The Matrix

This is an example of where transmedia storytelling has gone wrong, because the fans lost interest when seeking information on a piece of story became more work.


The Matrix is a story about a computer hacker who learns about the true reality in which he lives in by a group of rebels fighting a secret war.
The following film sequels were released in the same year in 2003, The Matrix Reloaded  then The Matrix Revolutions.

I have watched all three movies and found the storyline written and directed by the Wachowski Brothers very interesting, raising questions in the audiences minds about whether we live in a controlled by robots.
The way in which the movie was advertised to audiences was done well, it tried to build expectation and create characters that were believable. ‘’The prerelease advertising for the first film tantalized consumers with the question, ‘’What is the Matrix?’’ sending them to the Web in search of answers. (Jenkins, 2008, 96)
It had also produced other pieces of work in a short animation titled The Animatrix and a videogame Enter the Matrix.

''The first story [that is] being told in multiple mediums. It would be a good idea, to see 'Final Flight', to play the videogame, to watch Reloaded, to watch The Animatrix.'' (Joel Silver quoted from Keane, 2007, 118)

Silver is advising the general audience to experience all the different form of media used to explain the world of the matrix.
The audience needed to watch the first film, play the game, watch the short animations then the film sequels to start to understand what the matrix, the Wachowski brothers left clues in all these forms of entertainment, but this relied on people willing to follow every piece and if they did not, then may not understand the final two movies fully. As Jenkins explained, ’The filmmakers plant cues that won’t make sense until we play the computer game. They draw on the back story revealed through a series of animated shorts, which need to be downloaded off the Web or watched off a separate DVD.’’ (Jenkins, 2008, 96)

For the brothers to guarantee that audiences would follow the order of story or clues in which each media format is released, they would have to be sure that most of their fans were absorptive audiences.
Though after the first Matrix, the following film sequels did not receive the same positive reviews and it could be that most critics did not try to find the clues so may not have understood the film better.

''The Matrix is a noble failure......because it expected its audience to seek out every single piece''. (Weaver, 2012, 36)

''Its reliance on continuing plot lines in multiple media forms relegated it to noble failure. To be irresistible your project has to offer choice. It has to give people the chance to consume any piece in any order, get a complete story and then decide to continue to dive in''. (Weaver, 2012, 36)

 This form of storytelling is not a good example of transmedia and the techniques needed to make it successful, even though it does use multiple media platforms, it has not taken elements that make up a story such as ''character, conflict, risk, place and theme''. (Weaver, 2012, 20)  and made plots that can stand alone without another story plot from a different medium.