Jeff Gomez inspired Transmedia by Elias Ribeiro

After listening to great interview with Jeff Gomez on "Transmedia Talk Podcast" by "Culture Hacker", episode 13, I felt very inspired. Bellow are some amazing insights by this very knowledgable guru. He runs Starlight Runner, one of the leading companies in multi platform story telling out there. They are based in NYC and have helped Intellectual Properties such as Avatar, Pirates of the Caribbean, Dungeons and Dragons and also Coca Cola among many others to come up with their strategy on transmedia expansion.

I'm going to start with the end of the podcast, which shows very practically that transmedia isn't just a fad, nor that it is a geeks game. It is not going to go anywhere, anytime soon... It is here to stay!

According to Jeff, large media conglomerates around the globe are building transmedia engines within the conglomerate to allow for Intellectual Properties to be developed for a transmedia implementation. That includes Rede Globo in Brazil as well as Televisa in Mexico. Both networks believe this will expand their advertising possibilities as well as re-capture some of the audience who slipped away, moving on to the internet and mobile.

Brazil's economy is booming and it became a profitable and stable over the past few years. They are decided to get ahead of the transmedia curve and become specialists. In Brazil it is a little easier to break paradigms. They are more open to change as there isn't a very strong built in legacy culture. The same is observed in Australia, China and one should ask, why not in South Africa?

The US government is issuing grants for transmedia research and education. 

There are many non-profit organizations and corporations with the budget and content to go on a transmedia expansion. There are not enough professionals available. The few specialists are hovering around Hollywood, entertainment and advertising industries. There are only 3 dozens of transmedia producers registered with the Producer's Guild of America.

Another very important point Jeff makes is that transmedia much more than ARG (alternate reality games). It is about audience participation, the possibility to communicate with characters online, to offer their audiences the opportunity to “live the lifestyle” of the show, providing them with rich content accessible across an array of media distribution channels. It is about connecting story lines between comics, video and blogs.

Transmedia is also not the only way forward. Each media platform in itself can create and tell fantastic stories, as it has been done over the years.  It is just an extra option, a new way of doing things and it should be seen as an opportunity to maximize revenues and form a loyal fan base with a desire to share the experience. Moreover, it is a bigger canvas for visionaries to create their worlds in.

The first time a multi platform expansion was made was in the 1960's with Japanese Manga. They turned it into TV shows, feature films and toys. Their stories where compelling enough to their audience to make them want to chase and collect it.

A transmedia implementation is a multi step process. The first step is to analyze the Intellectual Property in order to identify strengths and weaknesses. Once those barriers are identified it is important to find a way to minimize or remove them. This is called incubation.

The second step is the development of the mythology. That involves deep brand analyses .  The next step is production. It is very extensive on the scope of the Intellectual Property as it must accommodate hundreds, sometimes thousands of hours of content. That makes it a very expensive process.

The 4^th and last step is a very crucial one, the roll off. Only a Transmedia specialist can implement it in order to maximize the potential of the intellectual property, and make it robust enough to be expandable into multiple platforms. That link is necessary to enable the dialogue between audience and your Intellectual Property.

One of the biggest challenges one faces in transmedia is the legal aspect. The contracts sometimes take 6 to 8 months to be drawn, before all parts involved feel happy about it. The reason being is that this is all so new. There are very few precedents.

Another challenge is that most of the times one is working directly with the creator of an Intellectual Property. They are not necessarily transmedia literate.  It takes time to earn their trust and be allowed to make changes to their concept in order to make it transmedia friendly.

There has been a shift in the dynamics of how transmedia professionals are perceived. They are no longer an adjunct of the marketing department. They have become integral part of the development process. That certainly avoids blockages to transmedia expansion and implamentation.

Localization is the implementation of a transmedia strategy internationally. It must take into account local culture, language among other things.

Jeff believes that a well-planned and executed implementation should not compromise the narrative or dilute it. The opposite, it should only make it more solid and that universe more interesting. He also points out that you can tap into different demographics and markets by making use of different mediums.

Starlight Runner has 10 to 12 in house professionals. They are very selective about what work they take on as they deal with large implementations and a lot of costumization. They have an editorial as well as a production team. They are leading creators and producers of highly successful transmedia franchises. The entertainment industry, the advertising industry and consumer product corporations call upon them to maximize the value of entertainment properties and leading brands by extending their narratives and preparing them to be accessed through an array of media touch points.