
Hey, everyone. I hope everyone’s having a great holiday season! Say someone wanted to start a transmedia project, with a plan to get funds and make the project themselves. What would they need? A poster, lookbook, business plan, etc.? I’m not asking because I’m making a transmedia project. I started this post in case someone else had the same question.
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Well... "transmedia" is a nifty word that we used to call adaptations and derivative works (which is in fact that it is). In truth, in media contracts it's still referred to that. Transmedia essentially is a set of story ideas that exist in different media formats, and are not necessarily connected in story-line. Often are not. Giving this phenomenon a specific label masks this fact and leads creators into the idea that it is a single thing. It is not. Consider that Batman comics and Batman films and Batman novels and Batman t-shirts all have a different audience, a different market, and that there is far, far less crossover in audience than you might expect. There is this idea that people will read the book, then watch the film, then go to the comic, and learn more about the story in each one. But in truth, that's highly unlikely due to a host of reasons. The person who would do that is a super-fan, and that's rare even in franchises like Star Wars. Creators dream that they can create such phenomena - they can't. Consider how hard it is to fund even a short film. Now consider that you want to do that in three or more media - and that each media has its own inside group, way of funding, way of distribution, legal considerations, etc. That's the challenge. My advice, as someone who has worked in so-called transmedia for my whole 30+ years in the industry - is to simply choose a story and choose a media and genre and make that one statement as fantastic as possible. Then market the heck out of it and make sure you learn what YOUR MARKET likes about your project, and cater to them in the next media that they like. Build your franchise one statement at a time. Going the other way around it essentially creating the universe in one go, Even God created only light with one word...
Thanks for the detailed answer and advice, Shadow Dragu-Mihai, Esq., Ipg. I think it'd be better for focus on one thing at a time, especially in the indie world.
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@Maurice Check out Houston Howard, I’ve done many masterclasses with him but he’s also got tons of freely available videos. Never before have we lived in an era with so many tools available for so much free publicity. Content is key. Build an Eco System of the story over different platforms, each offering a new/different/unique story strand. As simple as self publishing some related poetry/novella albeit not a money maker means split rights are on the table if story is bought by a producer. Done in depth course too London Film School but too much to put here. Message me if you want some notes!
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Hi, Debbie Croysdale. Happy New Year! I'm not making a transmedia project. I started this post in case someone had the same question, but thanks for the resources! They might help other members who see this post.
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@Maurice Happy New Year to you too! Just to add I.P aka Intellectual property is a key factor in Transmedia. If a story already exists in the ether E.g Novel or Comic if a producer wants to film it they don’t have sole rights. Funds needed by artist to execute Pre Awareness can be minimum or even free. EG Podcast, Self Publish Novel, Whattpad etc. Building a fan base has been done via i phone short films building up “commuter time” viewers. It mitigates risk for investor whether Indie or Hollywood if a built in community exists. Story is key. Commercial giants can no longer control the gate keepers.
Thanks for the info, Debbie Croysdale. "Funds needed by artist to execute Pre Awareness can be minimum or even free. EG Podcast, Self Publish Novel, Whattpad etc." You're right. I've seen articles and short stories get bought by producers and production companies, and it doesn't cost much for a writer to publish an article or short story.
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Nicely done. :) People outside the comics industry are often surprised when they learn the "Big two" comics publishers can be beaten or when they learn that manga far outsells superhero books ...even in the USA.
As an entertainment lawyer, I rep filmmakers and comic book creators and publishers on every day; the past few years there has been an uptick in screenwriters dusting off their old scripts with an eye towards turning them into comic book scripts. The biggest mistake I see screenwriters make is the still think in terms of movement as opposed to still panels which suggest movement.
Let me explain. In a screenplay you might have an action line which reads, "But as Dr. Nefarious triumphantly steps up on the Soap Box of Evil to announce his plans for world domination to the terrified crowd, Capt. Cauliflower loosens his bindings just enough to flick the power switch his cruciferous cannon and switch it to “overload.”
We all can see different ways to direct that scene, and possibly even have a single shot in mind. But when it is time to turn it into a comic book script, we must break each moment into a separate panel, and the general rule is one action per character per panel. It’s almost more helpful to think of panels as individual photos.
Which means that Dr. Nefarious stepping up on the Soapbox of Evil may take one or two panels, another one or two for Capt. Cauliflower to loosen his bindings and switch on the cannon, and maybe a fifth or sixth to show the canon overloading. At approximately five-six panels a page, and 22 pages per comic, filmmakers often realize too late that they’ve run out of pages. Bottom line: when you shift from films (motion) to comics (stationary illusion of motion) you need to envision your story in a fundamentally different way.
If anyone is interested in what comic book contracts should look like, I wrote the first book dedicated to comic book law a few years ago: https://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Lawyer-Comic-Book-Creators/dp/0415661803
Hi, Thomas Allen Crowell. I've been thinking about turning scripts into comics. Thanks for the insight and book rec. I added your book to my Amazon list.
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Maurice Vaughan- One piece of advice I'd offer is to really focus on defining your core story and understanding how it can naturally expand across different platforms. Each medium—whether it’s film, social media, gaming, or podcasts—should add a unique layer to the narrative while staying true to the central theme.
Another key factor is audience engagement. Transmedia thrives when audiences feel involved and invested in the story world. Consider how you can create interactive elements or opportunities for your audience to explore different parts of your project in ways that feel immersive and organic.
Lastly, start small and scale up. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the possibilities, but focusing on one or two platforms first can help you refine your approach before expanding further.
Great advice, Ashley Renee Smith! Thanks for sharing them. I like that you said "Each medium—whether it’s film, social media, gaming, or podcasts—should add a unique layer to the narrative while staying true to the central theme." I think each piece of a Transmedia project should bring something new to the table. I don't think it should be a copy and paste kind of thing across different mediums. Like the show I'm watching now THE LAST OF US. It's true to the game, but there are new things in the show that aren't in the game. There are things in the show for gamers and fans of the game as well as TV show fans.