So before we delve further into this topic, let’s talk about what a cross-media project is. I think Yoda sums it up pretty well:

“Life creates it, makes it grow. It’s energy surrounds us and binds us … You must feel the Force around you. (gesturing) Here, between you…me…the tree…the rock…everywhere! Yes, even between this land and that ship!”

A cross-media project is a story that lives on multiple platforms, hence it’s other nickname – Multi-Platform. In other words, while the main attraction might be the film, there are other venues where audiences can become involved in the story. Depending on when a platform, such as a video game, graphic novel, blog, or viral website, is involved in the process, these additional platforms are usually used to amp the hype and boost the desire to buy a movie ticket. In other words, imagine the film being a super-highway heading toward the box-office and the surrounding platforms as on-ramps from side-streets. That being said, depending on when thee avenues become involved, this super-highway might be heading toward DVD sales, merchandise, or other byproducts of the film. So in essence, Yoda is right: the more side-streets and avenues you have leading to your film, the more likely audiences will find an onramp to the super-highway.

A cross-Media project is a story that exists on multiple platforms of entertainment. For example, one of the most popular might be considered The Matrix. Not only did the story take place on screen, it expanded into a comic, video game, and online game. Furthermore, and most importantly, these expansions of the original story not only lived on different platforms, but they continued the story as well. In addition, these venues also need to offer something more to the audience that they couln’t get from the movie. An example of this is the simple swag available from the DVD site of The Matrix site. What is the Matrix?

While the Wachowski Brothers and the WB might have created a successful cross-media franchise, they started late in the process, and therefore only took advantage of the venues available after the film had been released, which is fine, because it’s focused on creating more DVD and sequel ticket sales. But had they began the process earlier, who knows what they could have created! Just look at what the WB and Christopher Nolan did with The Dark Knight. Because of the endless viral sites dedicated to the film, web browsers were captivated at how far the rabbit hole went, and so the hype grew, the phenomenon was born, and the film grossed a record breaking $155.34 million opening weekend. Albeit, Keith Ledger’s death and oscar-worthy performance of The Joker lead to the successful opening as well. To illustrate how powerful these viral websites were, I’ll mention just one and let you discover the rest on you’re own. Visit www.WhySoSerious.com. Note, after the release of the films, the appearance of the sites went a bit … “ha ha.”

So with those examples in mind, the easiest way to convey what needs to be kept in mind in order to create a successful cross-media project while maintaining simplicity is to break it down into pieces. Naturally, let’s break it down into three pieces we can digest from a screenwriting perspective: the beginning, the middle, and the end.

The Beginning, or: The Blog
When struck with the idea for your movie, you’ll need to set out on a journey through your imagination in order to discover the world of your story. It’s important to know the full extent and dimension of your story before starting – especially when designing a cross-media project – because you’ll need ideas – lots of ideas – in order to successfully build a story that can live across several platforms. By exploring and mapping out your world of story, you’ll not only have a better understanding of the characters’ history but the history of the world as well. This information might just come into play when starting up your first platform … your blog. Whether you choose to create a viral site such as Slusho.com (Cloverfield) or WhySoSerious.com, myspace pages for your characters such as (Rob and Hud from Cloverfield), or personal character blogs external from myspace, it’s a good idea to build a foundation for your story to take root. As mentioned, it’s probably best to create a website, specifically a blog – search engines like how often they’re updated, – and start revealing your world layer by layer. The key here is to build hype in your potential audience, so you want to make sure to keep them compelled and somewhat in the dark. Remember, this is only the beginning, so you need only reveal the info that will entice them to click your links, play your games, watch your clips, and ultimately get involved with the story as an audience. Keep in mind that it’s probably a better idea to start this first platform after you’ve written the screenplay, so let’s take a look at some specific elements to keep in mind while brainstorming and writing. So, where exactly are these elements? “Here, between you…me…the tree…the rock…everywhere!” How can your audience enter the story before the movie is released?

1. Windows into the story.
- Characters
- Cell Phones (Making available a specific phone number for potential audiences will allow them to get more involved with your story. Perhaps the number is related to a voice message where a character reveals a clue behind the story.)
- Websites (WhySoSerious.com)
- Companies (Slusho was actually the company Rob was going to work for in Japan in Cloverfield.
- Story Events (The “Vote for Harvey Dent” political campaign took place before the first frame of The Dark Knight, but dozens of viral websites were dedicated to this event.

2. Perspective
- Antagonist’s (The Joker) (The Force Unleashed)
- Protagonist’s
- Third Party (Characters from Cloverfield)

3. Clues
- Hidden Eggs (Puzzle Pieces found throughout family of Dark Knight viral sites)
- Secret Code (htmob.com)
- Subtle disclosures of story details (Slusho.com released clues to the creature behind Cloverfield.)

By keeping these venues in mind while writing, your story is bound to feel more organic as one giant story when the stars align and all your venues start working together. Remember, a cross-media is one giant story, so in a sense it’s a step beyond the normal screenwriting venture; it takes more planning, more effort, and more creative ability. The plus side is that there’s more room for innovation and exploration. Needless to say, it’s not something for the lazy.

Overall, the basic idea here is to build in as many of these venues as possible, and begin telling your story subtly and efficiently. Plant the seeds of story and your audience will grab hold as the beanstalk grows.

The Middle, or: The Movie

This portion of the process is really where the seeds sprout. This is where your hard work designing the venues and creating multiple platforms comes into play. It’s also where your actual movie comes into play. The middle is the seconds act, so while your audience will have finally been able to see the film the super-high has lead them to, they’ll wonder what comes next. Now that The Dark Knight is out, what’s next? In conclusion, the middle really is the main event, but if you work your cards right, your audience will want to continue to experience your story.

The End, or: The Extension

This is The Matrix went with Animatrix and Enter the Matrix. When dealing with sci-fi, fantasty, and action genres, this sort of extension of the story is as common as releasing the soundtrack. However, the true cross-media projects continue the story rather than replicate it, as experienced with most of the Star Wars games. The extension portion might also exists in the blogosphere … or might not in order to amplify the realism of the story as seen in the sudden halt to activity with the Cloverfield myspace profiles. In addition to video games and websites, there’s online comics, re-mixes, online gaming in the style of a scavenger hunt (across the entire Internet no less!), and other elements where the story can continue to live and breathe. At this point these elements become onramps to the super-highway toward DVD sales, the amount of views on youtube, or simply general traffic to your website.

So overall, from the perspective of writing the cross-media project, we can conclude that the most imperative portion is the planning and discovery of the world of story. Bypassing this portion will not only lead to a poor screenplay and story, but also an obvious, contrived attempt to share the story on multiple platforms. Realize that writing the cross-media project entails writing on larger scope. While indy filmmakers and studios set up websites and myspace profiles for their film in hope that someone will help spread the word during the marketing portion of their project, they don’t have a cross-media project on their hands. If all you’re doing is creating static websites full of the basic information, then you’re simply handing out windshield flyers … the statistic success rate of this is close to none. They key here is to plan ahead, and realize that the scope of your project is going to be bigger than you … way bigger.

Keep in mind that your project will grow into something your audience will take part in. Through comments, content sharing, forums, fan-art, and even radical action from your audience, the project will grow out of your control, and you’ll have to be ready to let it go, and watch it as it grows. An example of this is when the die-hard followers of The Dark Knight painted their face and took pictures of themselves at their cities landmarks. This caused a stir with the police, the media, and the The Dark Knight story, for the pictures were included in the viral websites, and the story and Joker became a little more real. Warning: there’s a fine line between legal publicity and illegal activity aimed toward publicity … so be careful.

That’s it for now. Stay tuned for more on cross-media screenwriting … there’s simply too much to talk about in one article. “For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us.”

Remember, these are basic ideas for the screenwriters interested in cross-media projects. For more on cross-media and what it’s all about, check out An Exploration of Writing the Cross Media Narrative.