The Walking Dead - Transmedia analysis

8/9/2019 The Walking Dead - Transmedia analysis

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-walking-dead-transmedia-analysis 1/10

Bordeanu Codruț-Petru

Media Communication, 2nd year

1

Transmedia approach to the masses

The Walking Dead

“A transmedia story unfolds across multiple media platforms with each new text making adistinctive and valuable contribution to the whole. In the ideal form of transmedia storytelling,

each medium does what it does best — so that a story might be introduced in a film, expanded

through television, novels, and comics; its world might be explored through game play or

experienced as an amusement park attraction. “1

The Walking Dead is a horror drama transmedia project that is based on a comic book series.

Comic book series was written by Robert Kirkman and it shows the travels of main character’s

family and other survivors. Although it doesn’t follow with exact detail and needed to be

expanded and modified in order to fit the media platform on which it was developed, the TV

series started the real buzz around this project. That is why the project is best known after the

apparition of the core TV series which encounter sheriff deputy Rick Grimes awakened from a

coma to find himself in a post-apocalyptic world which is dominated by flesh-eating zombies. In

his journey to find his family and other survivors he encounters sever other survivors who

become part of the storyline and influence the whole project in different ways.

The storyline and the base of the project take place in a non-fictional world. The earth is being

hit by a virus and all that can be done is to survive in the remaining of the world as it was. The

events, however tend to be fictional, since it involves unworldly creatures – zombies. The

survival methods tend to stay in the ordinary world’s range which makes the project close to

reality.

The fundamental purpose of the whole project is to entertain the user and to create an alternate

more violent reality on which he can feel as being part of that world. Given the fact that the

storyline revolves around a post-apocalyptical event, it can be seen as an informative project

regarding survival in the case of a real zombie scenario.

1 Jenkins, Henry. “Where old media and new media collide”, 2006, p. 95





2

The target audience of the project are people over 18 years old. Enthusiast of horror scenarios.

The kind of people who long for thrilling action and post-apocalyptical stories which involve

survival in the given circumstances.

Because of the thrill and suspense that surrounds the whole project, the viewers who tend to beattracted to this kind of project are real-time viewers. They tend to be actively engaged on all

platforms and enjoy everything each platform has to offer. That is because of the way the whole

transmedia was constructed, making the line between reality and fiction very thin. This kind of

rapport between reality and fiction tends creates more interest and engages the viewer by making

him more curious.

Also by offering so many platforms for reaching for favorite content, which interlace very well

by creating entry points one for each other, the reflective type of viewer might be very attractedto the whole story, not only because of the action in the storyline but also because it has a

coherence which tends to make it so real that it could be happening in the moment of

engagement. Although the navigational viewers will be also very satisfied with the whole story’s

development, the real-time viewer looks to be the main target and has more reasons to be

attracted to such a project. Not only because it fulfills its thirst for adventure but also because it

gives plenty of material and information that the viewer can interact with so it doesn’t get bored.

The target audience of this television definitely loves blood and violence. The whole storyevolves around the survival instinct of some human beings in a hostile territory which once was

their home. The whole story involves chaos and horror which look like a puzzle that needs to be

put together by the whole characters in order to survive. Making the audience enjoy all the

fiercely challenges that the personas involved in the story come across.

The viewers can follow the story through various devices, from a PC desktop to a smartphone or

a tablet. The platforms on which The Walking Dead project is present are user-friendly and

invite the users to interact and find out more about the stories that happen behind the curtains orother stories that revolve around episodical characters.

This type of project appeal to the market because of the way it is constructed. Although the

original comic book version was much more explicit when it comes to graphic and sexual

violence, the TV series adapted to platform’s requirements and developed the same story but in a





3

different way. From the apparition of new characters to maintaining the same brutality but

making it less graphical explicit. Besides the TV series adaptation, the online interaction with

real-time viewers made the story more interesting by showing uncensored scenes which were too

violent to appear on screen. Offering the audience what they long for, but first teasing them and

then engaging with them, grew the rate of interaction on all platforms with the producers and

also the number of fans.

The Walking Dead project could represent a good-case practice in the branch. Although there are

several other types of transmedia project which could definitely be set as examples, The Walking

Dead project shows a good example of a comic book which grew fast into a success TV series

and in just a few years managed to adapt to a variety of platforms on which actively engages

with fans, making each episode even more and more wanted.

The project doesn’t require any costs involvement, unless the fans want to watch the episodes

before they appear on screen or play the released game which comes in 5 different episodes.

Because of the involvement of real-time viewers inside and outside the episodes third party

promotional items can be purchased by fans.

Being one of AMC’s (TV network) most expensive shows, The Walking dead is also one of the

top contributors, having a revenue of over 455 million dollars in the first nine months of the

fiscal year of 2013. And here is just the TV Series. The TV series being the main attraction it can be quantified better, but all this buzz around the TV series is happening because of the

interaction which is taking place on all the platforms and also because of the adaptation to all the

platforms where The Walking Dead project can be found.

The platforms which offer this transmedia project such a huge success are not dividing the story

into bits and create confusion. But work together in order to develop and extend the universe in

which the action is taking place, bringing it closer to the VUP (viewer, user, player).

The project has it’s basis in the comic book that came out in 2003, written by Robert Kirkman

who went from being the writer and Illustrator of the book to the Executive Producer of the TV

Series. Starting 2009, AMC Network bought the rights to produce a show based on the comic

book. In May 2010 the whole cast began filming the first season.





4

By showing a good marketing strategy, the show was premiered on 31st of October 2010, on the

exact day of the Halloween, and received high ratings. After that the frenzy extended also in the

social media and soon was to expand on other platforms. The adaptation of the comic book

required new elements that first didn’t exist in the comic book, but maintained the main

character. Because of the TV rating, the story had to suffer small modifications, given the fact

that the book is adult oriented with explicit scenes which can’t be translated from the book to the

TV episodes.

By adapting the storyline to each media and also maintaining the thrill, the producers show their

skills in working with limitations of each platform even if they have to create an impact on the

viewer.

Even though the original storyline had to suffer some changes, the expansion took place one stepat the time, by combining different platforms in order to create a large universe that the VUP can

explore.

The social media, like Facebook and Twitter mostly, is being used as a method to intrigue the

viewers by launching rumors about the cast, making them appealing to the public. Also teasing

the audience by showing photos from the next episodes or from behind the scenes is very

common for the social media crew of the series. Marketing strikes when different promotions

concerning new online applications, art-works, give-away contests and other promotional eventsare happening in order to engage with the viewers on these platforms.

Using creative hashtags like #FightTheLiving, #TheWalkingDaughter or #visionaryleader

provoke people to engage in conversations on the social platforms until new shows are aired.

Enriching the social television with discussions on this type of media, the producers keep the

audiences engaged and build a bigger fan database by giving the viewer a voice and helping him

interact with other people.

From social media to video sharing websites it was just a step and that one was taken first by

creating a series of webisodes that revolved around one of the TV series most mysterious and

intriguing zombies. Known as “the bicycle girl zombie”, Hannah, is the first walker that the

protagonist encounters in the premiere of the TV series. The online fuzz created around this

character led the producers to making a 6 episode web series. The webisodes can be seen on the





5

official YouTube channel and present the pre-Apocalypse life of the character. The online

episodes have now 3 different subjects. But since this wasn’t enough for the producers, they

offered a series of exclusive videos for each season, like trailers, making-of videos and extracts

from the talk-shows which are available on their official website.

Being able to offer so much information about only one character led to a universe expansion

regarding the characters life. All the information, that can emotionally connect the VUP to the

characters, can be found on http://walkingdead.wikia.com/wiki/The_Walking_Dead_Wiki,

which is a free web hosting service and a wiki farm for wikis. This platform helps the emotional

connection to be developed between the public and the personas from the story.

For a further social conversation around the series, AMC brilliantly included a follow-up

segment that airs after each episode of The Walking Dead., called “The Talking Dead”. Usingcreativity they promote the talk-show during commercial segments and also introduce the weekly

hashtag surrounding the hot topic of the episode. This weekly chat show helps the VUP’s to

better understand the characters and the action that is taking place in each episode by bringing

the crew and the cast to discuss, in depth, each episode and how it was constructed. This type of

approach allows them to expand the story and satisfy fan base’s curiosity regarding the latest

events. Because of the on-screen limitations to graphic violence, the audience gets the chance to

see in depth the faith of some of their favorite characters.

In the same spirit of complementing the TV series, AMC also developed “The Walking Dead –

Story Sync”, which is a double-screen application, which allows the user to post live comments

on the episodes, respond to different surveys and talk to other fans using a chat system. By

adapting with so much success to the demanding of nowadays users, helping them engage in

conversations converted the series from just another story into a transmedia phenomena. Which

created more and more fans who feel like they are part of the show.

Even if it is a retro-active system project, it still makes the VUP feel like it is part of the story bygiving him the chance to have a virtual voice. But the real chance for the viewer to engage with

the characters is by becoming a player in this post-Apocalyptical world. At the end of 201,

Telltale Games developed an official game for consoles. The player-friendly game uses the

universe of the comic book and comes in the form of episodes. In 2012 registered a big success

by having over 8,5 million episodes downloaded (over all platforms) and was also given the title

http://walkingdead.wikia.com/wiki/The_Walking_Dead_Wiki










7

use and the applications enriched the user experience and gave them a feeling of appurtenance

and led to the augmented reality which really required full involvement of the real fans.

By adapting to each medium the story is a bit altered, although the main characters are

maintained as protagonists. By encountering a limitation in each platform the universe extendedto a new platform which offered a different kind of liberty. This transmedia project setting an

example of adapting to each platform without altering the story too much and giving the real fan

the full experience by interacting with him in so many and various ways.

The comic book developed the story but the TV series helped developing the characters in a

better and more complete way. The interaction with fans let the story have new dynamics and

allowed the VUP’s to create emotional connections with their favorite characters. This hype led

to a bigger fan-base and also to more involvement coming from the fans. The game let theviewer to take part to the action and augmented reality destroyed completely the line between

reality and fiction, leading the project to a very large number of appreciations.

Each medium brings its own strengths and weaknesses and by interlacing them tries to eliminate

all the weaknesses, letting the creativity reach its full potential and destroying limitations

imposed by one platform or another. The post-apocalyptic adventure-horror-drama fantasy genre

can be fully experienced by the VUP’s who access all the platforms.

The storyline that follows the few survivors of the zombie apocalypse in their journey to a safer

ground isn’t about winning or losing. Because winning means staying alive and losing means

being devoured by the flesh-eating zombies. The whole project is about action, the survival

instinct and the decision to remain (or not) human in inhuman situations. The story-world leaves

different uncertainties regarding some aspects of the story, the main mystery is about the great

migration of the zombies. Where are they migrating no one knows but this cue leaves room for

interpretation and gives the audience a new reason to chit-chat.

The whole action takes place in a geographically real world, USA, and this creates the illusion of

reality. This world could suffer expansions to different continents of the planet Earth and would

allow the whole world to be part of the action, creating more fan-clubs all over the world.

Each extension brings expansion to the universe of the story and enriches it with more and more

information. By trying to offer a background story to each character and offer a reason for every





8

event that is taking place, each extension tries to leave as many questions answered, as possible.

The extensions offer the opportunity to the VUP to explore the story in depth, to get to know the

characters better and understand their actions in the story.

The whole storyline is solid, because the producers opted for not having any spin-offs. The maincharacters are kept the same, even though some of them became fan’s attraction more than the

others (for example, Daryl Dixon). The producers announced a “companion series” for The

Walking Dead, but with no spin-offs on the character side, assuring the fans of the veridical of

the storyline and the universe of this project.

The primary and secondary characters are being well defined, from Rick Grimes – the central

character of comic-book and TV series to Daryl Dixon who is a character was brought to life for

the TV Series. The storyworld can be considered a primary character of its own. Because of thecomplexity that surrounds it, all the challenges that offers to the characters and also because of

its mysterious parts that still lye undiscovered, intriguing the audience.

Although it is a complex post-Apocalyptic world which offers a lot of space for new,

customized, adventures for the characters, the producers prefer to maintain a retro-active attitude

towards the TS project. The whole project is supported by a solid storyline which is enriched by

the use of all the media available for accessing the world of The Walking Dead.

The use of correct entry-points which allowed the different medium to interlace creating a very

plausible story, offers the idea of reality. The background of the characters created is allowing

the user to create an emotional connection with the character and enjoy each moment with more

thrill and excitement from a third-view point of view. By allowing the VUP to engage in the

social media and be part of the massive movement that is taking place online, the audience is

being constantly connected to the world of Walking Dead. Augmented reality allows the real

fans to go even further by allowing them to actually feel and taste the real experience by

engaging them in various activities and allowing them to enjoy to the fullest what the project hasto offer. That is why this project works as a perfect cultural activator and attractor, because it

attracts the fans to little interaction until grows on them by offering the chance to be directly part

of the whole project.





9

The whole VUP experience regarding this project is pure entertainment and serves as means to

have plenty of joyful satisfying action. The goal of the project is to create a parallel world with

the same characteristic to the real world where the audience and fans can experience a different

reality. This type of reality has its ticking clock in the lack of resources, with which the

community of survivors continuously struggle.

The overall realistic look offers more reasons to believe in the story as being true and engaging

in that world as if it is the real one, but with a different scenario. The graphics, animation and

audio effects create the environment which attracts more and more engagement by intriguing the

VUP and making it a true fan of the project.

As a conclusion, the engagement is a central point of the transmedia project. The more users

interact with the world the more they will feel engaged and attracted by it. Using the rightanimations, sound effects, soundtrack and keeping them across all the mediums will create the

sentiment of unanimity and will solidify the universe created. Creating links between each

platform and having the right entry-points is essential for the pieces to fall together and the story

to have the right positive impact over the VUP. But the most crucial part in order to have real

basis of a project that spreads across multiple platforms is the content. Delivering the right

content to the audience is the essential key to make them want to engage, only afterwards things

start to amplify.

This amplification has its basis in the old school viral marketing, which also has its own

instruments. Without creating a synergy between the instruments of the project – being the

platforms in this case – one of them will fail and the story might lose credibility and lower the

interaction rate of the fans. That is why a good management of such a project always should

think about fans disagreements, maybe some of them will hate the TV Series or maybe some of

them won’t read the comics. Maintaining the same action and idea and mediating it through

various platforms will ensure the right type of engagement, because the fans can still relate to

same storyline.

As the internet is made of links same transmedia must link platforms together to create a

universe which not only tells a story but helps fan feel the story and be part of it.





10

Bibliography

1. Jenkins, Henry. “Where old media and new media collide”, 2006, p. 95

2. Dena, Christy, “Transmedia Practice: Theorising the Practice of Expressing a Fictional

World across Distinct Media and Environments”, 2009

3. Looney, Margaret. “5 tips for transmedia storytelling ”, 2013

4. Scolari, Carlos-Alberto. “Transmedia Storytelling: Implicit Consumers, Narrative Worlds

and Branding in Contemporary Media Production”, 2009

5. www.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Walking_Dead accessed 02.11.2015

6. http://walkingdead.wikia.com/wiki/The_Walking_Dead_Wiki accessed 02.11.2015

Documents

The Walking Dead - Transmedia analysis