OTT & Transmedia : Lessons Learned About Transmedia Storytelling by James Hammer

The two things that initially resonate with me are numbers THREE and FIVE. THREE- Collaboration is hard… Yeah, it is. The biggest challenge is often simply FINDING someone who WILL collaborate. Other barriers I’ve encountered are: 1. People who can’t see beyond their own projects: Everyone is looking for someone to help them with THEIR project, but precious few people are truly open and available to mutually beneficial collaboration. Some years ago, I was on a site that boasted a collaborative, web-based screenwriting platform that asserted “Write better. Together.” There were lots and lots of people looking for help on their projects, but very few responses to anyone’s posts for assistance. I tried to work with a few people, but the ones to whom I reached out either wanted someone to write their stuff for them or weren’t really willing to do the prep work involved in mapping out your plot. I eventually moved off the platform all together. 2. People who can’t release their ideas and allow them to be further shaped by others: I remember when I was in the theatre program at Boise State University (many years ago), I participated in a wonderful collaborative semester-long workshop with film director Michael Hoffman and playwright John de Groot. Participants had to audition to be considered. I was thrilled to have been selected. The idea was that we, as actors, would improvise (under Michael’s direction) on concepts brought to the table surrounding addicts in a halfway house, then it was John’s responsibility to use those improvised moments to create scripted ones… with the idea that our work together would eventually lead to a scripted performance of a world premiere collaboration. During our scheduled rehearsals, we’d create and react. Michael would grasp powerful moments and shape their direction. John was then to take those moments and let them drive his written work. The problem was, he would come back to our following meeting with a scripted scene that started in the same place, but then went a direction of his own choosing, attempting to capture the same essence of the previously worked scene without any of the pivotal discoveries of the improvisation included. Eventually, he confessed a great deal of frustration at not being able to manufacture, with his own writing prowess, the powerful moments we were creating through our improvisation. He couldn’t take what was being offered and let it shape his own work… he was bent on attempting to create it out of his own power. It had been a great experience, working with them both, but we did not end up with a product by the end of our time together. FIVE- Authorship vs. openness is a challenge… How do we allow others… even the audience, perhaps… to shape our story? Are we willing to let go of the creative control and let the direction, and even the story be changed? Are we willing to completely release it and its outcome to that kind of randomness?