transmedia

mib3 aims to warm things up with phone hotline

Posted on by dumsumla

A couple days ago, Men in Black 3 released a ripple in the space-time continuum when it rolled out the second trailer for its upcoming summer release. It features much more of Josh Brolin (yay!) and gives us our first glimpse of Bill Hader as an under cover Andy Warhol (awesome!). What we didn’t get is more of Flight of the Conchords’ Jemaine Clement as the movie’s big baddie, Boris (boo!).

The trailer came off as a Mad Men meets Back to the Future mash-up, which could be fun. I didn’t think much more about it. Then, last night, they added a dash of The X-Files to the recipe. I was heading home and I noticed this in the subway:

Of course, I called the number.

A teenage boy’s voice answers and explains he is Bugeyes. He informs me I called “The Men in Black Are Real” hotline, and what he’s telling me will change my life forever. By pressing 1, 2, 3 or 4 I can either: know what he knows, hear details on where to find him, learn the latest on someone named Clive (“who’s definitely not human”), or leave a voice mail message reporting alien activity. I can interact with the phone number through voice mail or text, and Bugeyes might post my message on themeninblacksuitsarereal.com.

As I punch through prompts, Bugeyes exclaims, “Extraterrestrials live among us. Seriously? How cool is that?” He’s also monitoring Clive because he thinks it’s “what The Men in Black Suits want him to do.” He directs me to his blog for more details about the Men in Black Suits. When I visit the blog, there are several posts starting on December 6, 2011.

MIB3’s The Men in Black Suits are Real campaign started back in November 2011 and received some criticism for only linking to Bugeyes’ Facebook page at that time. Now, it appears with this phone number, a new phase has commenced, and on Monday, along with the subway ads, Bugeyes posted his first video blog.

On Facebook, “fans” are posting pictures of potential MIB activity, including this mock up newspaper clipping from 1969 featuring a young Agent K (aka Josh Brolin, second from the right, in priest’s garb).

Bugeyes comes off as a child of one of The Lone Gunmen (if they’d ever actually gotten lucky and spawned). Will Smith seems cheesier than ever. But that’s what the public wants from Will Smith, right? Right now, Josh Brolin is the most exciting aspect of this story, but I’m wondering how worn his Tommy Lee Jones impression will be after 90 minutes.

Several entertainment sites are calling it “viral marketing.” It could be the beginnings of an ARG. I’m hoping the engagement increases, or it might fall short, like The Hunger Games campaign. I know it’s challenging creating other elements to an already existing property, but when studios have so much money, I always hope they’ll raise the bar. Publishing a number so blatantly and offering participation does indicate there may be more to come. I hope so.

If you’re curious, call 1-888-202-9797 and let me know if there’s any new news on the hotline. Maybe it’ll warm up as we near the summer release.

leading the charge into transmedia theatre

Posted on by dumsumla

Yesterday, Woolly Mammoth Theatre in Washington D.C. took a bold step into the new frontier of theatre in transmedia storytelling. They launched the BWPG-CMU-ETC-Global Cyber-Narrative Project, partnering with the Black Women Playwrights’ Group and Carnegie Mellon Entertainment Technology Center. But make no mistake. This is transmedia.

It was over a third of the way into the three hour presentation of projects and panel discussions when the word “transmedia” was finally used, and it was uttered by a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright. Lynn Nottage stood before the audience and said, “By the Way, Meet Vera Stark was originally conceived as a transmedia play.” If that doesn’t legitimize what some have poo pooed as the bastardization of theatre, I don’t know what does.

The day was overwhelmingly energizing. Theatre people were bowled over, having never considered that a play’s narrative can spill out onto other media platforms. They marveled at the video game concept that accompanies Kristoffer Diaz’s The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity. They were overjoyed when Ms. Nottage shared the By the Way, Meet Vera Stark website featuring a mockumentary of Vera Stark’s life and a clip from one of her “films.” They engaged and offered ideas about how mobile devices might be used with Harrison Rivers’ work-in-progress play, Look Upon Our Lowliness, being produced by The Movement Theatre Company.

I’ve never seen a room of theatre folk this curious about a new innovation in theatre storytelling. Probably, because there hasn’t been a new innovation in theatre storytelling for decades. The audience posed many questions to the panel, mainly about monetizing, marketing and IP laws. However, as Ms. Nottage emphasized, transmedia is a new way of telling stories, and she’s interested in it as an art form.

Kudos to Karen Evans, founder of the Black Women Playwrights’ Group and a DC-based playwright, who encouraged this program after identifying digital media as an important area in playwright career development. There are a few companies, including Performance Space 122 and Epic Theatre Ensemble, already including transmedia in their work, but Woolly Mammoth is the first theatre company seriously partnering with a university for the expressed purpose of expanding story experiences beyond the stage. Other participating theaters are: Dallas Theater Center, About Face Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Geffen Playhouse, Victory Gardens, The Hip-Hop Theater Festival, Penumbra Theatre, and Intersection for the Arts.

The most thrilling aspect of the day, for me, was watching the team of CMU grad students passionately explain the plays and how they are integrating new media with those stories. These students are, no doubt, the transmedia leaders of tomorrow. They spoke with authority, intelligence and joy. It was inspiring.

You can (and should) view the LiveStream video archive of the program’s launch below. I was only able to find part 2/3 & 3/3 on the #newplay LiveStream. As soon as they post the first part, which features Kristoffer Diaz’s project, I’ll add it, too.

PART 2/3 (Q & A with CMU grad student panel about the video game for The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity )

PART 3/3 (Lynn Nottage & Harrison Rivers featured, along with the CMU grad student team)

If you search #cybernarr on Twitter, you can gather what people said about the event and join in the conversation.

Good luck to everyone involved. I can’t wait to see the evolution of this promising program. It’s where theatre should be headed, and a Woolly Mammoth is leading the charge.