108 | nº 29, pp. 97-111 | doxa.comunicación
July-December of 2019
The digital transmedia narrative composition of the storytelling of Lost
ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
we have also seen how the virtual environment does not impose physical barriers. It allows the user to interact directly with the content of the series. In the works analysed, we have been able to see how the relationships between fiction and reality are facilitated in the ARGs. Some plots are complemented thanks to webisodes. Moreover, the stage and narrative context are explored with the video game Lost: Via Domus. They all constitute a new form of transmedia interaction, extending the concept of television so that,
Lost stopped being just a television series, and became a complex and effective transmedia narrative, which among other things eliminated the problem of spectator identification. It made the spectator/player’s reality part of their diegetic universe, allowed the launch of innovative viral marketing campaigns, and ultimately revalued the advertising breaks of the prime time broadcast itself (Menéndez, 2011: 727).
Consequently, it is also necessary to recognize the communicative and advertising capacity of the transmedia content around the main fictional brand. Therefore, “it is interesting to emphasise how a television series (Lost in this case), a cultural product that already implies entertainment in itself, uses these types of creative mechanism and applies them to self-promotion” (Ramos and Lozano-Delmar, 2011: 430). Each new content related to the main narrative communicates an identity and values characteristic of the fictional series. As a result, they must be considered advertising material of the series. They all help to generate a brand and are part of the same story thanks to their transmedia aspect. Therefore, it is understood that these works are part of the advertising strategy of the series that facilitate the connection with the target audience.
In a final conclusion, we can affirm that transmedia narratives like this one construct a universe of fiction that feeds itself, expands and constructs the story from a participative and convergent point of view. They become contemporary cultural products based on the relationship, interpretation and knowledge of the audience and the original narrative of the series. Certainly, the digital and virtual media generated in recent years has created an audio-visual consumer society completely connected to, and able to manage, collaborative products. This defines the current viewer. Lost is one of the first series to use these tools. Thus, thanks to the results of this study, we recognise these digital projects as narrative elements inherent in the main plot. They served to develop and strengthen the series among the public. Actually, a new way of constructing a plot has been born using different media, in this case digital, and the relationship with the target audience has been strengthened as well. In addition, there has been an innovation in the discourse among the generation of this television series. With these transmedia actions, it was possible to reach an avid public able to resolve and confront its fragmented narrative and idiosyncrasy in order to generate a unique and complex idea of the same narration. Consequently, the emotional relationship between content, spectator and production has been facilitated. This defines the identity of the series in the real world thanks to a strategy based on interaction with the viewer. Likewise, we can also observe how this television series has served as a reference in building other transmedia narratives. Hence, this series acquires its meaning thanks to the convergence of different media and languages. All of these elements manage to define a unified fictional product in a joint way, turning it into a guide and a starting point for transmedia creations of future audio-visual productions.