A couple of years ago we developed some very successful multiplatform content for a feature film, and created it using our own Storyworld Development Techniques. The concepts that we created allowed the producers of the film to get additional funding of 20% on top of the film budget to create the multiplatform content.
This was an extremely positive result in terms of showing the commercial benefits of this type of new content.
Storyworld development is about giving a modern audience the sense that the world of the story is expansive, which means it stretches in all directions beyond the linear limits of the main event; the linear story is expanded beyond the 90-100 pages of script. This makes the experience very exciting and engaging. If done properly it will lead to an experience that is more than the sum of its parts. An accumulative story experience.
The Main Linear Story usually takes the form of a TV programme/episode or film, and sits within the Storyworld. It is often the starting point of the audience experience; the first thing they encounter. But the extra story content generated from within the Storyworld might be found by the audience on Facebook, or in a mobile app that is a prequel to the story being told in the Main Linear Story and leads them to a deeper and richer level of engagement with the TV programme/episode or film in a satisfying way.
If the extra story content has the same DNA as the TV programme/episode or film and is as compelling, then the audience will connect with the story and share it with their friends.
The last thing you want to do is alienate your audience with rushed, ill-conceived and tacked-on content that doesn’t fit or spring organically from the storyworld!
To read more about the power of Storyworlds and how Storyworld Development Techniques can be useful in developing Transmedia and Multiplatform strategies for traditional media companies, click here.