Oldal 61 [61]
60 | Digital Media and Storytelling in Higher Education
dissemination, and thus by content that is presented horizontally across
multiple types of media. By contrast, non-transmedia storytelling is
characterized by a deeper, more in-depth single narrative.
Continuity vs. Multiplicity
In transmedia storytelling, the storyline of the mothership narrative
continues. A sense of continuity is a real reward for fans, who feel that
the more authentic the storyline, the more strongly it is reinforced by
the extension. The narrative continuity around Marvel's superheroes is a
good example of transmedia entertainment for the most dedicated fans.
By having characters from one narrative appear in another narrative,
the storyworld is expanded, continued and made more complex rather
than multiplied. Continuity is the extension of the story universe of the
mothership narrative, while multiplicity applies more to the franchise-type
cross-media promotional activity of closed narrative products.
Seriality
Transmedia storytelling is a hyperbolic series; although the narrative
extensions appear in a serial system, they are located in different, dispersed
media systems.
Performance
In transmedia storytelling, fans actively contribute to the expansion of the
storyworld by creating discussion forums, producing memes, remixing
iconic scenes, or participating in cosplay events. Thanks to fans, an infinite
number of transformations and additions to a mothership story can be
made.
A complex definition of the phenomenon allows us to identify the different
scales of transmedia storytelling. One of the best-known fictional transmedia
universes is built around the film adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy
novel The Lord of the Rings. Like the novel, the film trilogy is a sequel to
the author's earlier work, The Hobbit, so the filming of the prequel was one
of the extensions. A further extension was released in the form of a video
game (Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, 2014), in which the story of some
of the films’ supporting characters was played out. The video game’s plot is
set between The Hobbit film trilogy and The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.
The transmedia storytelling was reinforced by Franchise-style advertising,
websites, cards, board games, and comic books. The method and order of
consumption and reception can be arbitrary. Similar examples are the three
parts of the horror film The Blair Witch Project (1999, 2000, 2016) and the
survival horror game Blair Witch (2019) which complements the story. The
game, with its first-person perspective, places the player in 1994, two years
after the first film.
High-concept series keep viewers’ interest for years thanks to their mosaic
narrative structure and serialized presentation. Typical transmedia extensions
seen today are the spin-off series produced for iconic series, typically featuring