Why does transmedia look so cluttered and ugly for the most part? Could it be that it is a young genre and the rules for generating it is as yet unformed? Could it be that our transmedia creations are bound by the tools we use to create them? Have we not generalized the tools in such a way that we have generalized the genre?
That last question made enough sense for me to want write a gibberish academic parody of it, but it points to a further problem: if we think transmedia is kind of ugly with newness or just disjointed, then discussion, critique and summary of them is a total mess. But I don’t think the short story arose from some mystical whole cloth. Nor the novel, poem, play. We are discovering and exploring the way even now.
In that context I introduce you to the zeega below. It is the product, but because it is transmedial/remixable/remashable, it is not the end product. It is mos’ def’ the result of a tremendous collaborative wave of creative care. Maybe we have just now defined some of the essential characteristics of transmedia:
Transmedia is collaborative.
Transmedia is never an end product.
Transmedia is remixable.
Transmedia will eventually not be confined to the program used to create it.
Transmedia is a game.
Maybe not.
If you want to pursue the definition of transmedia you can join the fray here.
And if you want to watch the zeega below remember: go to full screen by mousing over the lower right hand corner. You can also turn the sound off there as well when you are done. I loved making the animated gifs that accompanied this. A word of caution: the zeega can be remixed…I think. The program is kind of an alpha rogue and the whole shebang might collapse of its own weight at any time. Users unite. Let me know if it works or didn’t in the comments below.
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Thank you again for a masterful, beautiful remix, I love how the poem is evolving and getting richer with each person’s contribution. This is why I really like your definition of transmedia –
– collaborative
– never an end product
– remixable
– not confined to the program used to create it
– a game
Every one of these elements you’ve defined is participatory and dynamic / evolving – the collaborative nature of creating digital art in the context of a community is what pulls us into these projects – at the heart of each remix is human connection.
is This zeega remixable? I couldn’t figure out how…?
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Sent you some twitterings in answer to your remix question. Screencast to follow.
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BTW, Sarah H knows how to access zeega for her own nefarious uses. Perhaps she can show you how? Just sayin’.
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Added some ideas of transmedia to your document. Sort of reaching for the sky here. I don’t know what transmedia is because I still feel as if the idea is in its infancy …. love the exploration, though.
Kevin
PS — Is that the Dropbox version of Hackpad now?
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I don’t think you and me oe anybody except maybe Henry Jenkins has a complete scheme in the head about transmedia. Next best thing is to try it out and then draw out reflections and characterizations. Doers get to decide, yes?
That is indeed “Paper”–Dropbox’s folding in of Hackpad. A little neater implementation including easy dropbox access, but basically the same thing including all the embeddables. Wanted to offer it to folks and glad you sussed it out.