give pieces a chance

Faris just posted an article he's written on the future of entertainment. This bit jumped out at me:

Henry Jenkins, mastermind of MIT's Comparative Media Studies programme, calls these transmedia narratives, where non-linear elements of the stories unfold in different places

This immediately made me think of the immersive theatre production The Masque Of The Red Death that I wrote about recently. That's exactly what this experience was. The story literally unfolded in different physical locations and we had to explore networks of corridors and rooms to experience as much as possible. As Faris says, "content flows across platforms, thus narratives must also." Bingo!

The thing is, when narrative is unleashed across multiple platforms and control is relinquished in favour of interaction and discovery, the game of 'communication' changes. As I suggested a few days ago, prompting Neil to agree, branding is all about ingredients now, even if it's 'channels' and not dark, scary corridors that consumers are exploring on their own terms.

After I experienced The Masque Of The Red Death, I couldn't tell anyone what the story was. No words stuck in my mind, but it had a voice I shall never forget.