OTT & Transmedia

Hi, Banafsheh Esmailzadeh. I haven't seen Neon Genesis Evangelion, so I skipped to the last paragraph. I wrote a short script that has potential to be a feature film, a TV series, etc., including spin-off shows of important characters. I mentioned it in the one-sheet I made for the short script.

That's great Maurice Vaughan, definitely a lot of room to play with there :) and I definitely recommend you watch Neon Genesis Evangelion, it's a classic.

It's on Netflix, Banafsheh Esmailzadeh. I'll check it out.

Great share @Dwayne Williams! I would never have considered multi-media avenues if I hadn't written The Regal Scale pilot first. Transmedia had never occurred to me until the rise in popularity of verticals.

Thanks! I needed to see this one!

You’re very welcome, Elle Bolan. I’m always here if you ever need tips or want to talk through ideas.

Mandi Allen Is the term transmedia still clear? IMO absolutely not. It's a terrible term and you see here, even among professional industry and amateur filmmakers, it gets mixed in with "multimedia" and adaptation/derivation/ancillary versions. In the legal contracts, it's not a term ever used because it has no legal meaning, and no functionally agreed definition. For explaining it, it's not a generational issue. It's a practical versus visionary issue. It's fun for people to envision a transmedia universe, and a great exercise in imagination. It's fun to dissect how a franchise has developed over the decades from one media into transmedia phenomenon. Think of Star Wars, Lord Of The Rings, Harry Potter, Batman, Superman, et al. But it's not practical legally, design-wise, production-wise, or market-wise, to try to create a "transmedia" story from the beginning, because that's not how its done. So my question to you is, why are you trying to explain this, what specifically are you trying to get across? Because who cares about the term so long as you can do that?

Shadow, the term often used in education is “Super Story,” a story world strong enough to naturally expand across platforms. Many people do not realize that transmedia requires a specific skill set, and not every story is capable of it without intentional design. Houston Howard’s background is centered on helping people create, and he has dedicated his teaching to young creators learning how to design transmedia from the beginning. That is the same space I work in, as my super stories are built to cross platforms by design. If you need help creating a super story, I have mastered this process within a year and do it daily. If you still want help, I am happy to walk you through building a transmedia story, as this is very easy for me and I work 60 to 100 hours a week doing it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VinhH83Uy2Y

Dwayne Williams 2 Thank you I certainly don't need any help with story. However since you offered, could you please outline how you pitch and produce a transmedia franchise. It would be instructive for us to see how you package for divergent media, how that affects your budgeting and your pitching process for your transmedia project.

Shadow Dragu-Mihai, Esq., Ipg How I package for divergent media, and how that affects budgeting and pitching

I package the project as a story-world bible, not as simultaneous productions.

The core package includes:

A primary anchor script (feature or series)

A world bible outlining rules, factions, timeline, and mechanics

Visual storyboards and VFX-style previs to clarify tone, scale, action, and world logic

To demonstrate cross-platform viability, I attach separate, modular PDFs that outline:

A game version (core mechanics, player perspective, progression, systems)

Lore extensions that exist outside the anchor narrative

Scriptment-level outlines for other media (interactive, audio, episodic, etc.)

These materials are descriptive, not greenlit. They show how the world functions across mediums without bundling production or budgets.

Pitching flexibility:

If the project is better positioned as a game first, the game outline already exists and can be pitched directly to the gaming industry. The same world can also be pitched to film/TV buyers, or to companies operating across both film and gaming, without rewriting the IP or repackaging the core logic.

Budgeting impact:

Each medium remains independently budgeted. Previs and environment visualization reduce creative risk by making scope, scale, and mechanics concrete before production decisions are locked.

Pitching impact:

I pitch the anchor version appropriate to the buyer. The bible and attachments are used to make franchise potential tangible rather than theoretical, not as a requirement for financing.

In some cases, I bundle Film Part 1 and Part 2 into a unified bible when the story architecture requires it. These bibles include storyboard-style visuals and modular mechanics that can later be activated across platforms.

In short: the work is packaged as a designed world with multiple valid entry points, not as a speculative multi-platform production.

Dwayne Williams 2 To whom have you done this with? Certainly not Netflix or Paramount, who both would require all rights at first instance.

Starting with verticals is a great idea, Elle Bolan. It won't take/cost a lot to make the episodes. I've been learning about transmedia. One thing I learned is the projects you make in other media should expand on your main project, not be an exact retelling of it.

@Maurice Vaughan, good! I was hoping that was the case. I want the HAIL THE SCALE verticals and shorts to come from the perspective of the townsfolk. Bect (my anti-protagonist) is the main focus of the series and it showcases how being the man with the numbers changes him. I want the verticals to showcase what happens to the folks he rates that are not really part of the main story. The shorts might bridge between the two a bit.

That sounds interesting, Elle Bolan. I like it! I'm looking forward to watching your verticals and shorts! Stage 32 put out a blog a few months ago called "Stretching Your Story: Transmedia Storytelling For Creatives Who Think Bigger." www.stage32.com/blog/stretching-your-story-transmedia-storytelling-for-c...

Ooooh! Thanks, Maurice!

You're welcome, Elle Bolan. Let me know when your verticals and shorts come out. I'll help promote them if you like.

That’s a great way to tell! Thanks for sharing Maurice Vaughan. How do you usually go about getting feedback on a script?

Thanks, Dwayne Williams 2. You're welcome. I get feedback from script readers I've gotten notes from before. I also ordered a Feature Script Read + 30 Minute Talk with an Executive on Stage 32. The feedback helped me fix a huge issue in my script. I'm definitely thinking about ordering another one. And I plan on ordering Stage 32's Script Coverage for a feature script I'm working on.

I have a bad, bad, bad habit of not knowing when to stop touching the script. I could mess around forever and not be "done". So, I tend to just go with "it's as good as I can get it without breaking it".

As long as I figure it out before I've already broken it.

That’s great Maurice Vaughan. Feedback from Stage 32 really helped me catch and fix important issues in my scripts as well! I'll definitely use those techniques as well to know when a script is ready. It sounds like a perfect way to finalize.

I hear you, Elle Bolan. Knowing when to step away can be as tricky as writing the script itself.

It's going to be an incredible Open House like always, Dwayne Williams 2!

Absolutely, Maurice Vaughan! Always a great chance to connect and get clear on next steps. Looking forward to seeing everyone there!

Meriem Bouziani agreed, they are hard to pull off but so rewarding when you do it well.

yeah of course Banafsheh Esmailzadeh

Love this post Banafsheh Esmailzadeh! I’m always interested in figuring out which medium a story wants to live in, especially when the same core idea can reach totally different audiences and fan bases depending on how it’s told.

Do you usually know the right medium at the start of your project, or does it reveal itself once you’re already creating? Or is it more of a mix of both?

Thanks Dwayne Williams 2! I agree, it’s lots of fun figuring it out :D I usually know before I start, and it depends how much control I want over what the reader sees. If I want them to use their imagination to see it, novel. If I want to actual show things (and still leave some imagination room for the reader), comic. And now if I want to give a third party some control so the reader can see AND hear the story, screenplay. Right now though, some of my older ideas that were going to be novels by default (because I didn’t even know I was going to seriously do comics, let alone screenwriting) are becoming wildcards that can work as screenplays, like Lunar Window. But right now Petal as a series is going to be a multimedia project for sure since the story is quite big and sticking to one medium will make it chaotic indeed ^^; especially since my plan from the start is that you don’t have to necessarily read every entry, but you’ll be rewarded if you do.

Excellent point Banafsheh Esmailzadeh. “You don’t have to necessarily read every entry, but you’ll be rewarded if you do” is a brilliant way to approach transmedia and respect the audience while still rewarding deeper engagement.

Looking forward to this event, Dwayne Williams 2! See you there.

Incredible AMA! A must-attend!