Let there be light….
If only the causation of the lightbulb in your head bursting forth in the form of your grand idea were enough to manifest a successful project at the end of the day.. we would all be awarded Emmy’s, VMA's, Webby’s, Grammy’s, Nobel’s, Medal’s of Honor, etc..
While it is a romantic thought, the causation is only a step on the path to realization. There are seemingly endless aspects to actually delivering a transmedia experience that attracts a dedicated following and makes them yearn for more of the world you are offering. It is the astute delivery of the story elements delivered in pieces across logically used devices and physical reality that the would-be success transmutes into a real world success.
First, a pop quiz...
What is the most important tool(s) at the disposal of the group or company producing the transmedia storytelling experience???
If your first thought was some particular computer program for the design, implementation, coordination, maintenance or countless other elements relating to a particular software package or action step….I'm sorry, there is no gold star for you today.
Those are all very important to creating something engaging that people flock towards and immerse themselves in, but seriously, it's PEOPLE. You absolutely positively MUST have a core team of talented individuals. Just ask Scott Walker of Transmedia 101. He was asked this very question at the FMX2012 conference in Stuttgart Germany during the Q&A session by a very astute lady by the name of Inga von Staden. His response? "It depends." Now, Scott is a highly respected professional and a transmedia storytelling genius, he wouldn't have been a presenter if he wasn't, but he got a bit stuck and took the question out of context, thinking it more technical or logistical. This is very important, and a lesson I'm sure that he has since become even more aware of as it directly applies to the industry itself, you must be flexible and mercurial of mind when working in transmedia.
It is coordinated chaos…at least that's what the production feels like. Andrea Phillips, author of "A Creator's Guide to Transmedia Storytelling" (*Note: digital edition is the same price on iTunes), creator of the ongoing Twitter horoscopes character Madame Zee, and with work on "The Maester's Path" for the HBO hit series Game of Thrones and much more says, "Producing a transmedia project can feel a lot like planning a wedding and shooting a feature film at the same time". That is Andrea's opening line in the above mentioned book in chapter 17, titled Project Management: The Unsung Necessity. This seems a particularly useful topic for me at this point in both my education and infant stages of my own collaboration project. This is precisely where the necessity of having a solid core-team of talent intersects with dynamic and unwavering leadership.
This chapter of Andrea's book (which I HIGHLY recommend) lays out a few project management subjects to be aware of for any transmedia project:
1. Budgeting
2. Organization
3. Quality Control
4. Metrics
It's pretty obvious that these factors are important to success in every business venture that I can think of, but perhaps more so due to the shear amount of details that are inherent to transmedia projects. It certainly isn't an easy feat to juggle with so many balls in the air, but the judicious project manager executing a plan with great foresight can make all the difference in the world towards making a successful transmedia project. First, however, they absolutely MUST surround themselves with talented and dedicated go-getters prior to the project commencement of pre-production.
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