Yes, hello! You probably don’t like being called something you have no idea what it means, but I assure you I consider it a compliment. I came up with the term ‘transmodiologist’ (with the help of my half-brother who is a whiz at Latin) to differentiate myself and my research method from ‘narratologists’ and ‘ludologists’. The former describes researchers who interrogate the nature of narrative and the latter the nature of ludic, ludus or games. I too interrogate the narrative and ludic elements in multi-media platform works, but I look at both the narrative and ludic elements…not one or the other. And, I question whether what has been subsumed under either is valid, as well as develop an ontology that is narrative- and ludic-agnostic. That is the quick explanation. Feel free to question me at any time!
More on what this research area is…shortly…. But for now, welcome. 🙂
Yes, that’s right, my podcast at UniverseCreation101.com is now in video. In this vodcast I interview filmmaker Lance Weiler, who has been extending his films to different media platforms for years, and spearheading digital distribution & social networking for the film community. Check it out. Also, for those in Facebook I’ve started a UC101 group. It is there I’ll ping you when a new video or substantial post is up, you can post stuff you think I and the others in the group will find interesting, and you can heckle me.
Filmmaker Lance Weiler is the special guest on this first video podcast at UC101. Weiler talks about the unique ways he has experimented with extending the storyworld of his feature films out to other media platforms and artforms, and he shares his insights into the innovative digital distribution techniques he has been spearheading for years. To jump to particular topics, here is a short guide:
03:02 The Last Broadcast
14:32 Head Trauma
44:14 From Here to Awesome
54:53 Workbook Project
59:01 Random Future
Here is part of his bio from his personal site:
His first feature, The Last Broadcast, is currently distributed in over 20 countries. It has the honor of being the first all digital release of a motion picture to theaters nationwide and has enjoyed runs on HBO and IFC. To date, The Last Broadcast, a self-distributed effort, has grossed over 4 million dollars worldwide. […] Lance’s newest feature, Head Trauma, had its world premiere at the LA Film Festival in 2006. This past fall Head Trauma had a 17 city DIY digital theatrical run before hitting stores and retail outlets nationwide on DVD. Recently, Lance has created a new Head Trauma event called a cinema ARG (alternate realty game) that allows audience members to experience a new form of storytelling. The cinematic ARG is a mashup of movies, music, theatrics and gaming. […] Lance is also the founder of the Workbook Project a ‘social open source’ project for filmmakers. The Workbook Project’s goal is to help filmmakers understand the changing landscape of funding, production, promotion, and distribution in a digital age. Lance also sits on the board of the IFP a national filmmaker organization and is the co-founder of From Here to Awesome a discovery and distribution fest that puts filmmakers directly in touch with global audiences.
“Medium clusters” wasn”t introduced by Gene Youngblood but by Roy Grundmann in his essay ‘Masters of Ceremony: Media Demonstration as Performance in Three Instances of Expanded Cinema’, The Velvet Light Trap no. 54 (Fall 2004), pp.48-64
