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Opinion | Features
What the hell is transmedia?
From advertising campaigns to online video series, the term ‘transmedia’ gets quite the work out. But what does it actually mean? Cathie McGinn trawls the media landscape for a definitive definition.
Transmedia, all media and multiplatform are terms often used interchangeably when referencing modern storytelling techniques. Yet, depending who you speak to, there are distinct differences between them.
According to industry experts Encore spoke to, the key elements that define transmedia can be summarised as follows: platform, time, audience, adaptation, and creative collaboration.
Innovation is the remedy for the ailing magazine industry
With magazine circulations plummeting, FHM closing and rumours rife on future ownership of ACP Magazines, Paul Merrill says the only way forward is launching new titles.Eight years ago in the UK, nearly a quarter of all magazine sales came from magazines that were less than four years old. In Australia, the figure was slightly lower, but still significant. Today, the situation is very different. For a start there are so few new magazines. Yes, Masterchef briefly flared, and Top Gear made an initial impact. But Grazia and Alpha fizzled, and now ACP has shelved their plans to launch Elle.
More than a game: broadcasting the Olympics
The 2012 London Olympics will be the biggest televised sporting event of our time. Brooke Hemphill discovers the logistical challenges and technical requirements of producing the event.
From July 27 to August 12, the Australian media will go sport crazy as the Games of the XXX Olympiad, aka the 2012 London Summer Olympics, unfold. The games will be the most televised sporting event of our time as broadcasters look to master every manner of technology at their disposal.
The Voice - Australia's best example yet of social TV
In this guest post, Sputnik’s Rodd Messent has a theory on why audiences have taken to The Voice .I am an addict of Channel Nine’s hit show The Voice. Such is the extent of my addiction I seriously think my housemate might kick me out of our apartment for the semi-frenzied yelling and tweeting that ensues in our lounge room each time the show airs.It’s the first time in almost three years that such disagreement has resulted in less than civil behaviour towards one another, and it’s made me think it might be a microcosm of the large volume of online debate about the show and, correspondingly, an explanation for its success as a social TV experience.Why brands are the US Army - and culture jammers are the Viet Cong
In this guest posting, Dave Burgess, who painted ‘No War’ on the Sydney Opera House, claims that ‘amoral’ advertisers have copied his idea.
Culture jamming is a 28-year-old term coined by the San Francisco-based band Negativland, who declared that the ‘Studio for the cultural jammer is the world at large’.
Branded content is dead. Long live branded content
In this guest posting, Anthony Freedman argues why branded content is making a comeback.
A few short years ago, probably concurrent with the advent of the PVR, a new term emerged within the marketing communications industry; branded content. This was really synonymous with advertiser funded TV shows where programming was created by brands and deals struck with networks to broadcast them.
There were varying degrees of success with this model.
Shock advertising: 30 ads that would give Australia's ad watchdog a coronary
Is shock an underused weapon in Australian advertising, asks Robin HicksToday, Sydney agency The Cabana Boys used an image of a mouth sewn together to shock people with the idea that problem gamblers lie to conceal their habit. Is it the most disturbing image ever? No. Will it get banned by the Advertising Standards Bureau? No. But it did make me wonder why shock is not used more often in Australia – and not just by charities and government bodies. (WARNING: NSFW)
The making of ratings blockbuster The Voice
Jason Mountney goes on the set of Channel Nine’s talent search series, The Voice, to see how the format, based on an international franchise, has come together. What ingredients have gone into making this certified hit that’s rated more than two million viewers on three consecutive nights?
Mike Goldman has one of the toughest jobs on the set of the Nine network’s new talent show, The Voice. He not only has to narrate the show, but also keep the audience from losing their enthusiasm as they realise shooting TV programs takes a lot longer than the one-hour bursts they see in their lounge rooms. A lot longer.
Nine problems stopping The Global Mail from getting an audience
While it’s a shame The Global Mail has failed to make an impact on the media landscape, the signs have been there for some time.I love the concept of a well resourced, philanthropically-funded independent news site. Anywhere in the world, that’s a rare and wonderful thing. In Australia even more so. So I hope that Grame Wood gets to see his investment make a difference.
And I have no inside info on whether Monica Attard’s sudden departure is linked to the site’s failure to find an audience so far.
Regardless, here are nine areas they can easily start to address:
Journalism’s new model?
Does the launch of philanthropically funded news site The Global Mail signal a new era for journalism or is the model destined to be a passing fad, asks Cathie McGinn in this article first published in Encore magazine.With little fanfare, philanthropically funded news site The Global Mail launched in February this year.
The online-only title received a generous five-year funding commitment from businessman Graeme Wood, founder of accommodation website wotif.com, who donated $15million.
Five things that make a great suit
In this guest posting, Gareth Collins argues that the role of a great account manager is to make the work betterI’m surprised at how many suits I meet who don’t know their role in the advertising business. The question ‘what does an advertising account manager or director do?’ is frequently met with answers such as project manager, relationship manager, plate spinner or go between … and those are the nice ones.
Success is judged on the ability to manage a process, be strong administratively and get stuff done. And while a good suit needs to do all of these things brilliantly, if these are the traits that define a great suit, then I’m in the wrong job.
What the hell is transmedia?
From advertising campaigns to online video series, the term ‘transmedia’ gets quite the work out. But what does it actually mean? Cathie McGinn trawls the media landscape for a definitive definition.
Transmedia, all media and multiplatform are terms often used interchangeably when referencing modern storytelling techniques. Yet, depending who you speak to, there are distinct differences between them.
The top seven...most patronising pieces of communication
Sometimes brands have big ideas. Sometimes marketers get so caught up with a grandiose idea that instead of finding engaging ways to sell breakfast cereal, they start to believe their own rhetoric. And sometimes it’s just lazy marketing. Here are my top seven inadvertently patronising pieces of communication…
1) Last night thousands of women gathered in Sydney’s Centennial Park to take part in She Runs the Night, an event created by Nike.
TV audience measurement – why big isn’t always beautiful
In this guest post, Chris Walton argues that the media industry needs to take a new approach to TV tradingThere has been a significant amount of coverage recently about how successful The Voice has been. Indeed, audience figures of 2.6m+ people are very impressive these days. Based on reports, this is apparently double the size of audience that Nine was hoping for in the lead up to the programme launching.
How do you solve a problem like Blunty?
So if you were the proposed News Standards Body, how would you regulate Blunty?The News Standards Body, in case you didn’t notice, is the new organisation proposed by the Convergence Review this week to regulate news and commentary, regardless of platform.
Blunty, in case you didn’t notice, is the video blogger who this week went viral after he filmed a guerrilla marketing demo outside Apple’s Sydney store apparently as a coincidental bystander, but later admitted he’d been put up to it by BlackBerry.
Red Dog takes $1.8m in second weekend
Red Dog has taken $1.867m in its second weekend, from Thursday 11 to Sunday 14 August, which is up on their opening weekend. The success makes Red Dog the highest grossing Australian film this year taking $4.5m so far.
Roadshow Films Managing Director Joel Pearlman said: “This fantastic result, up 1% on the first four days, is incredible when you consider Red Dog enjoyed the best opening weekend for an Australian film this year.”
In a previous statement Pearlman said, “We’ve been inundated by people saying how good the movie is – everyone is blown away by it, and they must be telling their friends because more and more people are going along to the cinema to see it.”
“Audiences have thrown their full support behind this quality Australian movie. It is almost unprecedented for box office figures to continually rise like this. When heartfelt Australian stories are told in a joyful and upbeat way, local audiences clearly respond which is a great message for the local production industry.”
Producer Nelson Woss said, “It’s outstanding to watch our little hand-crafted movie become Australia’s best friend at the cinema. Like The Castle, Crocodile Dundee and Babe, Red Dog seems to have captured the Aussie spirit and is proof that spirit can trump big budgets and special effects at the box office.”
August 15th, 2011 at 3:15 pm
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Comments
16 Aug 11
4:35 pm
On a personal level, I am so pleased to see the success of this film. I think the team have worked really hard to be accessible to the audience and this has helped with the push. I went along to the suburban Classic Elsternwick to see one of the Premieres and they had “Koko” and team along fresh from the major debut at Jam Factory… Its made it real and helped spread the word.. Finally a film the “whole family” can really enjoy – without animation.
16 Aug 11
7:07 pm
Another cliche Australian feature……Outback setting, Noah Taylor cameo, Pet star ie skippy, Babe, American Lead….all that was missing was Ben Mendelson….Can’t we try something else in this stupid film industry…..No wonder American films do so well
16 Aug 11
9:01 pm
Haven’t seen the film yet but congratulations to all involved. Whether you like it or not, Geoff, is irrelevant. Australian audiences obviously like it and we filmmaker are, amongst other things, being provided with tax-payer funds to provide entertainment for Australian audiences. ‘Red Dog’ clearly fits the bill in ways that very few Australian films have of late. Congratulations in particular to Kriv Stenders who, through his low budget films, has paid his dues, learnt his craft over a number of years. There is a lesson to be learnt, perhaps, by the film funding bodies!
17 Aug 11
1:50 am
It seems the general public want Australian movies to be this kind of this where we get to feel good about the idea that, somewhere deep down inside us, there’s supposedly a gruff, uninhibited raucous beer-drinking ocker waiting to get out and go live in the outback. No doubt people who live in the suburbs and work in offices and factories will be packing cinemas and saying “finally a film about how us Aussies really are!” Depressing really…the idea that we could make anything else seems almost unthinkable…that trailer just reinforces the same old stuff.
17 Aug 11
9:47 am
An Australian film that has found a significant audience. No negatives here, only positives.
17 Aug 11
12:54 pm
Can’t make everyone happy I suppose, but I wish that for ONCE people could just celebrate theh success of an Australian film instead of providing unconstructive criticism. the movie was touching and perfectly executed, and the dog was absolutely gorgeous.
17 Aug 11
6:22 pm
Not sure why this one film needs to sum the type of films “we” make. Just because it is successful apparently this is the only type of cliched movies we make. Last week I’m sure people were complaining all our films were suburban druggie stories.
Not sure of your logic Adrian. Do you think the same people are packing the cinemas saying “i just need a green ring or a magic wand and I will be super powerful” I think people are watching it because it is entertaining, not to discover “how us Aussies really are”. The Box office speaks for itself.
Great to have a movie I can take along the kids.
BTW – Based on a great book about a dog so hard to not have one in it. Noah Taylor’s last films in Australia were in 2005 and 2001
17 Aug 11
9:59 pm
It’s fair enough to say that criticising the film is unconstructive. Certainly, I’m not trying to offer any kind of criticism that is intended to help make the film makers do better next time. And clearly the film is a success and that’s great for the makers of the film.
What depresses the complete and utter life out of me is that I cannot relate to the idea of setting out to make this kind of film in any way, shape, or form, it is utterly alien to me, yet the fact of its production and the fact of its success seem to reinforce the apparent fact that this type of film is what the Australian film industry will make and what Australian audiences will respond to. Which leaves me feeling like a man who dreams of selling ice boxes to Eskimos. So that’s my perspective.
The fact the film is well done and popular is wonderful for those involved, those who enjoyed it and those who feel they can relate to the idea of making this type of film.
18 Aug 11
8:01 am
Wow, it seems like Aussie filmmakers can’t catch a break! Either the self-appointed cultural film critics are angry that Australian stories aren’t being told, or they are cranky when they are told! Even though I live in a major capital city, my family live and work in a mining town near Dampier. While some say this film taps into an Ocker stereotype, I say congratulations to the filmmakers for showing what life can be like in a dusty mining outreach. Perhaps a little poetic license was used, but so what – this is a fictional piece that should be, and is, entertaining!
“No wonder American films do well” – they do well because they multi-million dollar marketing budgets, not necessarily because their stories are better.
18 Aug 11
5:06 pm
If the film is a success and audiences are flocking to it..isn’t that alone something to celebrate? Cinema is and always should be a diverse experience for filmmakers and the audience. Kriv Stenders is one of our countries most diverse and innovative filmmakers, having made some extremely provocative and socially conscious films, he’s tried his hand at something more popular and its been a success. All I can say is well done Kriv and well done to the entire team involved. As for Geoff, if its so depressing get off your ass grab a DSLR and get innovative..and maybe chuck your film up on VOD and see how you go..these guys did it (Americans Geoff so you’ll be pleased)..might not have set the world on fire artistically..but it turned a profit..food for thought for all those that see the local cinema landscape as being some kind of bleak arctic winter..I think the days of being utterly focused on a cinematic release are long past..time to embrace new technologies and experiment.
http://www.thewrap.com/movies/.....9?page=0,0
18 Aug 11
6:41 pm
I agree wholeheartedly, Doug. A diverse film culture and industry requires successes of many different kinds (mainstream, arthouse, experimental, low budget, no budget…etc) and each and every one can and should excite and energize us all.
19 Aug 11
10:59 am
Finally an Australian film connects with local audiences!
“Not good enough!” cry the sooky-sooky la-la’s, who must be so traumatized from funding rejections that they just can’t bring themselve to enjoy a rare moment of triumph for our embattled local industry.
Stuff them, I’m off to see “Red Dog”…
19 Aug 11
3:39 pm
Geoff and Adrian –
the HILARIOUS thing is that the director’s previous films were much closer to the cinematic experience you seem to yearn for (not clichéd, no animals or ockers in sight, depressingly true to our present urban social reality, etc etc) and guess what – nobody went to see them, including you!
I salute Kriv Stenders for giving the Australian film industry a much-needed adrenaline injection. Lord knows the ‘brand’ desperately needs it. This feels like the first film to connect with an audience since ‘Kenny’, and that was a long time ago!
19 Aug 11
9:01 pm
Oh, I’m sure that’s 100 percent accurate, but I think it’s more tragic than hilarious. This is the thing, no one, certainly not me, is saying the director doesn’t deserve to succeed or that he should not enjoy his success. What I find so depressing is that it seems to reinforce the idea that in order to succeed, a film maker in this country must ultimately conform to “the Australian movie” as a genre in its own right, one which is described above as a film featuring the outback/small town setting/cute animals/ockerish characters etc. I believe we’ve succeeded at doing things in the past which go beyond this remit…Mad Max was an action movie, Croc Dundee was a romantic comedy, Mad Max 2 was science fiction, Pricilla was a musical…I suppose we should be pleased this isn’t another film about funny Aussie criminals…no, I don’t say the director should not succeed, I wish he had been succesful with his previous ventures as well.