Transmedia: Storytelling for the Digital Age

Adrienne LaFrance:  "A machine mapped the most frequently used emotional trajectories in fiction, and compared them with the ones readers like best."

Adi Robertson and Ben Popper:  "Reitman worked with Utah startup The Void as it developed its VR companion to the upcoming reboot, and we got the chance to chat with him about emotional storytelling, technology, tickling digital ghosts, and bringing pornography to high-end virtual reality."

Emily Buder:  "We go behind the scenes of the first Snapchat movie, a real-time horror flick."

Simon Staffans: "[...] how can we chase our story more efficiently? Here are three tools for anyone to use, that might put you on the right track – the only thing you need is a willingness to challenge your story as it stands today" ...

Derek Thompson:  "The problem for Hollywood isn’t that audiences are ignoring sequels. The problem for Hollywood is that audiences are ignoring everything that isn’t a sequel, adaptation, or reboot. The market for films based on stories that aren’t already famous is threadbare. These sort of stories exist in entertainment, but consumers, and particularly young consumers, are looking for them outside of darkened theaters."

Caty McCarthy:  "Before Winston, a glasses-clad gorilla scientist, was leaping across maps to crush his enemies in the chaotic multiplayer battles of Overwatch, he was merely a young ape with big aspirations and an affinity for peanut butter. But you wouldn’t know that from merely playing the game."

Adam Rosenberg:  "How do you turn a video game series with a 20-year history and tens of millions of fans into a cohesive movie? According to Warcraft director Duncan Jones, you go back to the start."

Bernard Boo:  "Can great, gimmick-less storytelling be achieved in virtual reality? Two leading studios are paving the way for VR storytelling."

Meg Carter:  "The folks behind Wallace and Gromit and the digital storytelling company want to expand your idea of what interactive video can do."

Michelle Fitzsimmons:  "Virtual reality is more than an emerging technology. It's redefining how filmmakers tell stories, bringing a brand-new set of challenges to a medium that's been refined over the last 100-plus years."

Simon Staffans on applying lean development principles to content creation ....

Christy Admiraal:  "There’s no question that anyone who considers himself or herself part of a fandom will have a different read on a piece of media from someone on the outside—whether it’s due to taking in all supplemental material, shipping a certain pairing, participating in fan theorizing, or some combination thereof—but exactly how does their experience differ from a reader or regular viewer who’s never dived any deeper into non-canonical material?"

Christopher Boone:  "Adapting comic books for film requires the distillation of several arcs and reboots across a universe of characters and stories — how do you find the right one?"

Alex Kane:  '“Today’s most innovative artists are always looking for new ways to push boundaries, with their music and their means of connecting with fans,” says [Lucas] Wilson. “[...] We’re used to going to concerts, but very few of us have actually been on stage. We’ve grown accustomed to hearing from our favorite artists on social media, but rarely do those words come directly from their mouths. VR is changing all that. It’s the most personal way of connecting with your fans.”'

Alejandro Dinsmore:  "Chris Milk, one of the leading creators in the VR space is moving away from thinking about VR as a medium in which the author tells a story, and toward thinking about it as a medium in which viewers can, for the first time, step directly into the world of the creator."

Mona Lalwani:  "Storytelling in virtual reality has yet to take shape. While the simulated world of gaming has proved the visual capabilities of the medium, few have taken a crack at the art of building a compelling narrative."

Jesse Damiani:  "Virtual Reality! It's amazing! It's terrifying! It's the future! Nothing will ever be the same!"

Nicole LaPorte:  "Having established itself as a critical part of movie-marketing campaigns, Wattpad is now looking to produce its own entertainment."

Emily Buder:  "A director's sci-fi algorithm wrote a brilliant sci-fi short film."

Jeremy Adam Smith:  "We know in our gut when we’re hearing a good story—and research is starting to explain why."

V Renée:  "No one knows storytelling quite like Pixar.  Their films are entertaining on so many levels; they make us laugh, make us cry, and even make us want to become better filmmakers. But perhaps the greatest quality of a Pixar movie is its ability to move an audience, which is a direct result of the brain trust's aptitude for great storytelling."

Ricardo Fayet:  "With the growing popularity of self-publishing, there is one recurring question I get from almost every aspiring author: How much should I budget?" ....