I found Jenkins’ article to be very interesting. There are some franchises, such as the ones he mentions: Harry Potter, Twilight & Star Trek, that have picked up a large number of devoted fans. But while some franchises have successfully used transmedia narrative practices, the majority of films and television shows that exist do not. Even shows such as Friends or Frasier may have had devoted fans who would never miss an episode, but they were not looking into the histories of the characters on the show.
Today, this seems to have become so much more common that it seems as though every movie or TV show that comes out has transmedia practices, audiences really do not want any secrets or unanswered questions. Looking at the Harry Potter franchise that Jenkins brought up, one can see that fans enjoyed the anticipation of waiting for new books, and new films, but when the series ended there was nothing left to wonder about. Harry Potter has achieved successful transmedia practices, but the ending left little to the imagination—a drastic change from the rest of the series.
It would be interesting today to see films leave information and parts of the story up to the imagination, and only use the transmedia practices to enhance what is already known in the films.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
12-Shot Analysis: One Really, Really Long Take
Bellour's analysis of narrative in The Big Sleep was very interesting- and very in-depth. His entire argument for the narrative is based upon the final sequence between the scenes in which we are taken from Mars' garage to Geiger's living room and where so much occurs (the death of Canino, the proclamation of love between our two heroes, and the death of Mars- to name a few). Bellour uses "codes" to describe the 12-shot scene of Vivian and Marlowe in the car. This segment embodies all references to the term dramatic. He notes how long the take is, and I found it interesting how he referred to it as "relative poverty-" that is to say that not too much action occurs within a very vague episode, but that those subtleties give rise to a very loaded narration. Bellour than goes into much detail discussing each of the 12 shots. The one I found to be of most interest was his discussion of dialogue. In it, he reaffirms the importance of the moments of silence that are pivotal in the narration. As a result, the silence actually becomes part of the narration and adds to the folding effect of the storyline. The quintessential dialogue comes when Vivian remarks, "I guess I am in love with you," which is then reciprocated in a mirror effect by Marlowe- a perfect act of balance. Fianlly, Bellour wraps up his analysis by discussing the incorporation of repetition and symmetry within this sequence, something very visible and discernible to the onlooking viwer's eye.
Transmedia and the Consumer
It seems difficult, as a consumer, to argue against transmedia. I think of my own guilty pleasures such as Sex and the City, True Blood, and, on the other spectrum, my intense love for independent films such as Lars Von Trier's Dancer in the Dark. When I see real, developed characters, I want to know their pasts, their motivations, and their thoughts. When the acting is there, and the writing is right, one becomes completely consumed by the text. The characters become real people who pop out of the screen, who are relatable and sympathetic. When you follow characters around like that (especially in a melodramatic television series), as a consumer, I cannot help but want for these transmedia texts to exist; I want a plot beyond the screen, I want director to make the text real in all dimensions.
Jenkins argues that transmedia cannot be entirely effective in all texts because most films rely on the consumer's anticipation, caused by the gaps in the plot. Although I do agree with this, I don't see how a later text would disrupt this. If another film or say, "Behind the Scenes Featurette," explained these gaps, would our anticipation truly be destroyed? If nothing else, would it not greater our understanding of the film? I feel as thoguh it would only motivate me to re-watch the film (perhaps even buy the DVD for numerous screenings!) in order to capitalize on my new esoteric knowledge of the plot.
Another note in which Jenkins mentions, is the overdesign of certain films, particularly, Scorsese's Gangs of New York and the work of Tim Burton. He claims that the intricately detailed background of Tim Burton's films take away from the story that he is telling. Is Jenkins naive to think that this was not the director's intent? Films can be looked at in different realms, perhaps Burton is attempting to cross the realm of commercial and art film? By looking at films strictly in terms of the story it is telling, takes away from the artistic impact of a film. Perhaps the emphasis of some films is to create an alternative world, complete in every aspect, with incomplete stories. Is that not parallel to what we do in real life? Are the "extras" in our lives not at least as interesting (perhaps even more interesting) as the main characters in our lives? Do we not wonder about them as they pass? Although commercially releasing a slightly subversive film as I've described may not be wildly successful, that is not to say that it is not an interesting, worthwhile look into another realm.
Jenkins argues that transmedia cannot be entirely effective in all texts because most films rely on the consumer's anticipation, caused by the gaps in the plot. Although I do agree with this, I don't see how a later text would disrupt this. If another film or say, "Behind the Scenes Featurette," explained these gaps, would our anticipation truly be destroyed? If nothing else, would it not greater our understanding of the film? I feel as thoguh it would only motivate me to re-watch the film (perhaps even buy the DVD for numerous screenings!) in order to capitalize on my new esoteric knowledge of the plot.
Another note in which Jenkins mentions, is the overdesign of certain films, particularly, Scorsese's Gangs of New York and the work of Tim Burton. He claims that the intricately detailed background of Tim Burton's films take away from the story that he is telling. Is Jenkins naive to think that this was not the director's intent? Films can be looked at in different realms, perhaps Burton is attempting to cross the realm of commercial and art film? By looking at films strictly in terms of the story it is telling, takes away from the artistic impact of a film. Perhaps the emphasis of some films is to create an alternative world, complete in every aspect, with incomplete stories. Is that not parallel to what we do in real life? Are the "extras" in our lives not at least as interesting (perhaps even more interesting) as the main characters in our lives? Do we not wonder about them as they pass? Although commercially releasing a slightly subversive film as I've described may not be wildly successful, that is not to say that it is not an interesting, worthwhile look into another realm.
Response to Jenkins and Transmedia
I found Jenkins analysis of Bordwell and Transmedia storytelling to be extremely interesting. Transmedia storytelling is something that my Media Analysis class discussed last semester, and to do so we also read a Jenkins article Searching for the Origami Unicorn: The Matrix and Transmedia Storytelling. In this article he expands on some of the topics he discusses in the blog, but with reference to the Matrix he makes the assertion that for one to actually fully understand the films and the story, you must also take part in the other media involved, like the video games, comic books and websites. He states that the Wachowski brothers intentionally create gaps in the films that confuse the lay viewer, but which complete the story for those completed enveloped in all aspects of the transmedia text. I think this tactic can function well in the genre of science fiction, however I think it can be troubling for a viewer when taken outside of this genre. In a science fiction world, everything is alien to the viewer. So when something seems incongruent with previously held schemas of the world, it does not seem shocking or upsetting to the viewer. The use of gaps here would be acceptable, and the use of transmedia to fill in those gaps can be utilized extremely successfully. However let’s take a romantic comedy for example. If we are left unaware as to why the female lead breaks off her engagement to the male lead, we would not just be intrigued; we would be confused and possibly pissed. Unless this was somehow resolved – the viewer would most likely leave unsatisfied. However, in a science fiction film if we aren’t explicitly told why character A one day is green and the next day blue, we may just attribute it to the science fiction world that they live in. In this case, having a transmedia outlet (for example a website) that provided information on the color changing abilities of the characters in the film would be useful and most likely entertaining for those interested enough to engage. In conclusion, I agree with Jenkins in that transmedia has an absolute place in the film world, however should not be blindly used on every film and in every genre.
World Building to Viral Marketing in Transmedia
Transmedia has not only been a staple for television due to its seriality, but also to film for much of the past decade. Take, for example, the development of the DVD, with its special features options. There are often mini-films that expand back-stories or the scope of an alternate reality, which fall into what Henry Jenkins described as the core aesthetics of transmedia. These approaches to the film expand the understanding of the climate and situations in which the characters live, while in some cases, over-developing areas of the story that should’ve been left to the viewer’s imagination. Another part of transmedia that has been incorporated into film is that of viral marketing. Viral marketing is when a company or, in this case, studio uses pre-existing social networking to create buzz for an upcoming product/film. This can be anywhere from vague banners online to much more pro-active, if not reckless techniques. A film that recently incorporated viral marketing into their ad campaign was “The Dark Knight.” This campaign saw the use in incorporating multiple media sources to create buzz, even taking it to a somewhat irresponsible level. It incorporated brilliant marketing strategy in most cases, such as the bakery example in my link, but also got the police and news agencies involved when they sent a box with a cake in it that….ticked. Needless to say, that got a good amount of attention, and ethical or not, “The Dark Knight,” viral marketing and all, ended up being one of the most successful films of the decade.
http://www.firstshowing.net/2007/12/05/the-dark-knights-viral-marketing-gets-very-real-cakes-cell-phones-and-all/
transmedia storytelling
As defined by Henry Jenkins transmedia is storytelling across various forms of media which each form making different contributions to the viewer's understanding and perspective of the narrative. One example that Jenkins provides is the 2005 movie Batman Begins, before Warner Bros released the movie DC comics published several comic books to give a back story before the movie was released, this example shows how the use of multimedia help carry out background information of the protagonist's past and where he came from and also to explain further information about a story.
Monday, September 21, 2009
True Blood and Transmedia
Regarding "The Aesthetics of Transmedia: In Response to David Borwell," Jenkins explains that, "transmedia seems so far to work best in relation to television, which is increasingly relying on seriality (and back story) to create a particular kind of aesthetic experience, and where it is applied to film, it seems to work best for franchises which will have a series of increasingly planned sequels." I could not agree more regarding television, and I find this especially true for HBO series.
Take True Blood for instance. Based on the highly successful Charlaine Harris novels, True Blood was readily equipped with a steady fan base, largely composed of readers of the books. Using this predisposition as leverage, the show was able to construct a different perspective into the series, serving up new characters and in-depth story lines and adding personality and importance to minor characters within the books. As a reader of the books, it is interesting for me to see how the series has taken off, more or less maintaining the same storyline with the main characters (Sookie and Bill), yet connecting important events from the later books into season two (which I only assumed would follow the second book, as did season one with the first). And, if that weren't enough, the creation of fan blogs, facebook and twitter pages (BonTempsGossip: http://twitter.com/BonTempsGossip) have allowed fans to continue their obsession with the characters after the show and project their thoughts on what will happen next season.
Needless to say, I do think that film can benefit from the transmedia platform, yet obviously not as easily as something constructed around multiple installments. I most definitely agree with Jenkins in that some type of framework has to be established in order to determine the success of a certain genres franchise and that some shouldn't even attempt to market themselves in that way. The problem is figuring out how to determine that. I can just see the day when every main stream film offers a novelty food item to accompany its release in order to extend its fictional world into the real.
O wait, a 4-pack of True Blood is already available online for $16.00!
heres the link if your interested
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