Nice Post from Frank Rose: Why Transmedia Is like a Walk in Patagonia - Deep Media

An idea is a fragile thing. And at this point, the idea that we're on the cusp of a new form of storytelling seems to have reached that weird place where much of the world still hasn't accepted it but many of those who have are too busy squabbling over the details to actually focus on doing it. As Nick DeMartino, formerly of the American Film Institute, noted in a recent post at Tribeca Film's Future of Film blog, the discussion devolved into an all-out flame war in the wake of the "New Worlds" panel at this year's SXSW Interactive conference. It was against this backdrop that Henry weighed in.

Falling SkiesThe most basic distinction he makes is between adapting a story from one entertainment medium to another—something Hollywood has been doing routinely for decades—and extending a story into other media. Borrowing a line from ngmoco founder Neil Young, he calls the point of this kind of story-extension "additive comprehension." As an example he cites Falling Skies, the summer sci-fi series that Steven Spielberg produced for TNT—an alien-invasion story that echoes the H.G. Wells novel War of the Worlds, which Spielberg adapted for the movies several years ago. Explaining the difference between extending and adapting, Henry notes: 

The Falling Skies graphic novel is a prequel which tells us about the disappearance of the middle brother [during the invasion] and thus helps to provide insights into the motives of the characters on the Turner television series. In this case, additive comprehension takes the form of back story, but the same graphic novel also helps us to better understand the organization of the resistance movement, which we can see as part of a world-building process. Most transmedia content serves one or more of the following functions:

  • Offers backstory
  • Maps the World
  • Offers us other character's perspectives on the action
  • Deepens audience engagement.

Another point Henry makes is that there's nothing all that new about this stuff. Falling Skies and its ilk were prefigured, he notes, by the works of Walt Disney, J.R.R. Tolkien, and L. Frank Baum, who extended his 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz into various other media, including a stage musical (later adapted into the Judy Garland movie by MGM) and a slide show he presented on the lecture circuit. 

Brilliant Must-Have List -Understanding Urbanity: 7 Must-Read Books About Cities | Brain Pickings

Media_httpwwwbrainpic_gxtif

Me - I wouldn't put Florida's book as #1 as there's are critically convincing arguments against many of his assumptions. The rest of the list is wonderful & I'm tracking down the books I don't have.

Maria Popova's article is worth reading with great summaries & images from these works. Thank You!

Lewis Mumford's The City in History: Its Origins, Its Transformations, and Its Prospects

The Zinester’s Guide to NYC

John Kasarda & Greg Lindsay's Aerotropolis: The Way We’ll Live Next

Edward Glaeser's In Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier

Jane Jacobs' The Death and Life of Great American Cities

Witold Rybczynski's Makeshift Metropolis: Ideas About Cities

New Media Knowledge - Social Media and Social Disorder: When do they overlap?

Media_httpwwwnmkcouka_pkefg

By Chris Lee

"Riots and looting that spread across some cities in England during August 2011 were aided in their effectiveness by social media, such as Twitter, Facebook and BlackBerry Messenger, according to many observers.

These self-same media were also beneficial to those seeking to understand in real time what was occurring in their area, although much was inevitably misinformation. The whole role of social media in the organisation of the UK riots has opened the debate on social media, its implications for law enforcement and, of course, how that evidence can be used in court. In Warrington, near Manchester, two youths were jailed for four years each for setting up a Facebook page which it is alleged incited people to start a riot that never materialised.

"Everyone watching these horrific actions will be struck by how they were organised via social media. Free flow of information can be used for good. But it can also be used for ill," said UK Prime Minister, David Cameron (as reported in the Guardian).

A force for good?
The same challenge faced the mayor of US city Cleveland, when its City Council passed a resolution criminalising the use of social networks to encourage others to commit crimes. Mayor Frank Jackson vetoed the bill, arguing that it was “unconstitutional” to, in effect, ban conversations.

For James Kirkham, managing director of digital strategy agency Holler, Twitter has once again proven that it is now the pre-eminent news source in the UK. But its role is more observational than participatory or inciting.

“Twitter is a red herring for those keen to understand the role of social media in all of this,” he told NMK. “For those partaking it plays far less of a role than those observing and curating. It has assumed a position as the unquestionable number one channel for observation, comment and the spreading of the news, but is yet to act as any sort of catalyst for the criminals hell bent on causing all the aggregation.”..."

Los Angeles Metro Buses Now Running Web Series, "Los Americans" on over 4,000 Screens. Excerpt via reelseo.com

The drama will be shown in segments on more than 4,000 screens on over 2,000 buses in Los Angeles. It is a departure from the daily news, talk, variety, and weather tidbits that Transit TV has been providing. The show is being broadcast in part to reach people who might have the same problems, and each episode directs people towards resources that might help them.

Before you start saying, “This sounds like after-school special nonsense,” it should be noted that the show is well-done, with very accomplished actors, and doesn’t play out in a heavy-handed way. Take a look at this episode, entitled “Going To mexico,” to see what I mean:

This is the sort of series that is scarce to nonexistent on TV, minorities fill every major role, and dramas tend not to focus on family much anymore, crime procedurals being king these days.

Fascinating Study on Correlation of Time of Day to Success. Beware of late day decisions! Don't ask in the afternoon!

Media_httpgraphics8ny_ijhzg

....Decision fatigue is the newest discovery involving a phenomenon called ego depletion, a term coined by the social psychologist Roy F. Baumeister in homage to a Freudian hypothesis. Freud speculated that the self, or ego, depended on mental activities involving the transfer of energy. He was vague about the details, though, and quite wrong about some of them (like his idea that artists “sublimate” sexual energy into their work, which would imply that adultery should be especially rare at artists’ colonies). Freud’s energy model of the self was generally ignored until the end of the century, when Baumeister began studying mental discipline in a series of experiments, first at Case Western and then at Florida State University..""

Kagemu's 'Black Sun' Synchronizes Projected Video With Japanese Dance - by Kasia Cieplak-Mayr von Baldegg - Entertainment - The Atlantic

Excerpt from a longer interview:

"Black Sun is a meticulously choreographed projection of motiongraphics onto dance, combining traditional and modern elements of Japanese culture and martial arts. Artist Nobuyuki Hanabusa and dancer Katsumi Sakakura, together known as Kagemu, have since been widely imitated by others, including Beyoncé.

Hanabusa talks about the creative process behind the innovative performance and his take on the Beyoncé story.

The Atlantic: What is your artistic background? How did you come to work in the medium of projected motion graphics?

Nobuyuki Hanabusa: I am very influenced by Ukiyoe (Japanese woodblock prints) artists such as Hokusai Katsushika, but more than that, Japanese comics and movies with VFX like Star Wars have influenced me a lot. I love to imagine invisible things from childhood.

Black Sun draws on traditional Japanese theater, martial arts and aesthetics to create something totally modern. How did you collaborate with Orientarhythm to develop this piece? What was your inspiration?

When I was thinking about creating something mixed of live action and video picture, I met Orientarhythm and we created the unit called Kagemu. Since space on dance stages is limited, we came up with this process that enables our performance with simple equipment. After a continuing process of trial and error, Katsumi Sakakura, the dancer, and I refined our idea.

There has always been a culture in Japan that values the minimum, such as the simplest design expresses the perspective of the world. The culture takes root in graphics and influences Black Sun, which leads us to portray Japan without images like ‘geisha’ or ‘Fujiyama.'..."

BeActive heading to “350 South” with participatory documentary experience, planning immersive web & social media experience» Realscreen

Media_httpcdnrealscre_plaii

Excerpt:

"350 South: An American Journey, from prodco beActive, is billed as a “fully participatory documentary experience” following Irish and American environmentalists on their year long journey from Alaska to Argentina.

The series, which features online, mobile and interactive aspects, follows Ian Lacey and Lee Savile as they cycle through 15 countries and three mountain ranges over 350 days. The duo will also be looking at environmental issues and reaching out to local communities on their journey.

Developed and produced by beActive, the series also includes a year-long immersive web and social media experience, using Facebook, a website, Twitter, a blog, an iPhone and iPad app, a YouTube channel with daily video blogs and an interactive map with a GPS locator. The mobile app and YouTube channel will be launched in the coming days..."

Read more: http://realscreen.com/2011/08/18/beactive-heading-to-350-south/#ixzz1VZfQWabe

Factory Transmedia launches preschool series - Characters based on Autism Spectrum » Kidscreen

Media_httpcdnkidscree_iijcv

Could be a very interesting research vehicle:

"Notably, each character in the series represents various points of the Autism spectrum, including Attention Deficit Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Kanners Autism."

Read more: http://kidscreen.com/2011/08/18/factory-transmedia-launches-preschool-series/...

Great piece on PopSandBox's graphic novel & interactive doc, Kenk: Stealing to save the world | Art Threat

Kenk is indeed a giant windbag who doesn’t suffer fools, or for that matter anyone who disagrees with his outlook on life – that is, a kind of Robinhood social Darwinist eco-warrior melange that doesn’t quite add up. He’s caustic, unapologetic and clearly looking out for number one: himself.

Yet behind that veneer is a complex character, a former policeman from “communist shithole” who is shocked and dismayed by throw-away culture in the West. His business of recuperating old “junk” is not only his means of survival in a quickly gentrifying city, but is the tangible manifestation of his philosophic stew mentioned above. And it’s also a means of justifying dealing in stolen “junk bikes.”

Excerpt:

"The story follows Toronto’s notorious bike thief Igor Kenk as he talks about his past in Slovenia, waxes philosophic on the suicidal and absurd Western lifestyle and runs his infamous bike shop in the Trinity Bellwoods Park neighbourhood of Toronto."