Transmedia Storytelling
Price
TBA
Duration
2 Quarters; 1 Semester
COURSE OBJECTIVE
The Transmedia Storytelling: Narrative Worlds, Emerging Technologies, and Global Audiences course provides you with a unique, authentic, and industry-relevant learning opportunity. You will have access to current theory, industry examples and advice and undertake learning activities that will equip you with the tools you need to start developing your own ideas.
You will also examine case studies that demonstrate how amazing ideas, technology, and audience contributions can be brought together to create dynamic story worlds. You'll see examples of major, successful transmedia storytelling projects involving movies, digital entertainment, gaming, virtual reality and more. This course will give you inside access to the personal stories, insight, and advice of innovative transmedia storytelling professionals from Hollywood USA, Canada, and Australia.
Transmedia storytelling is the practice of designing, sharing, and participating in a cohesive story experience across multiple traditional and digital delivery platforms - for entertainment, advertising, and marketing, or social change.
Have you ever read a book, seen a movie, watched a television show, or played a game that centered around different aspects of a larger story or universe? You may be familiar with popular examples of such universes like Star Wars, Marvel, and The Walking Dead (to name a few).
How do professionals develop such expansive narratives?
How do they ensure that each element stays true to the original story?
How do they innovatively use different technologies to share the stories, grow audiences, and create an active and involved community of fans?
More and more, we are also engaging with elements or franchises of larger and more complex stories across a much more diverse range of platforms like interactive web experiences, social media communities, mobile devices, theme parks, and even augmented and virtual reality. A major challenge that current and future storytellers face is being able to engage different audiences in a story that is seamlessly told across all of these different platforms.
The Transmedia Storytelling: Narrative Worlds, Emerging Technologies, and Global Audiences course is designed for creative students or anyone interested in gaining an ‘inside’ understanding of leading industry storytelling practices in contemporary culture using digital and emerging technologies. If you have a great story idea for entertainment, marketing or social change and want to learn how to develop it into an engaging multi-platform narrative experience that you can share with the world, then this is the course for you.
This course will help you to design a strategy for developing and telling your own transmedia story. You will learn about what it takes to:
Shape your ideas into compelling and well-structured narratives and complex story worlds
Identify, understand, and engage different audiences in your stories
Create cohesive user experiences across different platforms
Evaluate existing and emerging technologies to share your story with the world, and help your audience participate in the larger story world you create
COURSE FORMAT
Modules: 6; Lessons: 106
Like all other courses in our curriculum, Transmedia Storytelling: Narrative Worlds, Emerging Technologies, and Global Audiences will be taught utilizing the flipped classroom model within an overall gamified Classcraft classroom. Your academy instructor will act as the class facilitator and Gamemaster who will supplement and further enrich the curriculum with other learning materials, out-of-class reading assignments, class discussions, case studies, essays, and collaborative group activities leading up to a transmedia storytelling narrative. Students are encouraged to continue to work on and develop their project collaboratively as an extracurricular activity and/or as a for-credit independent study project after this course.
Transmedia Storytelling: Narrative Worlds, Emerging Technologies, and Global Audiences was created by a panel of leading academics in the Art & Design School of the University of New South Wales, also known as UNSW Sydney. These instructors break down concepts with bite-sized video lessons which are organized into topical chapters that improve comprehension and retention, making learning fun and engaging. Each video is approximately 3-8 minutes in length and contain very important information about critical concepts you'll need to understand in 4 key areas of transmedia storytelling - namely story, audience, experience and technology. Each of these videos has a number of quiz questions embedded within the video to help you test your understanding of the ideas being presented and help you measure your "first exposure learning" during the pre-work phase prior to the actual class.
At the end of each module, you will complete a test to see if you're ready to move on or have some material to review. Once you've completed the entire course, take the practice test and use the study tools in the course to prepare for the Transmedia Storytelling: Narrative Worlds, Emerging Technologies, and Global Audiences course exam.
COURSE TOPICS
INTERACTIVE DISCUSSION BOARD
Each module features an interactive discussion board powered by Discussion Hero, a gamified platform developed by Northwestern University. Students choose between "hero" and "villain" roles and avatars, earning points for their contributions. This fosters a sense of competition and engagement, making discussions even more rewarding.
Benefits of Participating in Discussions:
Develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills: Go beyond memorization and passive learning by analyzing information, evaluating different perspectives, and forming your own conclusions.
Enhance communication skills: Practice clear communication, learn to articulate your ideas effectively, and develop respectful listening and rebuttal skills.
Fosters a collaborative learning environment: Learn from each other, share knowledge, and collaborate on problem-solving, creating a dynamic and enriching learning community.
Deepen your understanding of the content: Actively engaging with the course material through discussion solidifies and expands your understanding beyond lectures and readings.
Provides diverse perspectives: Discussions expose you to different viewpoints and interpretations, encouraging critical thinking and broadening your understanding of the subject matter.
Offers opportunities for self-reflection: Examining your own thoughts and arguments in response to prompts and engaging with others' perspectives helps solidify your learning and identify areas for further exploration.
Apply knowledge to real-world scenarios: Apply course concepts to real-world situations through discussions, enhancing the material's relevance.
Build a digital learning portfolio: Discussions serve as a reference for your learning journey, allowing you to revisit key concepts and track your progress.
Develop digital literacy: Discussions provide a platform to practice online communication etiquette, including respectful disagreement, constructive argumentation, and responsible information sharing.
To actively engage in meaningful learning and reap the benefits mentioned above, participation in each module's discussion board is expected and will contribute to your overall grade. Your instructor will provide a clear rubric within Discussion Hero outlining the expectations for participation and how your contributions will be evaluated. This ensures consistent and transparent assessment while allowing you to showcase your understanding and critical thinking skills throughout the course.
COURSE ASSIGNMENTS
This course is designed to help you devise a basic transmedia storytelling strategy that you can use for further development of your own creative project ideas. To this end, four assignments will progressively assist you in developing your ideas for the key elements of your transmedia strategy.
There are 4 peer-reviewed assignments in this course related to the main elements of transmedia storytelling. You'll find them in the relevant module.
COURSE OUTCOMES
After completing this course, you will be able to:
Recognize and define the concept of transmedia storytelling, including its importance in contemporary communication and entertainment.
Identify and analyze examples of transmedia storytelling in popular culture and understand how stories can expand into larger story worlds.
Develop a deep understanding of narrative structure and its role in creating cohesive transmedia experiences.
Apply creative thinking techniques to generate compelling story ideas and expand them into rich and immersive story worlds.
Understand different audience types and engage them effectively in the development and testing of transmedia narratives.
Design and evaluate user experiences across various platforms, considering the convergence of narrative, audience, and technology.
Explore the impact of changing technologies on storytelling and make informed decisions about the use of different technologies in transmedia projects.
Learn from the career journeys and advice of industry professionals in transmedia storytelling from Hollywood, USA, Canada, and Australia.
Develop a strategy for creating and sharing your own transmedia story, including shaping narratives, engaging audiences, and utilizing emerging technologies.
Gain an authentic and industry-relevant learning experience, with access to current theory, industry examples, and practical activities to equip you with the necessary tools for developing transmedia ideas.
PREREQUISITES
There are no prerequisites for this course.
COURSE CERTIFICATE
The Course Certificate includes:
The course name
The lead instructor's signature
The logo of the UNSW Sydney The University of New South (UNSW Sydney Wales)
A verification URL that allows others to check the Certificate's authenticity
A statement that confirms the identity of the learner who completed the course
The Course Certificate does not include:
Academic credit from the UNSW Sydney The University of New South (UNSW Sydney Wales)
The final grade you got in the course
Your Instructor
TBD
