Interactive TV! One Ocean, Tactica’s ecosystem-saving convergent transmedia production

Something unique is happening to stories in the age of participation.

Have you heard the term “convergent media”? How about “transmedia“? Transmedia is “storytelling across multiple forms of media in order to have different “entry points” in the story”. It’s a richer experience, an interactive  narrative backchannel, that lets you learn and participate in what were once one-way broadcast media: film and tv.

Tactica Interactive, working with CBC and Winnipeg’s Merit Motion Pictures, has built a deep (ha ha) interactive world in support of  The Nature of Things with David Suzuki’s One Ocean HD documentary series. Watching the series is a wonderful way to spark an interest in ocean ecology, and One Ocean Online gives viewers the opportunity to become doers.

You can pledge several easy, real-life ways to save the ocean, educate yourself with beautiful exploratory tours, examine the history of the ocean and its creatures, and play games in your own undersea biosphere. Logging in with Facebook lets you challenge your friends and share your passion for the environment.

Expect these kinds of experiences to become more common, as tv and film producers explore transmedia in extending and enhancing the worlds they create. The conversation, participation, and deeper understanding fostered by new media in co-production with classic media brings everybody a bigger, better experience of the story.

The Nature of Things One Ocean airs Thursday nights in March on CBC.

Calling all groovy Winnipeg web people: Tactica is hiring.

Tactica Interactive Communications is looking for some brilliant interactive folks to come collaborate in the new Exchange district office space. There are some exciting (seriously) new media convergence projects afoot, including a partnership with CBC and Merit Motion Pictures to develop an interactive experience for The Nature of Things with David Suzuki‘s One Ocean documentary series (check out the development blog).

Tactica’s looking for an interactive developer who hearts Flash or Unity, and a senior web developer willing to bust some funky Droople moves. If you’d like to get busy building creative online stuff, check out these career opportunities and blast your resume over here.

Design freebie: Downloadable “Wash Your Hands” swine flu-stoppin’ poster

Washing your hands: it’s the next best thing to getting vaccinated. Social networking IRL can be a dangerous, snotty business. Help prevent the spread of H1N1 this winter, among other narsty germs, by downloading this poster, printing it, and putting it up next to the grossest offenders at your workplace (or home, if things are really bad). Designed for & courtesy of Tactica Interactive Communications.