Synopsis for “Open Creativity” : Bringing New Models of Media and Authorship to Industry and Academia

This panel looks at new models of media and authorship proposed by transmedia or cross-media projects. Transmedia works are cross-platform projects that utilize and integrate a variety of different formats, such as, gaming, cinema, graphic novels, social network sites, as the means of conveying content and shaping a story line. Our panel will be looking at the implications for transmedia within both today’s media industry and academic contexts with particular attention to Lance Weiler’s work, Head Trauma (2006) and his current project, Him (which just recently received the 2009 CineMart Arte France Cinema Award). Our panel will be descriptive, practical, and analytical: offering design suggestions for both transmedia projects and their academic curricular counterparts.

The panel will be structured in three parts. The first part looks at the basic design and structure of transmedia. Using the examples of Head Trauma and Him, Weiler maps out “a collision of film, gaming and interactive technology that continues my horror 2.0 series” and “places the viewer literally in the shoes of the protagonist. This new type of social entertainment experience fuses storytelling and gaming in a way that enables audience members to become collaborators within the story world.”

The third part of our panel examines transmedia and “open creativity” within academia, particularly within media programs. How might we encourage and develop these new writing skills and expression for a transmedia context with respect to both artists and audiences? How might we revise or redesign our curriculum to respond to a change in format that moves away from the traditional assembly line understanding of media and media programs (for example, the screenwriter, director, audience as isolated units) to more distributed, networked, and community based forms.