Transmedia Storytelling

In the process of thinking about how best to market House Rules (the movie), we have obviously been thinking about ways to create audience engagement online.


The Blair Witch Project is a traditional example of a film that started telling its story online long before the movie hit cinema screens. A massive audience was created and the film was a box office success despite its low production budget.


It's silly to try and reproduce such success, but there's definitely something to be said about taking your story beyond the four walls of a feature film. What about live performance, print, digital and social media? There is a growing movement that believes stories should be told across media to transcend one medium and become transmedia stories.


Here in London, an organisation called Power to the Pixel has been exploring all things cross-media for a couple of years and today they are hosting a forum to discuss ways of financing and distributing stories. I'm certainly listening.

Movie fundraising is GoGo!

After our survey of crowd funding websites, House Rules Productions Ltd decided IndieGogo was the place to base our quest for investment. We are now well on the way to our first 90-minute movie - unless something goes horribly wrong. And speaking of things going horribly wrong - here's a link to the promo video we've produced to get us started:

Spread the word! Any feedback appreciated - kind or harsh. Though I retain the right to disagree if it's harsh and the right to love you forever if you help make this happen!

Birth Certificate

Our firstborn has a name! After a variety of cute and crazy suggestions, we have decided to call the film:


House Rules


This seems to actually very neatly summarise the plot, whilst also echoing the way in which young people live together in a house share. Of course, these rules are a whole lot scarier than "mop the floor on Tuesdays". And they are enforced by a machine - that can kill you.


So while we wait for the next draft of the screenplay, we are now ready to register our existence in the world.


In order to make the life of accountants and lawyers and stakeholders easier, every movie gets its own company. So while Devilishly Handsome Productions Ltd remains our umbrella company (and a key stakeholder in the actual project), the movie will be officially produced by another company. 


After all the title and tagline brainstorming we're now creatively drained, so we've simply called the company: House Rules Productions Ltd. A fat wad of paper has been sent to Companies House and we have invested our first pennies into the project - 20 quid registration fee.


Money has been paid. Now there's no going back!