Notes From The Second Annual Town Hall

A year ago we met at USC Annenberg for the first time, getting to know our new digs and each other seemingly better than we ever had at Cafe Metro. My how we’ve grown, and the town hall this week at our new home– Busby’s East– was full of a cross-section of the community.

Transmedia LA Managing Director Hal Hefner (@halhefner) couldn’t attend due to illness and that left your humble narrator to play MC.

First up, we asked for a show of hands on who wanted a quick intro to “Transmedia 101″. There were a lot more hands raised up than I was expecting, even a few amongst the veteran meetup members. Probably looking to start a definition cage match. Ha! But that was not to be TMLA co-founder and elder statesman Jay Bushman (@jaybushman) gave a solid impromptu talk. Jay didn’t even know he was going to be pressed into service until about ten minutes before the event began. One of the members got the talk on tape and has promised to share once it’s up online. … Continue Reading

Panel Recap: Where Transmedia and Webseries Meet

The “Where Transmedia and Webseries Meet” Panel. Left to Right: Moderator Noah Nelson, From Halo, Stewart Hendler (Director) and Joshua Feldman (Producer). From The League of S.T.E.A.M. Kate Walsh (Production Designer), Andrew Fogel (Director), Trip Hope (Exec. Producer).

Our panel on Webseries and Transmedia played to a full house in the old Conga Room at Busby’s East this week.

The event kicked off with the announcement of our co-production (along with our friends at StoryCode and TransmediaSF)of the upcoming Story Hackathon at Createasphere and some information about Zahn Li’s “Future of Transmedia Strategy” research project. Then it was time for the main event.

Moderated by myself, the panel brought together the creative teams of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn and The League of S.T.E.A.M. for a wide ranging discussion about the rapidly evolving worlds of webseries and transmedia. (Shock, I know.)

Director Stewart Hender and producer Joshua Feldman were on hand to represent Halo and actor-director Andrew Fogel actor-designer Kate Walsh and executive producer Trip Hope stood for The League of S.T.E.A.M..

The conversation began with the subject of the story worlds of both shows.

… Continue Reading

Take Part in the Future of Transmedia Strategy Exercise: Jan 16 – Jan 31

A letter from Zhan Li, PHD Candidate at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School, under Prof. Henry Jenkins,

Hello Smart and Passionate Members of Transmedia LA!

I’m inviting you to participate together in a short online strategy exercise about the state of knowledge in the transmedia field and how it might develop in the future. Along with members of [Transmedia LA/Transmedia 101 in Toronto], I’m asking your community to write short scenarios – plausible stories imagining possible futures – about how the knowledge needs of the transmedia field might develop over the next 10 years. You’re encouraged to take part whether you’re a newcomer to transmedia or a veteran expert – or somewhere in between.

I think that you’ll have fun joining in this creative storytelling exercise. You’ll also have a chance of winning one of several $20 Starbucks/Tim Hortons gift card by participating.

Below, you’ll find answers for your What/Who/Why/Where/When/How questions about all this.

The exercise might take half an hour at least or so of your time, but you may spend longer on it, if you like. You needn’t do it all in one sitting as your progress will be saved online (just be sure to use the same browser on the same computer).

What?

• This is a scenario-based foresight exercise, which simply means using the guided telling of stories about different plausible futures to help an organization or a community imagine and think about long-term possibilities.
• None of this is intended as prediction or advocacy. Rather, the methods here are designed to help expand the ways we imagine and talk about the future of the transmedia field.
• The exercise will focus on the strategic knowledge challenges and opportunities you think will be important for the transmedia field over the next decade, depending on whether transmedia becomes more strictly or loosely defined. By knowledge, I mean both the needs of practical know-how and R&D as well as the more conceptual or theoretical.
• The exercise will involve the writing of two short (at least 1 paragraph) scenarios, and some survey questions.

Who?

• My name’s Zhan Li, and I’m a PhD student at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School, where I work under Prof. Henry Jenkins, the leading transmedia scholar. My own research doesn’t focus primarily on transmedia but rather, on how organizations and communities think and communicate strategically about different possible futures, especially through narrative. The research group I helped found at USC (www.uscscenariolab.com) under Prof. Patti Riley has worked with major corporations as well as non-profit and governmental organizations such as the World Bank.

Why?

• This exercise is part of my PhD research and you’ll be helping me to contribute to university scholarship and innovation about the ways industry communities think about the future.
• The exercise may help your transmedia community understand your collective professional knowledge needs better.
• It may also help you expand your own strategic thinking about the future possibilities of the transmedia industry, and the knowledge needs that will help realize those visions.
• I’ll report back to Transmedia LA and Transmedia 101 with an analysis of the data, using an adapted version of a Harvard Business Review award-winning strategy framework designed for executive decision-makers (Dave Snowden’s Cynefin).
• All scenarios, while being kept anonymous whenever publicly shared or published, will be part of my reporting back, and this too may help generate strategically-minded conversation within and between the professional transmedia communities in LA and Toronto.
• The exercise’s data and findings will also be used to help students and others learn about the potential of transmedia in further university exercises, classes, and conferences at USC
• All this will, I hope, help shape skills, research, and teaching agendas in the transmedia field.

Where, When & How?

I’m glad you’re interested in joining in! To take part, visit this website where you’ll be guided through the process: http://www.transmediaforesight.com (password: thematrix ).

The survey hosted on the website will be open from Jan 16 to Jan 31.

If you have any questions, you can reach me at zhanli@usc.edu .

Take the Story Hackathon Challenge!

Join Transmedia LA as we Produce Los Angeles’ FIRST Storyhack!

What is it?

As technology continues to infiltrate our lives — the way we interact, how we see and experience the world, the means and methods of storytelling continue to evolve. As a result, storytellers who can effectively harness these new technologies to develop a cohesive narrative across multiple platforms are desirable in today’s entertainment marketplace.

If you’re a creative genius working in the transmedia or cross media space, we want to hear from you.  Creatasphere and StoryCode, in conjunction with Transmedia L.A. and TransmediaSF, are hosting the very first Los Angeles Story hackathon – and you could be a part of it!  So if you’re interested in practicing your craft in competition for a cash prize, and being given an opportunity to promote your work in front of the leading decision-makers in entertainment, read on!

The Rules of the Storyhack

You and your team will have 24 hours to explore the intersection of storytelling and technology by:

• Designing a cohesive narrative spanning three or more technological platforms.
• Executing at least one of those three platforms.
• Centering your hack around a THEME, to be announced a week before the event.

Each completed hack must also:

1. Integrate at least ONE sponsor technology (to be announced) in an EXECUTED hack (extra credit given for use of more than one)
2. Include a [specified item], a prop which must appear in the platform that is executed.
3. Integrate a wild card, to be announced at the start of the Hack on March 19th.

PLATFORMS:

MOBILE: iphone/android/windows iOS
SOCIAL: Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Instagram etc
FILM/TV: Traditional linear video

LIVE: Any variety of live performance including ARG
WEB: Video, non-social Text/Image Web-based tools/apps, non-social Games
GAME: Console based or Live

Where is it?
The hackathon will take place during Creatasphere’s TransVergence Summit, scheduled for March 19^th and 20^th, 2013 at the W Hotel in Hollywood.  You do not need to register for the TransVergence Summit to participate, but all participating teams WILL have the opportunity to present their finished hack to the summit attendees.

Schedule

Tuesday, March 19th, 2013

Brainstorm & Create
10:00 am to 11:00 am – Kickoff / Keynote
11:00 am – Start hacking
7:00 to 8:00 pm – Dinner Break
2:00 to 7:00 pm – Creative Mentorship available

Wednesday, March 20th, 2013

Polish & Present
11:00 am – Stop Hacking
1:15 to 2:30 pm – Presentations
5:15 pm – Winners Announced

Eligibility & Guidelines

Open to writers, designers, filmmakers, developers and more. Current university students, recent grads and working professionals can join. Participants are allowed to form teams of up to four (4) members. If you don’t have a team to register with that’s okay, if selected we’ll match you up with other participants.

Space is limited to ten teams of up to four (4) members who must meet eligibility requirements. To be considered for entry into the Story Hackathon Challenge, register below. We will notify those who have been selected to participate by email.

Registration

Click here to register for the event. THE EVENT IS FREE FOR STORYHACK PARTICIPANTS

Judging Criteria

Projects will be judged by attendees of the TransVergence Summit.

Prizes

The Grand Prize winners will be awarded a cash grant.

General Conditions: Participants warrant that they are the sole authors and owners of their submission, and that it is wholly original. The work of participants must not infringe any copyright or any other rights of any third party of which Contestants are aware. Createasphere reserves the right to refuse any submission that it believes infringes on the intellectual property rights of others.

Questions?
Contact us: info@createasphere.com or info@storycode.org

IAWTV Awards

This Tuesday, January 8^th, the International Academy of Web Television is holding the second annual IAWTV awards, to celebrate the best that web content creators had to offer in 2012.

The awards ceremony starts at 6:00 p.m. Tuesday night at The Palazzo Hotel Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, during the International CES Entertainment Matters Conference.  We know that web series and transmedia storytelling go hand in hand, and this year, transmedia projects like DIRTY WORK, MyMusic, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and Guidestones are up for awards.

So if you want to attend and cheer on your favorite series, tickets to the awards ceremony are available here for $35 (enter the code TRANSLA to let them know we sent you), or for $50 at the door. And if you can’t make it out to Vegas this week, be sure to watch the livestream of the event at the IAWTV website.

Transmedia Los Angeles proudly wishes our community the best of luck!

December Monthly Meetup Welcomes the Founders of Fourth Wall Studios – Jim, Elan and Sean

Transmedia LA, proudly welcomes Jim Stewartson, Elan Lee and Sean Stewart, the founders of  the Emmy Award Winning multi-platform storytelling studio, Fourth Wall , as our special guests for the December meetup.

The last Meetup of 2012 is going to end the year with a bang and start off the month of December in a celebratory fashion as we invite Jim, Sean and Elan to give us insight as to what an amazing year 2012 was for them. Fourth Wall Studios busted onto the scene in 2012 with their groundbreaking platform, RIDES and in the process won the adoration of many fans with their original content such as Dirty Work, Flare and Airship Dracula and in the process, won an Emmy.

As Fourth Wall heads into 2103 on fire, we are presenting a great opportunity for those interested in Transmedia, to listen to three of the most important people in the industry today.

Jim, Elan and Sean will  join us for a fun, informal discussion about the launching of RIDES and what it is like to be driving the reigns of a hybrid studio that produces software and content that is pushing the boundaries of traditional media.

EVENT DETAILS:

Date: Monday, December 3rd, 2012

Time: 7- 10 PM

AGENDA:
Networking: 7-8 PM

Guest Speakers: 8-9 PM

More Networking: 9-10PM

ADDRESS:

Busby’s East

5364 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90036

(323) 525-2615

TransmediaLA continues to celebrate our new home at Busby’s East!

Food and alcohol are available for purchase at Busby’s!

So please join us on 11/5 and meet some new friends, network with new business connections, eat some food, have a drink and learn something new while you’re doing it!

Busby’s East is a central location between the Valley and the West Side and is located in the Miracle Mile on Wilshire Boulevard, just west of La Brea Ave.

Directions to Busby’s East: 

We will be meeting in the Ballroom, on the second floor, just to the right when you walk up the stairs.
PARKING:
There is metered street parking, parking in the back and side streets.

ABOUT FOURTH WALL STUDIOS:

Website: http://www.fourthwallstudios.com

RIDES: http://www.rides.tv

Monthly Meetup: Robert Green, Executive Producer of the HUFFPOST LIVE experience

For our November monthly meetup, TransmediaLA welcomes, Robert Green, Executive Producer, who brought the Huffington Post’s streaming news community to life.

Robert will join us for a discussion about the launching of HUFFPOST LIVE , where he utilized his experience as a storyteller to create a news focused interactive experience that embraces the participation of an energized community.

PLEASE SIGN UP NOW BEFORE WE REACH CAPACITY!
EVENT DETAILS:

Date: Monday, November 5th, 2012

Time: 7pm – 10pm

ADDRESS:

Busby’s East

5364 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90036

(323) 525-2615

TransmediaLA continues to celebrate our new home at Busby’s East!

Food and alcohol are available for purchase at Busby’s!

So please join us on 11/5 and meet some new friends, network with new business connections, eat some food, have a drink and learn something new while you’re doing it!

Busby’s East is a central location between the Valley and the West Side and is located in the Miracle Mile on Wilshire Boulevard, just west of La Brea Ave.

Directions to Busby’s East: 

We will be meeting in the Ballroom, on the second floor, just to the right when you walk up the stairs.
PARKING:
There is metered street parking, parking in the back and side streets.
ABOUT ROBERT GREEN:

Linkedin

Website

Here’s an interview Robert did with the Point Recently:

ABOUT HUFFPOSTLIVE:
HuffingtonPost.com LLC is an online news site and group blog. Its services include an ongoing open competition for user-generated Web projects that involves an active, interactive community. The company also operates a news and commentary Web site focusing on politics.

Best out of Storyworld 2012

Another year, another world wind conference. Below some notorious highlights courtesy of the Transmedia LA team:

Best Talk: Brian Clark’s Phenomenal Work:

Watch live streaming video from transmediala at livestream.com

Slideshare that goes with the talk:

Michael Annetta’s Technology and Transmedia Workshop, a great resource:

 April Arrglington’s Case Study on The Miracle Mile Paradox:

For an overview coverage of the experience check Epilogger.

To keep track of the Phenomenal Work Manifesto check the Tumblr.

Join us at StoryWorld 2012!

Transmedia L.A. is partnering with F+W Media to produce transmedia-related programming for the upcoming StoryWorld Conference + Expo 2012!

In fact, one StoryWorld programming piece is already about to come to a close…

TLA Transmedia Webcast Series (hosted by Scott Walker)

Over the past five weeks, Scott’s guests have included Lina Srivastava, Robert Pratten, Aaron Williams, Dr. Henry Jenkins, Andrea Phillips, and Aaron Vanek. Missed the past webcasts? No problem – you can view them here.

The final webcast is scheduled for October 3rd, when Scott will be joined by Jan Libby, Brian Seth Hurst, and Lance Weiler to discuss their experiences telling stories in the Hollywood, consumer brand, and independent spaces.

TLA is also producing three sessions at the StoryWorld Conference itself:

The Meetup of Meetups (hosted by Hal Hefner & Jay Bushman)
Following up on last year’s incredibly popular (but unofficial) transmedia “meetup of meetups” at StoryWorld 2011, TLA is hosting the (now official) Meetup of Meetups! Several of the leading meetups around the world will be represented, and it will be a great opportunity to catch up on what’s going on in the global transmedia community.

Transmedia & Technology (presented by Michael Annetta and Tara Brown)
Transmedia stories spread in a number of ways, often relying on a variety of technologies. This hands-on workshop will cover some familiar and not-so-familiar technologies and how you can implement them on your next transmedia project. Some techniques will help reach your audience, some will help organize your team and some will even make you look like an amazing tech wiz (though they’re easy to use!). Bring your laptop!

Miracle Mile Paradox ARG Case Study (presented by April Arrglington)
This session will examine the Miracle Mile Paradox (MMP), the first alternate reality game (ARG) produced by Transmedia L.A. MMP was crowd-funded and used several transmedia storytelling practices, including a pervasive live experience at the historic stretch of Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles known as “the Miracle Mile” and extending across a variety of online experiences. This session will examine the structure of the experience, discuss how the experience was produced, and share lessons learned about everything from using various technologies to marketing a project managing a transmedia experience.

Of course, there are lots of other reasons to attend StoryWorld. Content creators, producers, marketers, executives – no matter what aspect of storytelling interests you, StoryWorld 2012 is sure to please.

Hope to see you there!

Tune in for The Miracle Mile Paradox Finale

It’s all coming to a close! Don’t miss what happens with Rex and friends as they attempt to bring down AIC once in for all. Tune in to Cassandra’s Final Transmission via Surveillance Camera feed, or by coming down to the Time Switch Office this Saturday 1st of September at 7pm PST.

Please RSVP for the event here and be witness as all it’s revealed: https://www.facebook.com/events/398878703510641/

Heads up though. You must stand by for further instructions as the event is interactive. You will be asked to participate weather you are tuning in long distance, or if you attending the event in The Miracle Mile. Plus, surprise goodies will be sent to all those who participate.

Don’t miss out on the fun, join us!