than her nakedness.
Five, at any time, and particularly at the present, the self respect of all collaborators, from star to prop-man, is sustained, or diminished, by the theme and purpose of the film they are working on. They will fight or intrigue to work on a subject they feel is urgent or contemporary, and fight equally hard to avoid working on a trivial or pointless subject. And we agree with them and want the best workmen with us; and get them. These are the main things we believe in. They have brought us an unbroken record of success and a unique position. Without the one, of course, we should not enjoy the other very long. We are under no illusions. We know we are surrounded by hungry sharks. But you have no idea what fun it is surf-bathing, if you have only paddled, with a nurse holding on to the back of your rompers.We hope you will come on in, the water’s fine. (source)