Photo: Louise Nevander

When working with transmedia the question of participation is constantly present. What is participation? What kind of activity can we expect our viewers to engage in? And what do we, as creators, actually want from our audience?

We are constantly contemplating what kind of participations holds the most value to us and our project. Is it in the simple acts such as clicking a button and answering a yes or no question, something that many may be willing to to, where the most valuable and important participation lies? Do we want our viewers to go deeper, by telling longer, more revealing and personal stories? In the process of co-creating with our audience, what really effects the final result more; is it the number of active people, or the effort put behind each contribution?

We constantly look to ourselves and our surroundings in the process of creating a platform for our audience where they will feel inspired to create and contribute. They are an important part of the story and we want them to know that. We feel it is important that the audience has a choice of how much they want to share, how personal and how time-consuming the contribution should be. There will be those, willing to take the time to really engage themselves in the project, spending time with their contributions. But for those in the audience without that kind of time, there has to be a shortcut, a way to be a part of the story, of course without diminishing the significance of the part they've taken in the creationprocess.

In what character do we want the audience to share, as themselves or as a fictional character? If the audience takes on a role, and enters the story as actors, is that less of a contribution than if they tell their own stories? And if they do choose to act the part of someone else in the story, doesn't the way their fictional character act reveal things about the real person behind them?

Signe Kjellman
Experience Designer, Pas de Deux 
KORE Film and Transmedia

Participant in Boost Transmedia Program