Transmedia: Storytelling for the Digital Age

Alex Kane:  '“Today’s most innovative artists are always looking for new ways to push boundaries, with their music and their means of connecting with fans,” says [Lucas] Wilson. “[...] We’re used to going to concerts, but very few of us have actually been on stage. We’ve grown accustomed to hearing from our favorite artists on social media, but rarely do those words come directly from their mouths. VR is changing all that. It’s the most personal way of connecting with your fans.”'

Adi Robertson and Ben Popper:  "Reitman worked with Utah startup The Void as it developed its VR companion to the upcoming reboot, and we got the chance to chat with him about emotional storytelling, technology, tickling digital ghosts, and bringing pornography to high-end virtual reality."

Alejandro Dinsmore:  "Chris Milk, one of the leading creators in the VR space is moving away from thinking about VR as a medium in which the author tells a story, and toward thinking about it as a medium in which viewers can, for the first time, step directly into the world of the creator."

Stuart Dredge:  "Get started with VR on your iPhone or Android phone with these 100 apps, spanning films, games, news and 360-degree photo-sharing" ....

Bernard Boo:  "Can great, gimmick-less storytelling be achieved in virtual reality? Two leading studios are paving the way for VR storytelling."

Natasha Lomas:  "VR needs content if it’s to be more than a flash in the early adopter pan.  But it’s pretty clear that in the short term at least it’s not going to have a whole lot of compelling content."

Michelle Fitzsimmons:  "Virtual reality is more than an emerging technology. It's redefining how filmmakers tell stories, bringing a brand-new set of challenges to a medium that's been refined over the last 100-plus years."

Samantha Murphy Kelly:  "Facebook's first original VR film reveals true potential for the future of filmmaking."

Darren Emerson:  "Unlike the wall of noise that comes from 24 hour news coverage, and commentary via Twitter and Facebook in the aftermath of a tragic event, the VR headset delivers an experience that allows the viewer space to get closer emotionally to the subject matter and create a deeper level of understanding."  [Interviewed by Jess Linington]

Nicole LaPorte:  "It's no secret that advances in technology are pushing VR well beyond gamers and into areas like education, medicine, and of course, entertainment. [...] But can VR be incorporated into kids' games? And more importantly, should it, given that most kids are just starting to get a handle on AR (actual reality), let alone digitally re-created reality?"

Bogar Alonso:  '“My job is to inspire viewers to make the choices I want them to make,” says [Eric] Darnell. “At my best, I inspire the viewers to look where I want them to look when I want them to look somewhere specific. And when they do, I give them something interesting to focus on and surround that point of interest with other elements that the viewer will naturally compose into the shot that I want them to compose. If I do my job well, ideally, 100 percent of the viewers have the same experience.”'

Liz Nord:  "No matter how you feel about it, virtual reality filmmaking and experiential storytelling is happening. And it's getting better and better. No longer just a gimmick, filmmakers are using the technology to serve the story instead of the other way around."

Adario Strange:  "The film is short, but doesn't skimp on major movie style cinematic special effects and editing, delivering a peek at what big virtual reality movies may look like in the near future."

Brian Seth Hurst:  "Producing for VR is a virtual hack-a-thon right now but hopefully this primer will give you some insights into the production process, the technology and the workflow."

Mona Lalwani:  "Storytelling in virtual reality has yet to take shape. While the simulated world of gaming has proved the visual capabilities of the medium, few have taken a crack at the art of building a compelling narrative."

Jesse Damiani:  "Virtual Reality! It's amazing! It's terrifying! It's the future! Nothing will ever be the same!"

Mark Wilson:  "Google has spent the past year running experiments in VR. Here's what the company has learned about what you can and can't do."

Tim Bajarin:  "Virtual reality may be the closest to teleportation we will ever have in our lifetime."

Michel Reilhac:  "In an era where our digital culture has become superficial, virtual reality is a key to unlocking new in-depth experiences."

Anrick:  "Like the cinema from the past 50 years — so much of which is still compelling, gripping and emotionally captivating today — we should design VR content to be a part of the long term virtual landscape."

Megan Logan:  "When critics and creatives complain about a medium, they're often really complaining about content."

Jon Evans:  "Even in stationary DomeVR, you can twist and turn and spin and look at a full 360 degrees of immersive environment [...] there is no clear demarcation between “story space” and elsewhere, as there is with a TV or movie or game screen. Your mind keeps telling you that everything is story space."

Mark Wilson:  "Does Samsung's remote parenting app show how VR will connect us, or keep us apart?"

John Fink:  "We discuss the thrilling multimedia documentary experience at Tribeca, along with select highlights from the festival’s VR arcade."