[The Story Lab] Case Study: How I Met Your Mother

I have written about transmedia in my previous post.
In this post, however, I would like to implement Henry Jenkin’s interpretation of it here as I think I have a better understanding of it now as I had previously. It is, as follows:
the art of telling one story over multiple media, where each medium is making a unique contribution to the whole.

At the heart of transmedia storytelling, lies imaginative universes that are governed by their own rules. (Giovagnoli, 2011) ‘How I Met Your Mother’ is a world that employs transmedia elements that has, over the years, ensured the show’s relevancy in modern pop culture. These elements kept the show interesting both on and off-air for audiences, which adheres to the core goal of transmedia storytelling – to create a compelling story. (Phillips, 2012) Even as attention spans are shortening and media consumption is fragmenting, fans are still willing to participate and immerse themselves in this storyworld, and even extend it through their contributions.

HIMYM became increasingly transmedia in it’s aesthetic, and in such it allowed viewers to view it not as a linear narrative, but a multi-platform immersive experience. Characters in the show would occasionally mention websites, made-up holidays, and even have their own products, like the infamous “Playbook“. Fans can actually purchase these tie-in books, which are all penned by Barney Stinson. Like most transmedia elements, all these pieces contribute to the narrative at some point, one way or another. For example, Barney is the promiscuous bachelor who proudly upholds “The Bro Code“, and also bears the identity of the prodigal Lorenzo Von Matterhorn. Another example is the occasional mentions of Robin Sparkle in the narrative. The character’s backstory involves music videos that she made when she was a Canadian pop star:

According to Giovagnoli, one of the four essential guidelines to rouse audience participation is to provide a clear explanation of the relationships among the different media, suggesting descriptive areas and expressions that can be shared by the audience. The Slapbet Countdown, for example, engages the audience in a real-time countdown towards one of the many major events that will occur in the story.  The Twitter account of Barney Stinson, is another prominent element that contributes to the narrative, and also acts as a link between the media involved in the project:

According to Christy Dena, the Australian pioneer of cross-media studies, said that a project with many different media platforms, also offers many entry points for the audience. Jenkins argues that each franchise entry needs to be self-contained and the viewer does not have to have knowledge of the film or story to understand them. I, however, coincide with Giovagnoli, where he says that an audience should not reach a story’s primary point of entry in an unsuspecting way, but rather by consciously moving towards it.

HIMYM, in my opinion, has perfectly executed its narrative in terms of slowly expanding different elements, all without affecting the story’s fundamental moments of navigation.

 

 

 

Giovagnoli, Max. (2011). ‘Chapter 2: Plan Transmedia.’ In Transmedia Storytelling: Imagery, shapes and techniques, pp. 34-54. Halifax, Canada: ETC Press.

Phillips, Andrea. (2012). ‘Creating Transmedia: An Interview with Andrea Phillips (Part Two)’ Available at http://henryjenkins.org/2012/11/creating-transmedia-an-interview-with-andrea-phillips-part-two.html Accessed 13th March 2015

Jenkins, Henry (2006) Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York: NYU Press. Pp. 95-6.

 

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