Goals Of Week 13: Preparing the exhibition and showing our project to the audience

Research Question: How to better present our project to the audience, how to set up the environment and atmosphere of the exhibition?

This week, we have completed all the work and are ready for the final exhibition Exhibition is the last task in this studio, this reflection topic is to effectively showcase our work and convey our story world to the audience. Joe’s other profession is being a musician, so in week 11, we decided to create a song to be used in conjunction with other media during the exhibition. According to iZotope (2018), a song creates a sense of space and atmosphere for the listeners through techniques such as sound design, lyrics, rhythm, and reverberation. We hope that during the presentation of our work, the music can complement our other cross-media narratives and provide the audience with an atmosphere of ambiguity and romance. To align with the story’s context, we have created a song called “Cupid’s Arrow” to echo the unexpected yet cherished relationship between Maya and Crystal.

During the presentation, we prepared physical letters and maps, electronic maps, and QR codes that can be scanned to access other platforms. We aim to provide a comprehensive experience of our story world to the audience. According to Carpenter (2022), immersive experiences that showcase creativity and novelty attract viewers, and art installations can help create an immersive environment. In addition to visual elements, tactile and auditory sensations can evoke emotions, such as lighting, sounds, and accompaniment. The electronic map is a crafted piece that combines visual, tactile, and auditory elements, offering the audience a sense of participation. Regarding lighting and sound, we have employed pink lights similar to those in Pink Lake, complementing the overall pink ambience and the song.

At the exhibition, I was also captivated by the setup of the Dream team and Escape team. I found their exhibition displays to be more comprehensive and intriguing, and I believe they are worth learning from.

References

Goals Of Week 12:Complete E-map and integrate QR code technology

Research Question: How to combine online media and physical media to provide a sense of interactive engagement?

This week, our project has entered the final phase, where our main tasks are recording audio clues and integrating them into the map. We also aim to combine storytelling with the map and QR code integration. As mentioned in the previous week, we want to provide users with an interactive experience and enhance their sense of engagement. To address this, I conducted research this week and have listed the following methods:

1: Integration of online websites and social media by implementing tags to encourage active sharing, photo uploads, and comments from users. (Kay 2020) We have already incorporated this feature on both our website and social media platforms.

2: Content integration by promoting offline activities and physical objects on our online platforms. (Attewell 2021) We have published physical maps and letters online and included QR code technology to entice users to scan and access additional information.

3: QR code interactions by embedding QR codes on physical objects and incorporating them on our website and social media with rewards or challenge mechanisms. This approach increases user interest, and once they start scanning the codes, interactivity and engagement ensued. (Cherisien 2022) We plan to print physical QR codes for the exhibition, allowing the audience to scan and listen to complete stories. We will also include QR codes on electronic and physical maps, connecting them to our website. Therefore, users can enter our story world offline or online by scanning the QR codes.

We will have the exhibition next Wednesday, and we will prepare all the exhibition items before Monday.

References:

Goals Of Week 11:Draw the map and design e-maps, research QR code technology

Research Question: What types of transmedia technologies maximize user engagement with the story?

This week, we began creating maps and electronic maps. Maps are essential in establishing the story world and providing the audience with immersion and interactive experiences. In the previous week, we chose cross-media platforms, and this week, we will select the appropriate cross-media technologies for our story.

According to Rutledge (2018), the optimal state of engagement is called “flow.” In a state of flow, the activity challenges are matched to the user’s skills, allowing them to maintain full focus and interaction within their ability range. Flow is defined as an activity with clear goals and feedback, where the challenges and the user’s skills are balanced to sustain the flow state. Maximizing user engagement involves continuously combining and balancing challenges and user skills. The theory of flow is often applied in emphasizing games, user experience and other creative activities.

Therefore, we have designed the map as a game-like interactive activity, incorporating treasure hunt challenges that match the users’ skills, to continuously engage them. Within the map, we have integrated audio stories at each location point, allowing the audience to follow audio clues to find the treasures. We believe that adding sound to the experience will make it more immersive and enriching for the audience compared to relying solely on text. In addition, we plan to incorporate QR code technology into the map. QR code technology gained significant popularity during the COVID-19 period, providing users with a faster and simpler way to access information. Nowadays, audience attention spans are often limited to just a few seconds, and QR code technology can help us maintain their engagement. (Potharaju 2023) We will integrate the map with QR codes, allowing users to access our website, Twitter, and electronic map by scanning them. This measure aims to ensure the integration of our story with real-life experiences and further enhance user engagement and immersion.

Next week, we will continue working on the map production and strive to explore more ways to integrate the story with the real world.

References

Goals Of Week 10: Choosing the appropriate transmedia platform and technology to build the story world

Research Question: How to choose the most suitable transmedia platform and technology for the project? Especially a romantic story？

According to Lewis (2023), Identify the central theme of the story and determine who your intended audience is. Select the most suitable platform and format for the story. Create content and plotlines tailored to each platform to maintain consistency and cohesiveness across all mediums. Therefore, I confirmed the following information about the story:

Central Theme: A treasure hunt interactive story set in a romantic context.

Target Audience: Single individuals who crave love. Between the ages of 18-50 and have prior relationship experience. Active on social media and enjoy participating in offline events.

Platforms: Twitter, Own website

Technologies: Electronic Map, audio, side story, QR code

Our story is characterized by immersion and interactivity. Therefore, I have selected multiple platforms, the intention is to provide the audience with more interactive opportunities and an immersive experience. Social media could promote our content to a wider audience. Twitter’s characteristic is being a consumer insight engine, which helps accounts build a closer relationship with the audience. It uses a two-way communication mode, allowing accounts and users to communicate and provide feedback. (Zote 2020) Understanding the audience’s thoughts, suggestions, needs, and mindset regarding the story helps us better create a consistent story world.

Additionally, we will create our own website. We will use the feedback and information obtained from Twitter to create online and offline events and forums, facilitating greater audience interaction. Next week, I will begin designing maps and electronic maps. I have chosen to use map technology for cross-media communication in order to create an immersive experience. I will be conducting research on this topic next week.

References：

Goals Of Week 9: Understand Transmedia interaction and apply it to tell a unique story.

Research Question: How can we maximize audience interest and establish story immersion to encourage audience participation?

This week, I intend to compose a narrative for an A4 assignment. The A4 assignment requires us to create using cross-media storytelling techniques. What is the definition of cross-media? According to Rutledge (2018), Transmedia continues to stretch the boundaries of storytelling by utilizing multiple platforms and technologies that expand stories beyond simple linear narratives and into multidimensional user experiences. Consequently, rather than focusing on a single storyline, I plan to use a variety of platforms and techniques to convey a story.

Immersion and the connection between the audience and the narrative are two characteristics I wish to establish in the story’s setting. How can I maximize audience engagement, create a sense of immersion, and encourage them to participate in the story?

The following is my research approach：

1. Creating complete, emotionally engaging characters and using relatable emotive experiences to help the reader become immersed in the narrative.
2. Utilizing multiple media platforms to enrich the dimensions of the narrative and enhance the audience’s experience.
3. Making the audience feel like they are a part of the narrative by ensuring consistency between the story’s world and its content.
4. Including interactive elements within the narrative, such as diversions, quests, etc.
5. Including plot elements to ensure that the audience is not bored and to maintain the story’s interest.

I used these techniques to create the narrative for “Romantic Treasure Hunt”, and I will confirm the specific Transmedia technologies and platforms next week.

Reference

Rutledge, P 2018, 38 TRANSMEDIA PSYCHOLOGY Creating Compelling and Immersive Experiences.