Fans Are Responding to Killcam: Live's Unique Interactive Horror Experience | via Dread Central

Excerpt from dreadcentral.com post:

"Killcam: Live is the transmedia brainchild of producer April Wade (@actoraprilwade) and filmmaker Canyon Prince (@canyonprince). Part digiseries, part interactive real time experience, and part feature film, Killcam: Live is the next stage in the evolution of storytelling. The project follows a group of students as they willingly agree to participate in a social experiment put on by their charming psychology professor Michael Grayson (played by J. Michael Briggs). The experiment is meant to explore the effects of current human dependence on technology and social media as the majority form of communication. During the ongoing experiment, the students will be isolated from each other and their only way to communicate with the outside world will be through social media. However, someone has a different agenda in mind as things start to take a turn for the worse.

Every Thursday through December, an episode will play out online, moving the story forward in typical narrative format. The following Monday through Thursday morning of each week will host a LIVE 72-hour period in which one of the students will be trapped in a room, awaiting their horrific fate. During that period, the audience will be able to interact with the character via video, Facebook, Twitter (@killcam_live) and online chat. The audience will be able to inform the characters (in real time) what is happening and possibly even aid them in their escape...or demise.

"We are looking to bring a heightened level of interactivity to the audience" says Wade, "and we feel that this projects is on the cutting edge of a new age of storytelling. As filmmakers today, we have an international platform for our stories that never existed before and I am thrilled to be experimenting with creative ways to use social media to shape the film."

MediaPost Publications Twitter Campaign Pays Off For AMC Shows 11/22/2011

140 Proof, a social stream media platform company, has created a business strategy and technology that tie interest-based keywords and sentiment from social streams with targeted ads. The company worked with the digital agency TargetCast to connect AMC TV brands, such as "The Walking Dead," "Hell on Wheels," and "The Killing," to Twitter and other social media.

During the campaigns, both "The Killing" and "Breaking Bad" campaigns achieved click-through rate averages of 0.4%, higher than the Twitter average of 0.2%, and nearly double the average for entertainment-focused campaign. For "The Killing," 140 Proof helped target 18-34 males, outside of the show’s core female 25-to-54 demographic. While the campaign ran, the show experienced a 25% ratings increase among 18- to-34-year-olds.

Original post by Laurie Sullivan on mediapost.com

Authentic Content: Susan Bonds dissects NIN’s Year Zero | Excerpt from Sundance Institute

“There is a science to this – direct participation, amplification, audience build. There are ways to predict and up-step the experiences to deepen audience engagement, but the creators must keep the right tempo for releasing both new content and in unusual ways on multiple levels to make it work. Tempo and rhythm are important. The trends show 8-12 weeks of active engagement is prime for running an interactive narrative/episode, although we have ARGs running right now in years two and three and who knows how long the echoes of Year Zero can or will go.” Bonds said. The length of the Year Zero campaign in active live production was 12 weeks.

During Year Zero, hundreds of elements were developed including music videos that were more like short films, advanced viral distribution of new tracks of original Nine Inch Nails music, posters and phone messages, heat sensitive CDs, survival kits, tattoos, street art, and eventually a surprise private concert for 100 die-hard players.

Bonds is the least surprised at the intersection of creative mediums with technology. She pointed out that young directors and producers like Zach Snyder are the first generation that grew up fully immersed in modern game culture and they are bringing those DNA experiences into their approaches to creative forms.

Asked about the return or ROI on this type of work and Bonds says that there is more measurement available for this type of internet centric work and direct correlation than for other more traditional mediums. Time spent in active engagement is a differentiating factor – earned media is another. The active participation is amplified through social networks, online press and buzz, as well as multiple content platforms/usage that each have their own unique reach.

Posted by Joseph Beyer, Director of Digital Initiatives for Sundance Institute on Oct 24, 2011 at 01:10 pm.

read the full post on sundance.org

Excellent Summary: Telling Stories with Data – VisWeek 2011 Workshop

Note from Nathan: Last week, visualization researchers from all over gathered in Providence, Rhode Island for VisWeek 2011. One of the workshops, Telling Stories with Data, focused on data as narrative and what that means for visualization. This is a guest post by the organizers: Nick Diakopoulos, Joan DiMicco, Jessica Hullman, Karrie Karahalios, and Adam Perer.

"Data storytelling" is all the rage on websites ranging from international news outlets, to political and economic organizations, to personal blogs. Indeed, this trend has captured the attention of those who research and work in information visualization. Scores of both aspiring and seasoned visual storytellers descended on the Telling Stories with Data workshop that we organized this year (the 2nd installment of the workshop) to discuss and learn about visualization storytelling tools, issues, and contexts. The workshop took place in Providence, Rhode Island on October 23rd and was part of the yearly international VisWeek conference which itself drew about 1,000 attendees...."

Full Interview: Edelman's Steve Rubel on Transmedia Storytelling | via Nora Young & Spark

image of Steve Rubel

Steve Rubel spends a lot of time thinking about the future of media – a favourite topic here at Spark. He’s Executive Vice-President of Global Strategy and Insights at the PR firm Edelman, and a popular blogger, columnist, and Twitterer. Earlier today, I interviewed Steve while he was in Toronto. We talked about transmedia storytelling: what it is, how to do it right, and how to hold the attention of media consumers when there’s so much media available and no more time than before.

You can hear the full, uncut interview below, or download the MP3. [runs 18:44]

If you like hearing these extended interviews, why not subscribe to Spark Plus? You’ll get regular weekly episodes, plus additional blog-only content like this. [Subscribe via RSS] or [Subscribe with iTunes]

via cbc.ca

Transmedia Storytelling: All the World’s a Story - Excellent Post from Dr. Pamela Rutledge

All The World Is A Story

Transmedia storytelling is rapidly becoming the new ‘must have’ in marketing and entertainment. Its adoption is slowed, however, by the confusion over what exactly it is. Like most things, there are lots of definitions, but with transmedia storytelling, it’s easy to be distracted by the promise of the wide array of tools and get caught up in the romance of ‘building out a storyworld,’ — and end up overlooking the substance. Good transmedia storytelling starts with the story. The story doesn’t live in the storyworld. The story starts with and lives in the brain. The brain is the vehicle for engagement. Successful transmedia storytelling provides the brain with multiple vehicles for participation. Participation creates immersion because we ‘buy in.’ It is a renewable energy source because it creates the motivation for continued engagement.

All the world is a story

All the world is a story

If you mention ‘Transmedia Storytelling’ to aspiring artists, their eyes light up and their minds fill with remarkable pictures of dazzling storyworlds with lushly illustrated environments and deeply developed characters. Like their lives flashing before their eyes, they see their work sparkling across films, video games, Twitter, comics, t-shirts, anime, Facebook, ARGs, websites, webisodes, skywriting, and…

read the full post here:

http://athinklab.com/2011/11/20/all-the-world-is-a-story/

Interactive Web Documentary about Vancouver Neighbourhood | Excerpt from Inside Vancouver Blog

Before today, I had never heard of Vancouver’s South Hill neighbourhood.  But I feel like I’m just another neighbour now.

And that’s thanks to a really phenomenal web documentary about the area called Inside Stories.  If you have a minute, check out the link: www.southhillcommunity.ca/insidestories.  I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

South Hill encompasses the area around Fraser Street, just south of 41st Avenue.  It’s an incredibly diverse residential neighbourhood, with something like 18 different languages spoken and residents from China, India, Columbia, Afghanistan and elsewhere.  But, then again, maybe that’s not so rare for Vancouver.

The web documentary is an effort by the local community organization to represent the stories and diversity of the area.  But while the result could have been bland or boring, it’s quite innovative and riveting.

Read the full original post on insidevancouver.ca