Detail of the photograph "Steampunk at Burning Man." (Original photograph by Trey Ratcliff on flickr.)
Instructor(s)
Shariann Lewitt
MIT Course Number
21W.763J / CMS.309 / CMS.809
As Taught In
Spring 2014
Level
Undergraduate / Graduate
Course Description
Course Features
- Captions/transcript
- Selected lecture notes
- Projects and examples
- Assignments: presentations with examples
- Assignments: written with examples
Course Description
Transmedia narratives exist across multiple storytelling platforms, using the advantages of each to enhance the experience of the audience. No matter which medium nor how many, the heart of any successful transmedia project is a good story. In this class we will spend time on the basics of solid storytelling in speculative fiction before we move on to how to translate those elements into various media. We will then explore how different presentations in different media can complement and enhance our storytelling. While we will read scholarly articles and discuss ideas about transmedia, this is primarily a class in making speculative fiction transmedia projects. We will analyze the strengths and weaknesses of various mediums and consider how they complement each other, and how by using several different media we can give the audience a more complete, rewarding, and immersive experience.